Finding Gulo (2022)

An animated short film that never gets old, especially with iconic characters from the Disney series.

Striving for validation. Let’s be frank….we ALL want to be successful. Whatever we put our efforts into, ideally it is to make it culminate in the best possible results across the board, especially when it comes to what career path we are pursuing. We WANT to excel, to shine, to advance, to be acknowledged. AND…let’s hope that we also wish to better everyone around us to boot. However, what occurs when those whom we initially put our trust in suddenly become a burden instead of a boon? Do we falter under the weight of rejection? Or STAND UP for WHO WE ARE?

KIMI is the main character of this film and as much as I wish it was Angela Childs played by Zoe Kravitz, it isn't. KIMI is a smart device that works not unlike Amazon's Alexa and Google's Nest assisting in anything from home purchases to music playing all under the guise of only activating when in use.

Barry Jenkins' masterpiece holds up as the story of a lifetime centered on the intersection of Blackness and gay identity.

I was able to watch the gleefully mesmerizing Disney remake that was Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio. I was enthralled by Zemeckis’ iteration. 

A complex, realistic, and loving mother-daughter relationship is at the heart of this story about Black pageants and the fight for a better future.