Stanley and Stella in: Breaking the Ice is a 3 minute 1987 short film from Symbolics Graphics Division. It can be viewed on YouTube here
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In a structure in space reassembling a spherical snow globe two colonies of animals are separated by a sheet of ice. In the top part there are birds, and the bottom has fish. Stanley, a bird, calls to a fish named Stella. They meet each other on both sides of the ice. Soon they form a friendship, and spin around for fun. Then Stella taps the ice with her tail. Stanley gives an approving look, flies as high as he can, then smashes through the ice at full speed. he appears to be unconscious until Stella touches him. The camera zooms out, showing that the fish and birds are no longer separated, and can go anywhere in the sphere they want.
This was also included in many different compilations of 3D animation from The '80s and '90s. These include the 1989 Pioneer LaserDisc demo Laser Optics II and the 1990 compilation The Mind's Eye. The latter retitles it "Love Found" and uses different music.
Stanley and Stella in: Breaking the Ice provides examples of:
- All-CGI Cartoon: and an early example of one, too.
- Ambiguous Robot: Or rather, the fish are ambiguous Mechanical Lifeforms. They have metallic textures on the gold parts, which could easily just be jewelry. Their textures aren't as shiny as the birds, and their bodies can bend just like a fish. They have lips, but they never open, unlike the birds' beaks. The birds have more angular features and visible joints on the wings, putting them squarely in the camp of Mechanical Lifeforms.
- Artificial Gravity: Zig-zagged. The sphere is in space, and the orientation of the animals suggests that an objective "up" direction exists. However, they all appear to float, and can even fly/swim in water/air, respectively. The fact that Stanley can land and rest on the ice proves there is some kind of gravity there. However, when Stanley breaks the ice, he doesn't fall straight to the bottom, he slowly descends as if he was in water, and can float where he is without hitting the bottom. No water surface is visible, either, showing that birds fly and fish swim in the same substance.
- Extremely Short Timespan: Nothing suggests the story happens in any timeframe longer than three minutes.
- Floating Limbs: Both birds and fish appear to have these. The closer you inspect, the more you find.
- Birds:
- The crests on their head
- Their legs and feet
- Their eyebrows
- Fish:
- Stringless pearl necklace
- Dorsal fin
- Segmented pectoral fins
- Birds:
- Interspecies Romance: The whole plot. Stanley is a male bird and Stella is a female fish. They fall in love with each other.
- Masculine Lines, Feminine Curves: Birds and fish, respectively.
- Meaningful Name: Do the main characters' names sound familiar?
- Mechanical Lifeforms: Birds appear to be these, having visible joints on their wings and angular features. Fish are more ambiguous.
- Name and Name: The title.
- The Namesake: Stanley breaks the ice that segregates fish and birds from each other.
- No Antagonist: The closest thing to an antagonist is the ice segregating birds and fish, but it is not a sentient being.
- No Endor Holocaust: When Stanley breaks the ice, it creates massive shards, which disappear before they can hurt any fish.
- One-Gender Race: The birds are all male, and the fish are all female.
- Pink Means Feminine: The fish are all female, and have pink faces.
- Real Time: The short takes place all in one scene.
- Secondary Sexual Characteristics: All the fish have lips, eyelashes, a golden pearl necklace, and pink and purple bodies. All the birds are red, have more angular features, and more masculine eyebrows. Masculine Lines, Feminine Curves is also in effect here.
- Separated by the Wall: Or in this case, the ice. In fact, this segregates birds and fish from each other.
- Silence Is Golden: No words appear in the whole film.
- Species Equals Gender: all birds are male, and all fish are female. In fact, all members of a species look identical to all the other members.
- Stationary Wings: Mostly averted, as the birds and fish move realistically. The one time it's played straight is after Stanley breaks the ice. Stanley appears to be able to maintain his position with minimal wing movement. Though it's not clear if he is suspended in air or water.
- Water Is Air: An unusual variation of the trope appears. It starts in a sphere with a sheet of ice segregating birds on top and fish below. It is easy to assume that the birds have air and the fish have water.note However, when Stanley breaks the ice, it is revealed that fish swim and birds fly in the same substance. Stanley is able to maintain his position with minimal wing movement, meaning he is either in water (and can breathe) or he is in air and has Stationary Wings.
- You ALL Look Familiar: Only two character models exist in this film, despite there being approximately 50 fish and 50 birds.
