World of Tomorrow: Don Hertzfeldt’s Trilogy of sci-fic shorts

• World of Tomorrow: Don Hertzfeldt’s Trilogy of sci-fic shorts.
• Hertzfeldt has been quietly carving out his place in animation history.
• He is currently regarded as one of the greatest animators of his time.

World of Tomorrow: Don Hertzfeldt is not well-known, but he ought to be. Hertzfeldt has been quietly carving out his place in animation history since the publication of his Oscar-nominated feature Rejected in 2000.

He is currently regarded as one of the greatest animators of his time. There are a number of reasons for his relative obscurity, but probably the most important is also the main driver of his success: the fact that he produces nearly exclusively short films.

It has always been difficult for short films to distinguish themselves from their feature film siblings, and in the current climate, where ten new shows premiere every week, vying for your attention before they vanish into the streaming archives forever, it is especially difficult for those that cost the same as films three times as long to stand out from the competition. One just needs to take a quick look at Hertzfeldt’s filmography to see how such narrowly restricted experiences may lend themselves brilliantly to concepts that would struggle to maintain a lengthier runtime.

The best illustration of this is the science fiction trilogy World of Tomorrow, which is rapidly gaining acceptance as Hertzfeldt’s definitive work. In each story, Hertzfeldt makes the most of the format he has chosen to tell a science fiction tale that is unlike any other, achieving a careful balance between heartfelt sorrow and hysterical comedy that is reminiscent of the work of authors like Douglas Adams but always remains uniquely it’s own.

They alternate between being laugh-out-loud comedies akin to Rick and Morty at times to a Black Mirror-like analysis of technology that puts up the hypothesis that such advancements have caused more harm than good. They toy with nihilism but ultimately adopt a positive view by assessing the present through the lens of an imagined future, as all great science fiction does. Any one of them may be considered one of the best sci-fi works of the twenty-first century, and if taken together as a single, substantial work (even if it is only 74 minutes long), that title would also apply to one of the best works of all time. There is no better place to begin if you have never had the chance to witness Don Hertzfeldt’s genius.

The series is perfectly exhibited in the first episode, simply titled World of Tomorrow. Even though it lasts 17 minutes, which is almost as long as the first commercial break in a network TV program, Hertzfeldt will make every minute of your time worthwhile. A young girl named Emily (wonderfully voiced by Hertzfeldt’s 4-year-old niece Winona Mae) is contacted from 227 years in the future by her third-generation adult clone, who then whisks her away on an outrageous time-traveling journey.

The human species has a lot to look forward to, both in terms of wonders and tragedies, as Emily Prime learns during her visit to the future. This information is revealed through a series of absurdist set pieces that are so full of inventive ideas that you’ll think your screen is going to explode. In order to soothe Emily Prime before a meteorite destroys Earth, the clone Emily pulls a memory from Emily Prime that she has forgotten. Following this, Emily Prime is suddenly brought back to the present and carries on with her afternoon as like nothing just happened.

The film’s strongest point is the relationship between the two Emilys. Mae’s incomprehensible rambling contrasts beautifully with Pott’s deadpan droll, creating an odd duo that drops comedic gold with each line. Watching the clone Emily ramble on for hours about weighty issues like love and the value of relationships—complete with terrifying flashbacks that illustrate how she arrived at her conclusions—and then cut away to a bewildered young child who can only respond with “okay” is never boring.

Their interactions, however, also draw attention to the film’s depressing overtones. Watching the clone Emily divulge such private information about herself to someone who is more interested in making triangles or boasting that they had lunch today creates a strange combination of tones that enables Hertzfeldt to gradually incorporate serious messages into their conversations. Being aware that Emily’s remarks were built around spontaneous utterances Hertzfeldt filmed Mae making makes them even more stunning. Her talks are frequently hilarious and powerful.

The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts and The Absent Destinations of David Prime carry on in a similar fashion in the ensuing episodes. In the first, Emily Prime is contacted by a sixth-generation backup of her third-generation adult clone who wants to replace her mind with a copy of her younger counterpart (resulting in an odyssey through both of their subconsciouses a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), while in the second, a different version of Emily contacts David, a lonely man whose future clone is destined to fall in love with a future version of herself.

“I may never be able to run into a version of you again, but perhaps one of our far-off copies will meet up someday. Before joining him on a universe-spanning mission to make his future self happy while also sacrificing his present body, she adds, “They would be so thrilled to see each other.

