A short animated film about a dog living an abandoned town. One day when he is resting, the dog encounters a mysterious glowing orb that leads him on a journey into his past.

Juror comments: This student-produced animated film has a nice cadence to it, taking its only character, Juno the dog, from the Lonely Woods to his possible new home.

The story premise is that Juno jumped out of a truck when his family was leaving town and now is on his own. He is lured by a yellow orb on a curious journey away from an abandoned town to higher ground and hopefully, love.

The filmmaker, Alexander Coleman, created this film in his junior high school year and is the director, animator, editor, writer and musician. This film shows great empathy for animals and how they might express themselves if they were lost. The dog, Juno has a bitter-sweet sadness, captured in his snout, ears and eyes. The pacing is quite slow, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Alexander’s 2D animation is created from his own drawings, which are colorful and simple. The motion is not full range, but comes from action created on top of these stationary drawings. The little pup pursues the yellow orb as a ray of hope. The musical composition is mostly synthesizer sounds in mono-harmonic tones and it helps keep the pace and define the emotions of this non-narrative piece.

The message of this film is to move past your heartbreak, even if you are scared or lost. Keep a positive flow forward and you can have faith that you will learn what to do next.

I give Lonely Woods 4 out of 5 stars and recommended it for ages 4 to 9, plus adults. This would play very well in the student film category. By Nancy K., KIDS FIRST!