"Because it's so simple: a list of things a man named Ray hopes to do after he quits working. The animation is just as straightforward as the premise, the figures closer to Martin Handford's Waldo-of "Where's Waldo?" fame-than to anything Pixar's turned out. The character's eyes are dots, or light reflecting off glasses, and the script is mostly presented in a voice-over by the actor Domhnall Gleeson. And the movie is short-just under seven minutes."
"I bought a second apartment in my Upper East Side co-op, meaning I now have two outrageous maintenance fees to pay, meaning I can never, ever stop working. Like Ray in the movie, I had such big plans. First on my list was mastering German. Now I'll have to settle with what I already know. This includes the phrase "I am old and have many ghosts," which, honestly, might be all I'll need at age ninety-two."
An animated short centers on a man named Ray who lists activities he hopes to do in retirement rather than achievements. The animation is deliberately simple, with figures evoking Martin Handford's Waldo and eyes shown as dots or reflected light. The script is delivered largely in a Domhnall Gleeson voice-over. The soundtrack features spare piano chords and a mournful song by John Carroll Kirby. The film runs under seven minutes and narrates Ray's life through things he never did—writing poetry, meditating, microdosing, hiking—while visually aging the character with few, graceful lines. The tone blends charm, humor, and quiet melancholy.
Read at The New Yorker
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