In America, animation has largely become synonymous with “kids’ films,” whereas elsewhere around the world it is celebrated as a medium that can be used to tell any story. We feel this cultural difference limits the potential audience and range of themes in American animation, and is a large part of why we chose to make Borrowed Time.

Having worked on family films with a lot of heart and comedy, we wanted to do something outside of our comfort zone: a serious, action drama. We knew this would be a huge challenge for us. In order for the audience to truly connect and care about our characters in 6 minutes, we would need to steer away from the outlandish or oversimplified. We wanted to create an experience that is grounded and relatable. This was the vision that drove the look, animation style and story of Borrowed Time.

As first time directors, there was much to learn over the course of this production. We began with naïve optimism, thinking we could handle much of the work ourselves. We poured over it through nights and weekends: writing, storyboarding, designing, modeling, rigging, and animating most of the film on our own. But 2+ years later, and with limited knowledge of the rest of the pipeline, the enormity of the remaining work began to seep in. It was serendipitous, however, that our passion and resolve to finish garnered the attention of those around us. All of a sudden our friends and colleagues were offering to help after hours, many of whom quickly came to have an equal measure of pride in what was being accomplished. There was never a day when we could simply “direct,” but having the opportunity to form this small community of artists who push each other was one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. We’re beyond grateful to all of our friends without whose passion and dedication Borrowed Time would not exist.