The machine is like...like clockwork. One move out of place and you're ground to a pulp.
—Proog
Elephant's Dream is a 10-minute computer animation by the Blender Foundation, created between 2005 and 2006 as a testing ground for the open-source 3D modeling software Blender.
An old man named Proog guides a gaunt young man named Emo through what looks like a Clockpunk universe, extolling its many wonders and perils – but can we take Proog's words at face value? The Mind Screw nature of the work has engendered much outlandish interpretation, while Word of God suggests the work is actually quite simple
.
Elephant's Dream is released under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, and is downloadable at its own Web site. The Blender Foundation went on to make Big Buck Bunny.
Elephant's Dream provides examples of:
- Beware the Nice Ones: Both characters, but Emo is especially scary.
- Combat Tentacles
- Clock Punk: The main aesthetic for the world portrayed in the short film.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: At least according to Proog.
- Mental World: The entire world represents an idea which only Proog believes in, which is why Proog is the only one who reacts to anything around him.
- Mind Screw
- Word Salad Title: The short may be a dream or may not be, but it definitely has nothing to do with elephants. However,
the Blender Foundation and The Other Wiki say it was inspired by a Dutch tradition of ending a bedtime story with an elephant sneezing. This may have been made to accommodate for the Mind Screw nature of the short.
