Alma short film

Written and Directed by: Rodrigo Blaas
Produced by: Cecile Hokes
Music: Mastretta
Art Director: Alfonso Blaas
Lighting Supervisor: Jonatan Catalán
Character Technical Supervisor: Jaime Maestro
Character Design: Bolhem Bouchiba, Carlos Grangel,
Sergio Pablos, Santi Agustí
Animation: Daniel Peixe, ManueBover, Remi Hueso
Sound Design: Tom Myers and David Hughes
Post Production Coordinator: David Heras
Special Thanks: Keytoon, Next Limit, UserT38

[violettbellerose]

The worst part is that, after having to deal with the fact that you will never see your parents or loved ones again, and that they will probably never know what happened to you, you also have to watch the next kid fall into the same trap as you did, and then the next one, and so on.

[aeh]

The fact that there are dolls wearing multiple cutural and period clothing makes it even creepier. This shop must be going around the world for centuries.

[cotton]

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY SHOWED ME THIS IN KINDERGARTEN

[OrangeSlices]

I don't know if anyone is still reading comments here, but I noticed a cool detail. When the doll first appears, it has two gloves. But after Alma pulls off one of her gloves to touch the doll, it only has one. Really nice touch!

[yunjihan]

*when you see a doll that looks just like you, you should probably run away*

[leonardosomma]

STILL HAVEN'T FORGIVEN THE TEACHERS FIR SHOWING US THIS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL!

[archalys]

4:07
The blonde doll narrows her eyes shortly after looking at Alma, maybe with sympathy, disappointment or sadness, or a mix of those. Could be some sort of weariness too

[laylover]

The desperation of the kid on the bike trying to escape is haunting as fuck.

[philliprathbun]

that girl is trapped inside a doll for eternity let's play happy music at the end

[Timmytheman]

It’s a pretty amazing feat to create one of the most terrifying films without any jump scares or something to send big goosebumps down your spine. This is a fate worse than death. The new doll displayed at the end showing a replica of the next victim is the icing on the cake.

[plcthelegacy]

I think what generally creeped me out was that one doll behind Alma at 4:08 who just looked completely apathetic and desensitize. Like, "Oh, another one? Oh well..."

[chccolate]

There are some really creepy things in this animation, and I'm going to explain why.

0:37 wanted posters of children on the wall that probably went missing because of the doll shop. It says "peligro" which means "danger" in spanish.
0:41 the window of the shop looks like a giant monster's mouth.
0:51 the names on the chalkboard are the children who wrote their names down and got sucked into their clone doll, just like what happened to alma in this short film
3:04 the doll on the bike was trying to escape the shop, trying to warn the girl to run.
3:12 the table looks like the planchette (the small piece) of an ouija board, which is triangular shaped.
4:18 the other dolls with their eyes moving are the children who wrote their names on the chalkboard and got their souls sucked into a doll.

Edit: At 3:36 the kid was trying to reach the doll. The doll on the bike that tried to escape and warn alma to run is banging on the door at a much faster pace. It's hitting the door harder which creates the suspense for what's going to happen next.

4:51 i don't know if anyone else has noticed this and idk if i'm right but alma's name on the chalkboard stands out a lot. compared to the other names, alma's name is quite large and it's in the center. the meaning of the name is a bit of a hint too..
some of the names written there are less visible and look like they are vanishing or something. perhaps they have been there for a long time? which is why they are slowly disappearing.

(According to one of the replies) 3:09 The table has butterfly details. Butterflies often represent death (a butterfly leaving the cocoon is like the soul leaving the body). The floor is also a spiral, showing how she’s been sucked into the trap (and how she will end up in the doll).



alma means "soul" in spanish which represents their souls being put into the creepy dolls. Moral of the story is, don't go into a strange empty shop.

[Jolly_juice]

4:10 doll in green dress: “you just had to touch it, didn’t ya?”

[Atomic]

I was so traumatised and haunted by this short film when I was younger. I think I just had a fear of being unable to speak and being trapped. Truly one of the most scary animations for me when I was young.

[cmtqpfn]

i just randomly remmembered this work of art existed

[floydkelley]

What a wonderfully creepy story. All of you who are saying that you saw it in school, what a terrific teacher you must have!

[NathanAu]

well alma in spanish means soul...so your soul gets transfered into a doll

[hkjtgdkjhgtrkjhjktgjrjkjfd]

At the beginning, a wanted poster of somebody with a wide grin is shown. As alma approaches the door, a doll with a wide grin is shown - they could have been the earliest victim and now, the shop-keeper who welcomes the children in OR her only sense (sight/vision) is left. Just before grasping that doll, she must've had a huge smile, thinking about how the doll looked exactly like her and nobody was there to stop her. When people enter the shop, if the dolls had all their senses then they could easily warn the child and draw them away. Maybe she's grinning as she's been there for so long that she's became unresponsive/sadistic to any other children being captured. I'm lead to believe that she's been there for so long as her outfit looks vintage!

[unspoken]

I remember watching this wayyy back in year 5, absolutely traumatised

[peterfrank]

Poor Alma would then see through that window, her parents, in distraught, placing posters of her on the wall of names; shouting her name in the brink of a tearful breakdown.