Update, 12/2/17:
Lucas the Spider, a.k.a. the cutest animated spider you’ll ever see, is back. In a new short from Joshua Slice, Lucas is stuck outside on a frigid night. He looks in the window of a warm house and admires the fireplace, pointing out how he could warm all eight of his legs if he was allowed in. We’re now considering opening our homes to let all the chilly spiders indoors–especially if they look like Lucas.
Original post:
Lucas the Spider may be little more than a mere animation test, and yet he’s winning the hearts of the whole internet already—to the point that he probably needs his own series, a three-picture guarantee at Pixar, and a book deal.
Not exactly a full short film, the fuzzy, too-many-eyed arachnid is the creation of Joshua Slice, a professional animator who’s worked on Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and other cartoon features.
In the 20-second video, Lucas (voiced by Slice’s nephew Lucas) greets us, introduces himself, and jumps off to his web.
Pushes all the right buttons, doesn’t it? Giant eyes, cute kid voice, quirky movements, and pristine animation to boot!
It’s usually pretty ridiculous to demand a feature-length story based on 20 seconds of adorable animation, but Lucas is the kind of character that could go the distance. Obviously he would need the right story behind him, but, on a design level, Lucas the Spider is truly fantastic.
He’s also the kind of character who would have fit in perfectly in the Zootopia universe, although maybe he would have been too small to see among the rabbits and foxes and sloths. Maybe it’s time for a sequel with a precocious little spider who wins over the heart of the community. Or robs banks? Either way, we’re in.
Now how do we launch a campaign to get a studio to give Lucas the Spider everything he deserves? Let us know in the comments.
And Since We’re Talkin’ Spiders…
- Here’s a spider whose butt looks like Pikachu (really).
- This spider is Peter Parker-levels of insane.
- And finally, a time-lapse of a spider building its web.
Images: Joshua Slice
