Lunch Break Lunch Break

If you’re on your phone enjoying your midday meal, we recommend checking out Bram Van Rompaey’s Lunch Break, produced by Belgian studio Rabbit Hole.

Clocking in at just 90 seconds, the film takes full advantage of the time it’s given to deliver a charming character-driven story without the use of dialogue.

The short turns on Joe, an overweight, middle-aged crane operator for whom the highlight of each day is when the lunch alarm sounds. After meticulously unpacking his high-protein snack, Joe loses it when the key to his can of beans breaks off, leaving him with nothing to eat. Angry and hungry, we called it hangry when I was waiting tables in college, Joe gets increasingly frustrated with his situation, leading to catastrophic consequences.

The film’s cg animation is deftly done, and its gross-out aesthetic is a lot of fun. Small details like the shape of Joe’s head, his three-fingered hands, and the splotchy, veiny eyelids that take up half of his face all serve to create a playful atmosphere that aids the slapstick humor.

Lunch Break was produced by Rabbit Hole in Antwerp, Belgium, with support from Rebusfarm rendering service.

Story, design, modeling, texturing, rendering, compositing, and edit: Bram Van Rompaey

Story, animatic, animation, edit, and sound: Reinout Swinnen

Rigging: Kippcase

Production: Rabbit Hole

Location:

Jamie Lang

Jamie Lang is the Editor-in-Chief of Cartoon Brew.

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