Oh, Possum!

Oh, Possum! is a light-hearted hand-drawn animated short. It is directed by Los Angeles-based animator and illustrator, Justin Hilden.

The story follows two brothers, Switch and Ellsworth, stuck atop a tree with a pack of mongrels snarling bellow. In an attempt to escape, Switch decides wrestling the dogs is the best course of action! Not but seconds later, Switch is playing possum and has entered an internal safe place to wait out the danger. It doesn’t take long for Ellsworth to join him there.

The idea for the short began when Hilden question what might be happening inside an opossum’s head when it plays dead. It seemed to him, that possums may escape peril by going to a “happy place.” After some exploration into this, Hilden landed on the idea, “perhaps all possums go to the same mental space.”

There is a wonderful interview with Hilden, filmed by Jeffrey Rogers, where he discusses the making of the short. Also on Hilden’s website, he has created a full breakdown of Oh, Possum!, including its concept, story, character design, and animation. Definitely worth a read.

Credits

Directed and Animated: Justin Hilden
Story: Justin Hilden, Dave Hilden
Story Edited: Autumn Hilden
Title and Poster Design: Dave Douglass
Ellsworth Voiced: Jonesy McElroy
Switch Voiced: Jeff Rogers
Additional Voices: Jonesy McElroy, Autumn Hilden, Dave Hilden, CJ Wilson
Voice Recording Engineer: Shea Formaneck
Foley Recording Engineer: Aaron Moe

“Possum Theme”
Music by: Aaron Moe
Performed by: Aaron Moe

“TV Japan”
Music and Lyrics: Stone Nowhere (used by permission)
Arrangement by: Aaron Hilden
Performed by: William Muñoz, Aaron Moe, Martin Anderson, John Luedtke
Recorded at: Mojo Menace Studios