#marsha onderstijn

[thanatophobia-thoughts]

The Life of Death is a short animation that shows Death learning to care for one particular deer, amongst all the many creatures out there. It plays with the trope that anything Death touches, will die, and so Death refuses to touch the deer, even as the deer grows older and becomes sickly.

So, the deer takes matters into its own, er, hooves, and touches Death when its ready.

There’s no spirit at the end.

There’s no reunion between Death and its dear friend. 

There’s just Death, and Death mourning the loss as anyone else may. It’s an interesting twist on the Loving Reaper idea, and how Death can grow fond of that which isn’t afraid of it. 

The ending is therefore bittersweet, as Death moves on, to continue his job, though we do not see any more deaths after the deer. I find it to be a good reflection, because it does not posit or assume anything about what comes after. 

[becktirium]

Y’all ever watched an animation that has moved you and stayed with you over the years? Had to do a lil doodle as it’s been stuck in my head. Again.

Credit

‘The Life Of Death’ Short Film by Marsha Onderstijn, Music by Ramon de Wilde. Animation available on youtube or click the link below to watch it. Go and watch it.

https://youtu.be/ofnCdC8P70g

[orwellsunderpants]

This is heartbreakingly gorgeous.

[brief video description: animated short by Marsha Onderstijn Animation about Death, which is portrayed as a being wearing a long black robe made out of black rags and a white skull mask with fangs. The lower part of Death’s face and its arms and legs appear to be like those of a White human, except with one fewer digit on each hand and foot. The video follows the actions of Death as it moves through a quiet forest and makes friends with a deer, which eventually places itself into Death’s hands and dies. Calm guitar music plays throughout, and in some scenes birdsong also can be heard. There is no dialogue.

detailed description with timestamps:

0:00-0:14: A summer morning in the forest. Sunlight streams through the trees. Foxgloves are in bloom. The birds are singing.

0:15-0:18: A bird lies on the forest floor. A hand is placed gently on the bird’s back. The bird dies.

0:19-0:27: A grey wolf lies on the forest floor. A hand is placed gently on the bird’s back. The wolf dies.

0:28-0:33: Death flies through the trees in the background. It moves up and down like it’s bounding through the air. Its robe trails behind it like the tail of a comet. Its legs and feet are not visible when it flies.

0:34-0:43: A rabbit hops on the grass and starts to nibble. A hand gently touches the rabbit’s back. The rabbit dies.

0:44-0:49: Death stands next to the rabbit for a moment, then flies away.

0:50-1:02: Death flies through the forest, then pauses. It spies a deer grazing a little ways away through the trees. Death watches the deer eating. Death cocks its head, then flies toward the deer, which has her back to Death as she grazes.

1:03-1:10: Death pauses behind the deer and reaches out its hand. The deer turns to look at Death.

1:11-1:21: Death, hand outstretched, and the deer look at each other as the rest of the herd bounds away. The deer seems to smile at Death, then it runs away too. Death withdraws its hand and watches the deer go.

1:22-1:33: Death looks down at its hands, then flies off in pursuit of the deer. The deer runs through the trees and into a clearing to join its herd. Death follows.

1:34-1:37: Death pauses on the edge of the clearing, where there are foxgloves growing under the trees. Death watches the deer, which turns her head to look back at Death.

1:38-1:43: Death decides to follow the deer. As if to steady itself, Death places a hand on one of the foxgloves, which instantly withers. Death pulls away, ashamed of what it has unthinkingly done to the innocent flower.

1:44-1:49: Death looks longingly toward the deer, which has rejoined her herd.

1:50-2:19: A bright, sunny summer day in the meadow changes to a moonlit night. Death stands a respectful distance from the deer, which is curled up on the grass and is sleeping. Death flies up close to the deer and lands on all fours. It watches the deer for a moment, then curls up in sleep next to it.

2:20-2:38: Another sunny summer morning. Wildflowers are in bloom. The deer herd bounds through the forest, and Death flies sinuously after them.

2:39-2:44: The deer drinks at a watering hole. Death hovers nearby, then sits on the bank of the pond. When the deer looks up to see who is watching her drink, Death looks away, as if to say “Don’t mind me, I’m just sitting here.” When the deer puts her head down to drink again, Death looks back at the deer.

2:45-2:52: A cold autumn rain falls onto a tree branch that holds one dry, dead leaf. Beneath the tree, the deer is lying down, miserable, in the rain. The deer notices the rain suddenly stop. She looks up to see Death hovering over her, arms outstretched. Death is keeping the rain off of its friend.

2:53-2:59: Fireflies dance in the grass on a starlit summer night. Death and the deer sit next to one another, gazing at the full moon and the stars above them.

3:00-3:08: A snowy winter day. Snow gathers on a bare tree branch and flakes fall down from the sky. The deer and Death walk together through the snowy meadow, following the path made by the rest of the herd.

