Sweet Cocoon: An Analysis

            This short film entitled "Sweet Cocoon" is an animated film of a caterpillar that wishes, all of a sudden, to be a butterfly. The caterpillar has a cocoon and the caterpillar does everything just to fit inside the cocoon. Obviously, the caterpillar is big enough to fit inside. However, the caterpillar really wanted to become a butterfly. Then two friends – a cockroach and a weevil – came to help. Finally, the caterpillar is already inside the cocoon. After how many days, the cocoon has opened and a beautiful butterfly with beautiful feet, antenna, and wings came out from it. The butterfly flapped its wings as it flew above its friends. As it enjoys its new appearance, a big bird with a big claw caught the beautiful butterfly.  

            The characters in the film are the butterfly, the weevil, and the cockroach. The weevil and the cockroach do not look like the real ones though. I didn’t know that the caterpillar’s friends are cockroach and weevil until these insects appear on the credits part of the film. Maybe the director allowed this to add a little humor. Furthermore, the director showed us a butterfly maybe because butterflies were once a caterpillar. If you are looking at a caterpillar, you won’t believe that it would someday become a beautiful butterfly. The same is true with humans – we were once a baby. If you are looking at a baby, you won’t believe that this would someday become a beautiful human being – a grown-up who has achieved his goals in life; a grown-up who has made everyone proud of him; and a grown-up who is free. The butterfly’s wings were orange. Orange is often associated with joy, happiness, enjoyment, success, change, and freedom. In the film, as the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it already felt happy, successful, and finally free. It also tries to tell us, humans, that after we finally spread our wings, we are already happy and contented with our achievements or goals in life. That after all the hardships we have conquered, we have changed for the better. The cocoon is brown. This signifies security, healing, and home. So, while the caterpillar is inside the cocoon, it felt secure, healed, and it is in its home. So as to people, while we work for our success, we are still secured and healed and we’re still home. The setting is in a narrow field filled with green (color). The color helps alleviate anxiety, depression, and nervousness. The color (and the two friends) would mean that around us are people who help us lessen these negative things in life, thus, helping us to conquer our fears as we reach our success. The narrowness of the place perhaps tells us that the world is small and our life is short, that we need to always live our life to the fullest.

            The film can be for all ages. Since it is animated, it can be watched by children, but of course, they can’t get the message yet. The film is best for teenagers and grown-ups because of the message being conveyed. The message is quite obvious. Aside from the insights which I stated in the previous paragraph, the film also says that we, human beings, have the right time in everything. We must not be in a hurry because God is always in control. We must not force everything according to our plan – let God’s plan be done. As they always say, “God’s timing is always perfect.”  Maybe if the caterpillar didn’t force its time to be a butterfly yet, it could grow more beautifully. Maybe the hawk wasn’t there to catch the butterfly. But the butterfly was too excited. Thus, it learned its lesson the hard way. So with people, we always learn our lessons the hard way. We do not get messages of God so easily. There is always hardship before anything else.  

            The message could be just conveyed in a simple image with the message printed in it or a song. But the director and maker of this film did a very great job for they made the film for everyone – children appreciating the film because of the characters and the humor, and grown-ups appreciating the film because of its message. Thus, creating this short film is the best of all possible means.