Dec 4, 2024

2025 Oscar Short Film Candidate: Ruki & the Rights Director Toby Cochrane

Cartoon Brew is putting the spotlight on an animated short film nominated for an Academy Award in 2025.

This article looks at Ruki and Wright by American filmmaker Toby Cochrane. This short film won the Best Animated Short at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and was qualified for an Academy Award.

Unfolding in an idyllic setting, Ruki & Wright tells the story of a robot child and his friends who are living a seemingly happy life. When Ruki starts to break down, the robot doctor diagnoses him with a very specific disease that affects his motor function and eats the lights of his robot one by one. This is a dialogue-less heartfelt story about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease adapted from a character created by Dutch parents and teachers Sascha and Anjo Snijders. Anjo, who used Ruki to explain his ALS condition to his children, died earlier this year, and this story, brought to the screen by Cochrane and his team, is a tribute to him and to all those suffering from ALS around the world. The film was produced by Big Grin Productions, a co-production with Global Neuro YCare and the ALS Association.

Cartoon Brew: In a previous interview, I mentioned that the film was made by a huge number of artists with ties to ALS. How was it to work with such a team-

Toby Cochran: Yes, many members of our team have come directly into contact with ALS and other motor neuron diseases through family and friends, and this personal connection has made the film deeply meaningful to them and facilitated their commitment to raising awareness. I felt a strong responsibility to respect their support by making the film as impactful as possible. Their living experience shaped many of the film's intimate moments and contributed to its resonance with the audience. The mind and care poured into every frame is obvious, and so far, especially among families, children and the ALS community, the response to Luki & The Lights has been overwhelmingly positive and the film has won several audience awards at film festivals, including the film festival where children and family audiences voted. One of our main goals was to make a film that resonates with children and adults while being medically accurate and hearty, so these audience awards are a huge validation for us. Also, people come to us after the screening and say, "If I had this film when I was a kid, it would help me understand what was happening to my mom."These moments really solidify that the film serves its intended purpose. While the story is unique to ALS, the themes of care, friendship and resilience were universal, allowing audiences from all walks of life to connect with Luki's journey.

What made you connect with you and force you to direct a film about this story or concept -

The heart of this story was when on many levels me and Sascha and Anjo first approached me to tell luki's story to life, and I felt like I had the potential to give this fascinating and bright character to the world. I saw some impact. Ruki describes a complex, often difficult-to-grasp disease, ALS, to children and to all audiences. This kind of storytelling has never been done in animation before, and it felt like a meaningful way to make a difference. My producer Adrian also lost his grandfather to ALS, further stressing the importance of this project and the need for continued awareness of the disease. Many remember the challenge of ice buckets, but few really understand the disease. So for me, this isn't just about telling a hearty story, it's about creating a lasting resource that can have a positive impact on families around the world.

What did you learn about productive, cinematic, creative, or subject matter through the experience of making this film-

Making this film has taught me a lot, but there are really 3 things that stand out. First, that experience reaffirmed my belief in the ability of animation to deeply influence people's lives. Our goal was not only to explain ALS, but to evoke Ruki's emotional journey in a way that resonates with the audience.

Second, I remembered the importance of trusting the process, always pursuing the integrity of the character and letting those moments unfold naturally. As creators, we have ideas about the direction of the story and the character, but when production begins, both the story and the character begin to reveal which direction they want the story to be told. It may sound cliché, but I found Ruki asking me to listen. It was important to trust that process and let Ruki's journey unfold, so that instead of Ruki telling medical and educational stories about als, he emotionally pushed the envelope.

Finally, knowing that Anjo had a limited time, he started production, creating fundamental urgency and pressure. I wanted to make a great film, but I wanted a film that Anjo could see, knowing that Anjo's desire to make the most of the tragedy of life will not be wasted and will inherit his legacy. I tried to keep the team informed about his health. It pushed us harder and drove us to finish the film before he was delivered.

Can you explain how you developed a visual approach to cinema - why did you settle for this style/technique-

Anjo's life greatly influenced the visual style of luki & The Lights. The world of Ruki is inspired by the Netherlands, the birthplace of Sasha and Anjo, with its iconic tulip fields and windmills. When you think about robots, people often think of shiny, smooth metal, and blue shiny bits of sf. We wanted to turn that idea upside down, so we developed the world to feel warm and narrative-like, with a softer color palette, like drawing to children and families but avoiding the bubblegum look of many modern animations.

In addition, I wanted to push what I did inside Unreal Engine. Once we received [Unreal's]Megagrant, it changed a lot for the team and we wanted to take advantage of the game engine. But I also knew that I didn't want movies to look or feel like video games. This allows me to create a hand-drawn texture throughout the film that reflects my love and passion for art and to feel the artist's fingerprints on the screen. In real life, Anjo loved to make things with his own hands and built furniture for his own house. He was also an avid D&D player and had sculptures of characters.

The final visual approach was to ground the world to something familiar, while giving it a painterly, hand-crafted look that reflected the journey of Ruki and Anjo. All of Anjo's passion is translated on screen as Ruki's passion and there are tons of Easter eggs. Especially when Ruki's condition deteriorated, it made the animation feel like stop motion. As his illness progresses, the animation becomes more fragmented, reflecting his physical deterioration.