
An Aqueous Solution(2003)
This short animation is bleak and apparently grim, but it is an assertive statement on self-determination and the fundamental need for both dark and light. This film was made as part of the first edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Movie: An Aqueous Solution
Recommendations Movies
7.0The House(en)
Across different eras, a poor family, an anxious developer and a fed-up landlady become tied to the same mysterious house in this animated dark comedy.
6.2Stopmotion(en)
Ella Blake, a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother, embarks upon the creation of a film that becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her project take on a life of their own.
6.0Night of the Animated Dead(en)
An animated retelling of ‘Night of the Living Dead’, in which a group of people in a rural farmhouse struggle to survive the threat of bloodthirsty zombies.
7.3Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day(en)
Winnie the Pooh and his friends experience high winds, heavy rains, and a flood in Hundred Acre Wood.
8.0Memoir of a Snail(en)
Forcibly separated from her twin brother when they are orphaned, a melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of misfortunes and everyday life.
7.0SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone(en)
GrandPat travels through alternate dimensions and timelines to get home.
6.3Welcome to the Club(en)
Heart set on becoming a princess, Lisa Simpson is surprised to learn being bad might be more fun.
7.2Destino(en)
Short film to a song of love lost and rediscovered, a woman sees and undergoes surreal transformations. Her lover's face melts off, she dons a dress from the shadow of a bell and becomes a dandelion, ants crawl out of a hand and become Frenchmen riding bicycles. Not to mention the turtles with faces on their backs that collide to form a ballerina, or the bizarre baseball game.
7.1Anomalisa(en)
An inspirational speaker becomes reinvigorated after meeting a lively woman who shakes up his mundane existence.
7.5The Little Matchgirl(en)
An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.
8.3Once Upon a Studio(en)
Created for Disney's 100th anniversary, the short features Mickey Mouse corralling a gallery of legendary Disney characters for a group photo.
7.5Waking Life(en)
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
6.5The Pied Piper(en)
The people of Hamelin, overrun with rats, offer a bag of gold to anyone who can get rid of the rats. A piper offers to do the job, and successfully lures the rats into a mirage of cheese, which disappears. The citizens, disappointed that all he did was play a tune, offer only pocket change. The piper, angered, plays a new tune that has all the children of the city follow him, even the new twins the stork is preparing to deliver.
5.9Mr. Incredible and Pals(en)
An animated short film produced by Pixar included as a bonus on the DVD edition of the 2004 feature film "The Incredibles."
7.3Beyond(en)
While looking for her cat, a young woman and some kids find an abandoned building where strange things happen and the rules of physics don't always apply. Part of the Animatrix collection of animated shorts set in the Matrix universe.
7.3Red Hot Riding Hood(en)
Tired of always playing the same roles, Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother and the Wolf demand a new version of the tale. The story then plays out in a more contemporary urban environment, with Little Red Riding Hood working as a pin-up girl in a night club.
7.9It's Such a Beautiful Day(en)
Bill struggles to put together his shattered psyche.
6.7Fire and Ice(en)
The villainous Nekron and his mother, Queen Juliana, plot against the human race from their frigid fortress. Creating mass destruction with huge glaciers, mother and son incur the wrath of Larn, a warrior whose entire village was destroyed by ice. When Nekron's underlings kidnap the beautiful Princess Teegra, Larn sets out to rescue her, assisted by the fierce and enigmatic Darkwolf.
6.6Where Is Anne Frank(en)
The film follows the journey of Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne Frank dedicated her diary. A fiery teenager, Kitty wakes up in the near future in Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam and embarks on a journey to find Anne, who she believes is still alive, in today's Europe. While the young girl is shocked by the modern world, she also comes across Anne's legacy.
