changeforbucks Don Hertzfeldt has come quite some way since his early days as a young film student making silly stick cartoons to... well still making silly stick cartoons. But in his more recent works he has gone beyond the "old style" pen and paper skits to using various traditional film tricks and techniques and cel style back-lighting effects that are nearly extinct in a our technology filled society. This combination of traditional artistry makes all of Don's films unique and has made him much recognition by many renowned artists and organizations.Along with his improvement in his skill as an animator, his ability as a writer has become much more prominent in his recent work. "The Meaning of Life" was his first film to really take a more serious direction from the oddball humor of "Rejected" or "Billy's Balloon". "Everything Will Be OK" Was written more as a story being told through a third person perspective and Features a full script narration by Don throughout the whole film. Don's Descriptions of events and people and his way of story telling is reminiscent of Dr. Seuss but with a much darker overtone."I Am So Proud Of You" is the continuation of what will become a trilogy about a man and his struggle of finding a reason for life. Where as the previous title focuses on the Main Character (Bill) Questioning his existence as he suffers with an illness thats affecting his brain, "Proud" Focuses on him as he goes through treatment and looks back on his childhood and his quite dysfunctional family. He ponders on what he did in his life realizing that he spent his whole life only fearing the end. He ultimately realizes that you "Only get Older" and before you know it, the whole time you have been looking forward, eventually you will only be able to look back. Throughout the Film there are bits of Dark humor and emotional plot points that constantly keep you engaged.The combination of Dons artistry in both animation and writing make this film a powerful image of how life can be beautiful but Ultimately Inexorable. By the end of the film you will have no choice but to think about this transcendent fact.

PauldeRev Words cannot describe how moved I was when I first saw this film. I was lucky enough to catch it at the Tallahassee Film Festival in April. I was blown away. I had to leave the theater afterward because a) I had gather myself, b) I had to leave for work and c) anything I saw after it would just seem shitty and anti-climactic.It's existential in the best way; strange, awkward and funny much like "This American Life" or some works I've seen in McSweeny's or Believer. and finally human and nuanced despite the unadorned drawings of what are essentially black-on-white stick figure drawings. Like an apolitical Dan Perjovschi, Hertsfeldt can express worlds of meaning in the lightest wrist flick of his black marker.I can't recommend this movie enough. Without trying to be melodramatic, I think it may have changed my outlook on things, on life.

jdierin1 Those who have been affected by "Everything Will Be OK"'s deft balancing of the absurd, surreal, heartbreaking and quietly devastating will be blown away by "I am so proud of you," which is easily Hertzfeldt's best work. Plot-wise, we learn more about Bill's family history and strange relatives, and a co-worker's comments about genetics, time and predestination throw Bill's universe -- or at least the film's non-lineal portrayal of it -- into major flux. There is a strong sense of pathos running throughout, and at times the humor is so dark that it may or may not have been intended to be read as such--but that might be an irrelevant distinction. Watching Hertzfeldt develop into a true artist has been one of the greatest cinematic pleasures of the last decade, and "I am so proud of you" continues that trend. If you are fortunate enough to have the chance to see the sole copy of it that is currently circulating the country along with Hertzfeldt, don't pass it up. Hopefully we'll get part three of the trilogy soon...

Zach Fleeman I recently saw this movie at Ragtag Cinema in Columbia, MO.I've been a fan of Don Hertzfeldt's work ever since I saw "Rejected" when I was in high school, and I have been watching all of his work since then.Everything Will Be OK was an amazing film, and I was excited to find out that the sequel was on it's way to Ragtag.I Am So Proud of You exceeded all of my expectations, and makes the story of Bill a much more interesting one. It's hard to describe the art involved in this series, and the purpose of the entire thing, so I absolutely recommend that everyone go see it (if they have the chance).