It would be difficult to make a sequel to one of the most highly regarded movies of the decade, but Hertzfeldt is an expert. Hertzfeldt takes the smart route of utilizing Earth of Tomorrow as a launching point to explore new ideas rather than wallowing in the shadow of prior accomplishments or desperately trying to recapture a bolt of lightning that has already gone to the other side of the world. Future episodes concentrate more on the specific characters living in this hypothetical future and how all those fascinating new pieces of technology that little Emily was so amazed by have turned out to be as much of a hindrance as a help.

The original episode felt like a time-traveling vacation with the clone Emily acting as a robotic tour guide. They have a different flavor now that may displease viewers who liked World of Tomorrow for its sci-fi quirkiness, but there is still enough of Hertzfeldt’s signature dark comedy and breathtaking cinematography to satisfy everyone. The outcome is two sequels that were created out of an uncommon affection for this world and its people rather than for financial gain.

But what’s most striking about these movies is how well they expand upon World of Tomorrow without seeming to be going over old terrain. Episode 2 retreats inward, spending almost its entire runtime lost in a labyrinthine network of memories that seamlessly builds off the work left by its predecessor. Whereas Episode 1 was a vibrant journey into a cybernetic future that took us to the outermost edges of the human condition (both literally and metaphorically), Episode 2 retreats inward. The original Emily’s clone was only looking for one memory to soothe her in her dying moments, but now the same catastrophe that kills her also prevents her most recent clone from receiving the lifetime of experiences that were meant to give her meaning. This end of the world is proving to be quite a pain.

The most iconic sentence from the first film is, “It is simple to get lost in memories.” On the surface, most of Episode 2 appears to contradict this idea, but Hertzfeldt is wise enough to avoid doing so in favor of some entertaining, Charlie Kaufman-esque set pieces. The empty shell that is Emily’s clone is so anxious to fit in that she has turned to stealing the consciousness of her ancestor, but her attempts to copy and paste happiness are ineffective at filling the gaping hole in her body.

Only until she embraces her long-forgotten ambition of becoming a dancer—a “glimmer of hope” that maturity was only too pleased to crush—does she finally find peace. It’s a lovely scene that perfectly captures the ethos of the show. Finding meaning requires us to develop it for ourselves, affected but never controlled by those around us. It is not as simple as borrowing memories from a long-gone ancestor and hoping they bring them joy. This once-hollow version of Emily learns the lesson that because we’re only here once, we might as well make the most of it with the best people. She remarks toward the end of the episode, “I’m delighted we were both alive at the same moment.” The most important words are the last two.

It would be difficult for Hertzfeldt to top these installments, so for Episode 3, he switches the focus from Emily Prime to David, a man who spends his days watching advertisements until adventure is thrust upon him by the intangible voice he clearly feels a strong attachment to, even if he can’t explain how or why (a recurring problem from him given that he doesn’t say a single word in the movie). Unfortunately, in order to hear more of this voice, he must delete most of his fundamental bodily functions. Observing a man with such little purpose in life casually take away their ability to walk in order for their future clone to be able to have a brief relationship is the kind of tragic comedy that only Hertzfeldt could create.

The tale that follows has elements of 12 Monkeys and La Jetée. David travels through time and space in search of an idealized relationship that is doomed from the start, and as a result, incidents from earlier episodes are reimagined as being a part of a much broader narrative. It didn’t seem like the World of Tomorrow franchise called for lengthy plots that crossed numerous movies, but Hertzfeldt pulls it off so effortlessly you’ll wonder if this was always the intention. Stick figure drawings over photorealistic backgrounds have no business looking this amazing, but when you combine this with his best work as an animator, you have a magnificent series that will have you rewatching it over and over again to see how everything fits together so well.

It would be difficult for Hertzfeldt to top these installments, so for Episode 3, he switches the focus from Emily Prime to David, a man who spends his days watching advertisements until adventure is thrust upon him by the intangible voice he clearly feels a strong attachment to, even if he can’t explain how or why (a recurring problem from him given that he doesn’t say a single word in the movie). Unfortunately, in order to hear more of this voice, he must delete most of his fundamental bodily functions. Observing a man with such little purpose in life casually take away their ability to walk in order for their future clone to be able to have a brief relationship is the kind of tragic comedy that only Hertzfeldt could create.

The tale that follows has elements of 12 Monkeys and La Jetée. David travels through time and space in search of an idealized relationship that is doomed from the start, and as a result, incidents from earlier episodes are reimagined as being a part of a much broader narrative. It didn’t seem like the World of Tomorrow franchise called for lengthy plots that crossed numerous movies, but Hertzfeldt pulls it off so effortlessly you’ll wonder if this was always the intention. Stick figure drawings over photorealistic backgrounds have no business looking this amazing, but when you combine this with his best work as an animator, you have a magnificent series that will have you rewatching it over and over again to see how everything fits together so well.

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