A few weeks ago, Ringling School of Art and Design students Beth David and Esteban Bravo released their animated thesis film, “In a Heartbeat,” the heartwarming short story about Sherwin, a shy, redheaded middle-school boy who is outed by his very own heart when it literally jumps out of his chest, bounding toward the boy he has fallen for. The story of Sherwin and his first crush quickly became a viral hit, amassing over 27 million views on YouTube since its release. It trended on Tumblr for days, its tag was swarmed with fan-art, and—yes—there is already In a Heartbeat fanfiction. The film and it’s overnight success has been covered on nearly every major news site, and interviews with Beth and Esteban have already been published in The Guardian and The New York Times.
It’s not every day a four-minute student film takes over the Internet and gains a massive cult-like following. So how did “In a Heartbeat” manage to melt the hearts of millions around globe in such a short amount of time and what might that success mean for the future of queer stories in animation? Let’s assess:
1. It’s a beautifully told story
For starters, it’s a great movie! It’s important for an audience to connect with a story and it’s characters on a basic level, and In a Heartbeat manages to do exactly that with…
Great 3D animation. Both skilled and incredibly talented artists, Beth and Esteban’s combined powers crafted a beautiful setting and believable characters. It is visually striking with the added softness and charm, similar to the Disney/Pixar aesthetic people love. (More on that later.)
Not much dialogue. This isn’t a very unusual thing to do, and many animated shorts contain little to no dialogue, but it’s worth pointing out any film that evokes such strong emotions without words does so with strong visuals. No one needs to tell us Sherwin is flummoxed over his crush — we see it plain as day.
A moving score. The music makes you “feel the feels” too. Spanish composer Arturo Cardelús tenderly traces Sherwin’s emotional peaks and valleys throughout the film from swooning to pining, from fear to heartbreak, and every other vulnerable feeling that accompanies young love.
A sweet and personal message. You know the feeling—heart pounding, butterflies swarming, palms sweaty —those of us who’ve had a crush at least once in our lives can relate to the signs in this film. Whether it was a same-sex crush or not, Sherwin’s feelings are universally recognizable. At its core, “In a Heartbeat” is simply about love and acceptance, and we could all use a little more of both.
2. Sherwin’s “sidekick” is adorable
In animation, the sidekick is typically a small animal or mythical creature, but in Sherwin’s case, it’s his very own (adorable) heart. Sidekicks are tricky. They tread a thin line between precious and lovable (BB8) and disastrous (Jar-Jar Binks). Luckily for us, Sherwin’s Heart is pure magic, with cute R2D2-like whirs, emoji-like eyes, and the oblivious innocence akin to Frozen’s Olaf. When Sherwin’s heart squeals, your heart squeals. When Sherwin’s heart breaks, your heart most definitely breaks (and you maybe cry a little too.) This little heart is also an audience surrogate, watching intently in hopes these two characters will get together.
I should also that Sherwin’s heart is more than just a sidekick; he is the story’s catalyst. He initiates the first contact between Sherwin and his crush (Jonathan, “the most popular boy in school”). This heart has a mind of it’s own and it knows what it wants. I haven’t loved an anthropomorphic character this much since Wall-E.
3. It is so goddamn GIF-able.
Is this film not the most GIF-able thing you’ve ever seen? How can you disagree?
4. Kickstarter helped it out
Beth and Esteban initially created a Kickstarter to fund “In a Heartbeat,” and were surprised when they successfully crowd-funded $14,191—more than four times what they initially sought to raise. A trailer was released earlier this spring, which further whet the appetites of the audience they had already built. It’s unusual for a student film to receive such an overwhelming amount of support before it’s been made, so why did the “In a Heartbeat” Kickstarter receive so much attention? Why were so many people ready to jump in and donate to this film in particular? One part of the answer is…
5. It tells a defiantly optimistic LGBTQ+ love story
And representation matters! It can’t be understated: LGBTQ+ roles are severely underrepresented in entertainment and especially in animation—especially love stories. (Eds. note: It’s why we try to cover these stories as often as we can at The Dot and Line.) If the reaction tells us anything, it’s that there was a real hunger for this film. There are already countless YouTube “reaction videos” to the film, many of them filled with emotional responses based on their own experiences. One commenter wrote: “I wish I had seen this when I was younger and having crushes on boys at school because it would have made me feel better.” Seeing your experiences represented on screen, especially in a medium like animation that is predominantly geared towards children, sends a powerful message.
“In a Heartbeat” does it by touching on universal emotions while still highlighting the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ adolescents’ first crushes. Stories like these are long overdue and there is a large audience for them. It’s rare for LGBTQ+ characters to hold the spotlight in animation, aside from examples like Steven Universe, The Loud House, and a few other shows. Even so, we shouldn’t have to rely on those shows as the token examples. “We want to put out a message of love and self-acceptance to all the kids and young people who struggle to identify with LGBT+,” Beth and Esteban stated in their Kickstarter video, “just like Sherwin does.”
And if Beth and Esteban’s Kickstarter and the reception to “In a Heartbeat” say anything about the demand for gay love stories in animation, it’s “if you build it they will come.”
6. It reminds everyone of a very specific animation studio
Among the multiple people I showed to, several of them told me the same thing: “I would have guessed Disney and Pixar had made this.”
Bingo. This film feels like one of the shorts I would expect to see in front of Moana in the movie theater. Its style and storytelling are akin to “Paperman,” another heart-stopping love story that was wildly popular when it premiered in front of Wreck It Ralph back in 2012. Side by side, the two films are strikingly similar: the tender score, lack of dialogue, shy boys looking longingly at their crushes, and chase scenes. Both films’ love interests are even pushed together via anthropomorphized objects!
There’s a lot to In a Heartbeat that screams “Disney!” without feeling like a rip off, and people love Disney movies. When the world feels like it’s about to fall apart, we throw on a Disney movie to reclaim a world where good will always triumph over evil. So a film that has strong Disney influences at its core is an immediate draw. And combining that with a sweet gay love story set inside the bright and colorful Disney aesthetic goes beyond a wish fulfillment that makes my heart explode into a million rainbows. It served as the perfect combination to make “In a Heartbeat” a sensation.
The future…
My only hope is that “In a Heartbeat”’s success shows Disney what it is missing out on by turning a blind eye to gay characters. The world is aching for queer stories to be brought into the fold of the Disney universe, but the company’s steps towards LGBTQ+ representation have been glacial. Earlier this year they introduced their first explicitly gay character, LeFou, in a remake of Beauty and the Beast, but even that seemed like a safe move. They have yet to break down the barrier and include explicitly gay characters in animated films.
This four-minute student film shot through the stratosphere because it gave us a glimpse at what a queer love story would look like in the sunshiny, rosy-cheeked style Disney animation is known for. In doing so, “In a Heartbeat” proved to all of us that Sherwin is just as relatable, and as much of a hero as any Mulan or Hercules, his personal triumphs just as important for young people to see. Let’s see more.
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