Shorts Review: Johnny Express

From the minds at Alfred Imageworks, “Johnny Express” takes place in the year 2150 and answers a question that I’ve pondered for quite some time: what if the intelligent, alien life we eventually encounter is entirely too small (or big) for us to even notice? How do we know that we haven’t already been visited by space creatures that are the size of a grain of sand, riding around in spaceships only as large as a single piece of rice?

This cartoon tackles that conundrum head-on, and the results aren’t pretty, as Johnny – simply wishing to ride around aimlessly through the ether (and his life) on autopilot – lands on a planet not much larger than his spaceship and attempts to deliver a microscopic package to a microscopic citizen.

The five-minute short also addresses something I’ve thought about in regard to small creatures in real life, namely: what’s it like to live in a world where your surroundings are, on average, a billion times bigger than you? Like, how do ants and other insects react to suddenly seeing a giant finger or toe in front of them? Would falling snowflakes impacting the ground sound like massive chandeliers crashing every all around them?

But I digress.

The animation in this short is reminiscent of the Toy Story or Despicable Me films, with that animated faux-claymation feel, and the aliens slightly resembling the latter film’s Minions. And you know what? Like those flicks, I found this cartoon absolutely delightful. It was funny in that innocent way that is still super-intense, and – dare I say it – action packed, with adorable characters that you can’t help but feel for.

I was happy to randomly stumble upon this little toon, and I think fans of all sorts will be tickled in just the right way by it. I’m not sure if it could (or will) be developed into a series, but for now let’s all just sit back and enjoy it.

(9/10)