DISCLAIMER: This article includes spoilers for the short film, GRUFF (2024).
GRUFF is a short film made through paper art and entirely by hand over the course of three years. The creator, Julian Curi, a YouTuber called Righteous Robot, posts about the creation of the film, including the drawing and machinery of the film. It came out on March 1st, 2024, and had 18,000 views within one minute. The film was streamed to the public through YouTube, because, as Righteous Robot stated, he did not want the film to be owned by anyone else, as the story is very personal to him. The film is in memory of Tomas Curi, Julian’s father, and Julian wrote, “It’s how I’ve processed my dad’s passing, and learned how to love people who don’t love exactly like me.” GRUFF is an excellent example of hard work and creativity working together to make something beautiful, and hopefully, we will see more from its creator in the future.
The movie gets its name from the show that the short starts with, called “GRUFF,” an old-timey, western cowboy show (also made with paper and magnets like the rest of the film). After showing some of the show, the camera pans away from the TV screen and out to Abuelo watching it. The basic plot is centered around a super spy, Hazel, who is very famous and successful in an attempt to impress her father, Abuelo. According to IMDb, after his death, Hazel learns that some people express love differently, like Abuelo. A quote from the movie: “Some things don’t have words. So we have to be close enough to feel them.” This clearly explains the theme of the short film. I deeply recommend watching this film, and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p4s4k3eB_I.