BABBLE BUBBLE ︎︎︎

Norah's head detaches from her body and is replaced with...different heads!

Animation: Richan Li
Music and Sound: Brennan Pollack
Animation Assistant: Kino Jin
Animation Advisor: Michael O’Rourke
Produced at Pratt Institute, May 2020


Tools used:
Clip Studio Paint / After Effects / Premiere / Audition

Babble Bubble is a three and half-minute 2D animation which tells the story of a girl whose head detaches from her body and is replaced with different heads. It aims to portray a personal but not confessional mindset of not being mindful of daily life and splitting one’s identities and behaviors throughout different social media platforms. It is a reflection on the dissociation from self and intimacy in relationships that arises in response to hyper-mediated modern life.

During Babble Bubble's production, I had lots of help from everywhere, school, family, and friends. Especially in 2020, while the COVID-19 pandemic was going on, I suddenly found myself experiencing what Norah, my main character, is experiencing — social connecting relies on social media heavily, exercising at home on a yoga mat, retrospective and trying to be mindful. Fortunately, Babble Bubble’s production holds my attention together and has kept me away from being overwhelmed by all the information spreading on social media.

And thanks to social media and technology, I am able to continue to study, collebrate with our talented music producer Brennan, and do my grocery shopping through multiple online platforms. And so, to me, my film is a reflection on the dissociation from self and intimacy in relationships that arises in response to hyper-mediated modern life, however, it is not meant as a condemnation of the technology that allows us to stay in touch, but rather as a reminder for us all to stay aware of who we are.

︎︎︎ Winner, Student Experimental Short, 2020.
    Los Angeles Animation Festival

︎︎︎ Winner, Best Animation Short, June 2020.
    Rome Independent Prisma Awards

︎︎︎ Winner, Best Student Short, June 2020. 
    Changing Face International Film Festival

︎︎︎ Official Selections:

    2021 New York Animation Film Awards (NYAFA)
    2021 New York City Independent Film Festival
    2021 Neum Animated Film Festival
    2021 Petit Plan: Americana
    2021 Deep Focus Film Festival
    2021 New Filmmakers NY
    2021 Beeston Film Festival
    2021 Moscow Shorts
    2020 Big Shoulders Film Festival
    2020 Big Cartoon Festival
    2020 SHORT to the Point
    2020 Short Stop International Film Festival
    2020 Short Shot Fest
    2020 DaVinci International Film Festival: COVIDaVINCI
    2020 Panama Animation Festival
    2020 Digital Juice. Short Film & Animation Festival
    2020 TIAF - Tbilisi International Animation Festival
    2020 ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival
    2020 AnimaSyros International Animation Festival + Agora
    2020 */ 16th Athens Digital Arts Festiva |Technotribalism
    2020 HangZhou Youth Film Programme
    2020 Feinaki Beijing Animation Week
    2020 Sunday Shorts Film Festival, Semi-Finalist
    2020 Dumbo Film Festival, Semi-Finalist
    2020 Kosice International Film Festival, Finalist
    2020 Short Stop International Film Festival, Nominee
    2020 Pixel Vienna Animation Festival, Honorable Mention


︎︎︎ Richan Li’s Zany Head-Swapping Animated Short ‘Babble Bubble’ Explores a Hyper-Modern Identity Crisis by Director Notes

︎︎︎ Review from Shot Stop International Film Festival

︎︎︎ Interview with AniOne (Chinese/中文)