Ramses Recommends : The monsters of Rodrigo Sousa's "Playground" trailer
This is gonna be the first of a new bred of post around here called Ramses Recommends, where I give a brief, spoiler free argument on why a piece of media deserves more attention before doing a deep dive into a particularly notable aspect of it for those who are cool with spoilers.
Our first subject is a proof of concept video on you tube titled "Playground I trailer", meant as a way for the short's France based creator to pitch the setting for a potential series or film and possibly a video game in the future, which, I'm happy to say, has worked.
Sousa's been contacted by a group willing to produce an animated.... something in the Playground world. The full project is still in early stages, but Rodrigo has confirmed he'll show more as soon as he can.
Spoiler-free Synopsis: We get several peeks into the struggle of kids in a monster filled ecosystem in a massive, liminal, jungle-gym like structure.
If what you've read so far peaks your interest, check the short here. And going further, the behind the scenes can be found here.
SPOLIER SEGMENT AHEAD
Now, for those who came back, or just decided to read on, let's get into the real meat and taters of this thing, the monsters populating this world.
I'll give my 2 cents on each design and give them a name, for convenience in discussion, if for nothing else.
Scuttleface
Off to a fairly typical start, two siblings (who we follow for most of the short) are hiding in a large dragon(?) statue and as one looks out the mouth/balcony, this critter comes by and open his main peepers.
Not much to say about this thing, among the more tame designs.
Stoplight Man
As the thumbnail, this guy is somewhat of the de facto mascot of Playground.
Stalking a tunnel maze, this ghoul spins his face in his skull to reveal a glowing grinning grimace. Any kid caught in the light best not move until the face spins again. Otherwise...
...Yeah
Blanket Eel
The kids hide under a "sea floor" of blankets while this blushing fish listlessly glides over them.
Nothing special, but I like it's little nose and scraggy hair, they add some character.
Pool Noodle
What else was I supposed to call this guy?
The same siblings who seemingly escaped the eel are now on a freaky duck floaty boat and starring down this lovely fellow.
Noodle doesn't actually move, but his intestine like namesakes slink through the waters of his tiled domain.
Also, his face vaguely looks like a dick tip and I can't tell if that's a "peeing in the pool" joke.
The Ballpit Babies
This sole shot is all we get of these eggs, but they're clustering together evokes a ballpit and reminds me of Muncher Marathon from DKCR, which is a good thing for any horror media.
Night Lights
The siblings get a moment's rest as they watch this precession of cutesy crittters.
My absolute favorite is the little shrink-wrapped lizard. Does it grow in water, I wonder?
Blanky Banshee
This madam wanders an extra decrepit party place. The glow in the dark stickers littering the place fitting her eye motif.
Weirdly, her abdomen seems to be made of exposed guts and her nose resembles the Blanket Eel. I can't help but ponder the possible connection.
And a brief moment of silence for the kid who shined a flashlight on this thing.
Big Bad Baby-Bat-Barfing Bug-Bat Beast
The least uncanny/liminal monster, not that that's much comfort.
The siblings barrel towards this thing in a fish shaped minecart, as the older kid bats bats out of the air with a mallet.
This particular domain seems to be the most foreign to the rest, meaning that I'm really excited to see more of it in the full Plaground.
Jim Jungle and his Shape Pals
This isn't actually how we meet Jim, but I love his spidery behavior matches his monkey bar abode.
When we see him chase the siblings, he unleashes the three shapes on his stomach as smaller arachnophobia generators to catch them.
I'd say he ties with Stoplight Man for iconographic value.
Cuddly
Still brandishing the mallet, the older sibling jumps off a trampoline towards this creepily baby like kraken.
And we get this:
RIP
The Monster Under The Bed
We don't see anymore of this little doofus than this shot, but it feels oddly... Friendly.
It doesn't feel righ to imagine this guy to be one of the boogimen here, despite his complexion.
And lastly,
Uncle Krampus
Even though his lore probably doesn't exist yet, I NEED IT!
Despite being dragged away by him, the younger sibling doesn't seem be wiling to put up much of a fight. Is he just a strict but still benevolent presence, one that keeps kids save here?
His fanny pack, bells and realistic, relatively unassuming pitchfork create the impression of a knowledgeable guide through this strange place.
Definitely the monster I want to see more of the most.
So there you have it, the first Ramses Recommends. I hope you loved it and loved it's subject, until next time, play safe ;)
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