Post No Bills is a 2018 short film about a couple of unusual friends who face an unexpected choice that will change their lives forever.
It’s said that ‘life finds a way,” but more often than that, so too does love, the movies filled with all kinds of stories of those taking some rather chancy risks to be with that someone super special. The grand romantic gesture has come to almost define the modern romcom, with wayward starry-eyed smittens doing the craziest things to win the heart of the sometimes hard to catch. This inspiring little convention is at the heart of Robin Hays‘ new animated short film Post No Bills, a quirky and adorable charmer that is a winning as it is brief.
Taking a cue from Pixar’s Toy Story, we find out that at night, when no one is looking, the throngs of posters and ads posted along construction barriers and such are themselves home to a host of creatures who comes to life. We meet Noodle Boy, a drawing of a Chinese takeout box given a smiley face and limbs made from the wire wrapping, who blinks awake and yawns, his duty for the day over and now looking to begin a night among the other bills. His first stop is right next door at an ad for coffee where he grabs a cup o’ Joe. It’s here where he pushes out on the paper a bit, able to see down the line to Miss Fortune, a cheerful fortune cookie serving as the mascot for a candy shop. However, not all is well when a big panel van rolls up to the lot and out steps a man in overalls and a can of white paint. He’s here to cover up the bills, leaving Noodle Boy to take drastic action.
At just under five minutes, things move petty quickly in Post No Bills, the entire film dialogue-free and accompanied by a cheerful yet oddly sentimental piano. Story-wise, it’s certainly nothing new, but that’s the point, the twist being the characters spinning the tale. We’re not made to think too much about what’s happening, and the message is crystal clear by its end … in fact it’s spelled right out. However, despite the rather traditional approach, it’s the playful warmth of it all that is undeniable affecting. These are cutesy animated characters that are easy to get behind, loads of backstory implied in the few moments we spend in their adventure.
Computer-animated, Post No Bills is bright and colorful, the posters Noodle Man travels through giving the animators some fun opportunities to play with the premise and rules of the road as it were. I dare not mention what those rules are and what the little takeout box experiences, but surely it’s a short trip stuffed with lifelong metaphor as he races to be with Miss Fortune. This is a light-hearted affair that aims to lift a few hearts and keep hope afloat. For that, it succeeds with plenty to spare.