Alec Castillo has made his mark on YouTube with such hilarious and far-out cartoons as E.T. & O.J., It’s Helter Skelter, Charlie Manson, and The Passion Of The Grinch. His latest short animation in honor of Earth Day is called The War on Straws.
The War on Straws shows a sea turtle in a meeting with an executive trying to sell a product called “Mapkins” and getting shot down by the executive. The executive is drinking from a plastic straw. We see the turtle walking around at the bottom of the ocean, and then the plastic straw falls. At this point, the turtle has an idea to create paper straws, and to force their popularity, he and a bunch of other turtles fake injuries from plastic straws. At this point, sea turtles become more of a dominant species on Earth, and all is right in the world.
“…he and a bunch of other turtles fake injuries from plastic straws.”
Castillo always finds the absurdity surrounding almost anything and shows it to us through comedy. There is an homage to Wolf of Wall Street, a sea turtle driving an SUV, and at the end of the film, sea turtles now are the dominant species. There’s also the hilarious image of a seal wearing an NRA hat. It’s a perfect send-up of eco-friendly culture and how much of our society is driven by consumerism. During the Wolf of Wall Street speech scene, the turtle says, “let’s chop down every tree in the Amazon and turn it into a f***kin paper straw.” The irony wasn’t lost on me.
You should check out The War on Straws if only to get introduced to Castillo’s short films, which are available on his YouTube channel. He’s incredibly talented and funny, and The War on Straws is another example of that.
"…perfect send-up of eco-friendly culture"