3:09-3:13: Spring has arrived. Snowdrops are blooming through the melting snow.

3:14-3:25: The deer has paused on the edge of the clearing where Death first stopped to watch her with her herd. The herd is bounding away, but the deer does not follow them. Death is floating behind its friend, watching her. The deer seems tired and frail. Her head droops, then she turns to look back at Death. Death lands and stands on the forest floor. It cocks its head at the deer as if to say, “What’s wrong?” The music changes to include a descending lament-bass line.

3:26-3:39: The deer walks up to Death and holds her nose out to it, as if to say “Touch me, please.” Death backs away, horrified. It shakes its head and holds up its hands to say “No.” The deer steps closer, then gently places its nose into Death’s hands.

3:40-4:11: The deer and Death exchange one last gaze at one another, then Death wraps its arms around the deer’s neck. Death holds the deer in a loving embrace, then lowers the deer’s body gently to the ground. Death gently strokes the deer’s back. Death sits next to the deer’s body, gazing sadly down at its dead friend, until nightfall.

4:12-5:00: Death stands up and gazes down at its dead friend. It hovers in the air for a moment, gives one last, loving glance at the deer, then flies off through the trees. Fireflies gently dance around the deer’s body.

/end description]

[watchingtheworldflyingby]

The Life Of Death

[hensa]

Maximum Love - They Don't Love You Like I Do Animated by Marsha Onderstijn

[cosmostheshatteredknight-blog]

The Day Death Fell in Love with Life. … He falls in love with her and can’t bring himself to take her life and so they slowly become close friends. But in the end, the doe will teach Death that dying is also part of Life (EYE Film Institute Netherlands). Life of Death is an short animated film by Marsha Onderstijn.Feb 14, 2016

[thecrimsonarcher]

“The Life of Death”–A short film by Marsha Onderstijn

The overall message of this video is open to interpretation, but I believe it’s a story about how death is a part of the natural cycle of life and we should meet our natural end with understanding instead of fear. The message becomes clearer at the end, when the deer realizes she is too old and sick to follow the herd and beckons Death to come to her. She had lived a long, full life, but knew it was time for her to pass on. It doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking, however.

[lifeistrash13]

Oh God... So much feels... The life of death

[lureofthesiren]

I have always loved this even though it makes me cry every time I see it.

I thought I was just going to make myself even more sad watching this during a rough time, but it was actually just the catharsis I needed right now. ❤️

The Life of Death is a touching handdrawn animation about the day Death fell in love with Life. After being well received on various animation festivals and being featured on the EYE film DVD of Selected Dutch Shorts it is finally online!

[franki-lew-yo]

Animated Monster Mashes for Non-Horror Fans

Eeeeeeeeeeey wanted to do another feature-thing for you.

Instead of short horror films I’ve gone out and hunted down some monster-related shorts made by independent and/or student animators online. Some are creepy, some are beautiful, some are kid’s stuff ,while others are a touch more macabre, but they’re all non-horror films that give me that monsterful jolt that makes me feel alive.

Note: I did a feature for specifically horror animated shorts and for animated web shows with a macabre twist to them. I’m gonna make more features like this in the future, so if you’re going “where’s (x)? why didn’t you put (x) on this list?”, give me time. It may have shown up on a previous feature or show up in the near future. ;)

Hope you enjoy!

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I’m a Monster by Headless Productions

Sam is a monster, and also a husband and father living it up in the suburbs, insistent that he’s ‘got everything under control’ for his families’ big vacation.

Ghost Janitor by Louie Zong

Just a day night in the life(?) of a humble janitor who works the ghost shift.

Blenderstein by Zach Bellissimo

A delivery girl is in for the ride of her life when she’s trapped in the house of a mad-monkey scientist bent on unleashing his newest creation upon the world.

The Summoning by Cartoon Hangover

Clair is just a young cat witch (the best kind of witch!) trying to summon up a demon to do her dirty work, but she and her friend Edgar keep hitting one disgusting roadblock after another.

A Vampire’s Crush by Zuyu

A short and simple flash about undead puppy love and being who you really are.

The Colors of Evil by Phillip Simon

Vivian can’t stand her valley-girl school bully, so she does what most little kids do with a bully and summons a demon. Except the demon Vivian gets is...unconventional...

Deathigner by Tzu-Hsuan Fei

The guides of the dead all take their children to Deathschool so that they can learn to reap departed souls. But the son of the Grim Reaper doesn’t like scary, violent reaping, and would much rather make clothes for the frightened spirits he encounters.

Say Cheese! by Brendan Lindsay

Virginia strikes it rich on her Ouija board when she manages to conjure up the spirit of a mouse named Eugene.

