Takeshi Murata And Christopher Rutledge’s ‘Larry’ Lets The Dogs Out (To Play Basketball) [Video]

Takeshi Murata and Christopher Rutledge’s trippy and metaphysical work, Larry, about a basketball-playing dog is a must-see.

Combining five mini shorts and accompanied by a snappy soundtrack from Black Dice and DJ Taco Fiesta, Larry celebrates a basketball-obsessed dog who melts, re-forms,dances, stumbles, splits, and transforms into various creatures — all while executing exaggerated basketball moves.

Technical mindfuckery aside (the film was made with SideFX’s Houdini), Larry is also a spot-on take on the fleeting nature of the present while reminding us that identity is not stagnant, but a constantly evolving and fluid entity. Larry is everything you want and rarely get in animation: an absurd, hilarious, philosophical work that ignores all manner of reality and physics.

Rutledge is a cg artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His previous works include Caution (co-directed with Cole Kush, 2022), The Loaf Zone (2018), and Cosmophones (co-directed with Dan Streit, 2022).

Murata, a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), is a contemporary artist who exhibits …