Why You Need To Watch the Oscar-Winning Animated Short "Hair Love"!

If you haven’t seen "Hair Love" yet, I honestly don’t know what you’re waiting for!

The short film –  which you can watch below -- just won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, and we are super excited! This cute picture follows the story of a dad trying to do his daughter’s hair, and yet it’s so much more than that.

Just to make sure that you’re giving it a chance, here are some reasons to check it out.

First, we need to talk about the plot. Even though it might sound silly or superficial, the truth is that it reflects a heart-warming relationship between a father trying his best and his daughter. You become easily involved with the main characters as you see them struggle and getting frustrated with each other.

However, when they finally manage to work things up before a very special event, you can feel your heart literally melting!

Also, it’s great to see representation both behind and in front of the screen: “We have a firm believe that representation matters deeply, especially in cartoons, because in cartoons that’s where we first see our movies and it’s how we shape our lives and think about how we see the world.” Producer Karen Rupert Toliver’s speech after Hair Love’s victory beautifully explained what moved them to choose animation, and we totally agree with every word she said!

As the director and writer Matthew A. Cherry puts it, “This story was born out of seeing a lack of representation in mainstream animated projects, and also wanting to promote hair love amongst young men and women of color. It is our hope that this project will inspire”.

But "Hair Love" has had a long journey since Matthew first tried to produce it.

He was inspired by YouTube videos of parents trying to do their child’s hair for the concept, which I find lovely! The project began as a kickstarter, which you can still see here. But in an unexpected turn of events, it got its own picture book and made it to the New York Times Best Sellers List! 

After that, Sony decided to back it. And now, only 2 months after the release, it has been awarded with the Animated Short Film Oscar.

What do we think of it? Well, it’s definitely a very adorable short film that totally deserves the recognition and praise that’s its receiving. It also sends a message of hope to young creators who want to tell more inclusive, positive, and deep stories – everyone can have a voice!

If you haven’t yet, check out "Hair Love" below to see it for yourself!