Obituary - A Grave Beginning by Belated Media

June Crocker has lived with ghosts ever since her parents died in a freak accident when she was little. Her adopted ghost family, though a little clingy, try their best to support June for her first day of highschool.

Dirty Paws by Katrina Farek

Two young men live a relatively happy life together in suburbs with only one problem in sight: one of them is a werewolf and his monthly changes are getting harder for his partner to control.

Coda by Alan Holly (PG: Nudity, but only briefly)

As he dies from wandering into the street drunk, the soul of young man is whisked away by death, who shows him all that he’s lived and all he will have missed out on before she guides him to the hereafter.

Roadkill Redemption by Karl Hadrika

On a lonely stretch of highway a girl hits a raccoon at night and learns that animals also have staunch burial rites.

The Son of 666 by Vivziepop (Viviene Mendrano)

Lucifer is the fearsome king of the underworld. His son Damien is...not... But can they agree to disagree and still love each other?

Vampire Gastelbrau by Hannah Ayoubi

Gastelbrau the vampire looses one of his fangs when he tries to attack a little girl. The girl and her granny use the fang to bargain a series of chores out of the bloodsucking gentleman.

Howl by Natalie Bettelheim and Sharon Michaeli

A mother finds her young child behaving more and more like a canine and has no idea what to do or how to connect with them.

The Face Shop by Noella Borie

Manny the....monster...helps his meager young friend Neil find a face at the town’s local Face Shop.

The Life of Death by Marsha Onderstijn

Death grows lonely and decides to make a friend. But when that friend’s time has come, can death do it’s duty and take their life?

Satine by Charlotte Kristof

Satine, a single mother of two, has recently been turned into a vampire. This makes simple tasks like a trip to the beach to keep the kid’s busy kind of difficult, but not in impossible!

Death Buy Lemonade by Kyu-bum Lee

A little girl with an eye for earning nickles isn’t so happy when the grim reaper disrupts her business.

Pitchforksville by Skylined Studio

William Black comes to Pitchforksville to stay with his eccentric scientist uncle whose only fans have been angry mobs. In an attempt to get the backwards folk of Pitchforksville on their side, William propose that his uncle make something that will do the townspeople’s work for them.

Steadfast Stanley by John Cody Kim

Stanley is left behind by his owners in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Not quite understanding the situation, the dog knows only that his owner’s shoe was left behind as well and ventures into the war zone to find him.

Zing by Cynthia Collins

A rather unconventional reaper, Mr. Grim, is busy snipping away at people’s lifespans when a little girl arrives at his door looking for her cat.

Cliffside by Liam Vickers

Waylon Two-Bit Jerry is an overconfident, wannabe monster hunter constantly trying to prove his worth to his hometown of Cliffside. Things start looking up for Waylon when he meets a spider-girl named Cordie who becomes his unwitting partner in crime.

Less Than Human by Steffan Lindholm (PG for swearing and gore)

A reporter interviews two “survivors” of a recent zombie outbreak, Don and Andy, about how their lives are now that they’re zombies and need to be quarantined away from people. Andy tries to stay optimistic but Don seems less than enchanted.

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Hope you enjoyed watching these as much as I do and please remember to check out and support the original creators of these videos.

Enjoy!

[starsapphirering]

The life of death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofnCdC8P70g&feature=share So beautiful!

[fuckasahoodeddemon-blog]

Have you guys seen this?  I think it’s adorable.

[his-marie]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this so much <3

[arizona-yeet]

This video legit made me cry,It’s so well done!!!

This is not mine,This video belongs to the youtuber Marsha Onderstijn. Please watch it and give it a like.

[bygone]

The Life of Death from Marsha Onderstijn on Vimeo.

The Life of Death is a touching handdrawn animation about the day Death fell in love with Life. After being well received on various animation festivals and being featured on the EYE film DVD of Selected Dutch Shorts it is finally online!

marshaonderstijn.com

Music by Ramon de Wilde ramondewilde.nl itunes.apple.com/nl/album/life-death-no-movie-sounds/id1129850829?i=1129851041 open.spotify.com/track/6dlqC3U7qmwxFxG9QP88K4 music tutorial: youtube.com/watch?v=h80ugo4IPzc

[heatherhaley]

The Life of Death from Marsha Onderstijn on Vimeo.

The Life of Death is a touching handdrawn animation about the day Death fell in love with Life. After being well received on various animation festivals and being featured on the EYE film DVD of Selected Dutch Shorts it is finally online!

marshaonderstijn.com

Music by Ramon de Wilde ramondewilde.nl itunes.apple.com/nl/album/life-death-no-movie-sounds/id1129850829?i=1129851041 open.spotify.com/track/6dlqC3U7qmwxFxG9QP88K4 music tutorial: youtube.com/watch?v=h80ugo4IPzc