The 7th Night: MaoMao Revisits

“It’s a wonderful story full of heart and a classic animation style with a distinct identity.”

A story about a little boy waiting for the return of his lost beloved cat.

The 7th Night: MaoMao Revisits is the first short film from veteran animator ahLoong and what a debut it is. The story is full of sentiment and explores the connection between a child and their pet, making for some touching moments that audiences will just love. It’s a bold and inspiring story that delicately ties in the concept souls returning on the 7th day after their death to see their loved ones. This topic certainly evokes plenty of ideas and animation may not be the obvious way to tackle it, but in this case it’s the clear choice.

The animation itself is wonderful and has a traditional hand drawn look to it that’s textured with a water colour style rich with depth and detail. It’s refreshing to see this style of animation which isn’t often used as much with modern films. ahLoong and the team really understand the medium and how best to visualise the story, everything about it works and works exceedingly well! The backgrounds and world building are incredibly accurate and the characters burst with life, it’s a winning combo.

The concept itself is one that would require a lot of thought as it’s a challenging story to convey on screen in a short run time. But the strong visuals and attention to detail allow the viewer to fully accept the characters and connect with them seamlessly. Certainly when it comes to MaoMao who really steals the show in each scene.

The score from Wong Chin Hsien & Ken Hor is delicate and uplifting, creating a theme that’s in keeping with the child like wonder of the world and playfulness. But the team also manage to make the ending really hit home and count so as to create the biggest impact on the viewer. It’s a film that will leave a strong impression on you and be hard to forget.

Simply put, this film is outstanding. It’s a wonderful story full of heart and a classic animation style with a distinct identity. We’re proud to give this a solid 5/5 stars…

— APEX Film Awards