THE WILD BUNCH FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Yesteryear heads into the world of tomorrow with the nifty AI-animated Western short Where Thunder Walks, written and directed by Terry Jacob & Scott Cole. Set in the Sierra Nevada mountains sometime in the 1800s, an acorn falls off a tree into a stream. It floats by a prospector, panning for gold with his mule. It floats past a hungry bear, falls down a waterfall, and ends up in the basket of a native who was fishing in the river. He brings the acorn back to his village to store with the other gathered nuts. But then a hawk scoops it up into the air, dropping the acorn high in the sky. The acorn lands by the hoofs of the horses belonging to a cavalry troop, who uses a spyglass on the native village, with thunder cracking in the darkness above.
A weathered hand drops an eyeball into a leather pouch full of them in Where Thunder Walks.
“He brings the acorn back to his village to store with the other gathered nuts.”
Anytime I get really negative on using AI as a filmmaking tool, I see another AI production that completely proves me wrong. Jacob and Cole have put together a gorgeous-looking digital playground to romp around in with Where Thunder Walks. Advertised as a teaser for a larger project down the road, the filmmakers show just how far they have honed the AI craft. Believe me, I was counting fingers to make sure they got it right. The visuals are stunning, with lots of detail as crisp as a cider apple. I suddenly got very excited over how AI might be able to bring the Old West back to life, as well as how quickly the decent visual storytelling drew you in emotionally to the pending conflict. It also gets very, very funny at the end, as Jacob adds a series of bloopers where the AI didn’t get it quite right.
Where Thunder Walks is actually three shorts in one. The first one, following the acorn, could stand up on its own easily, reminiscent of that cute table lamp Pixar started off with. The next short is the teaser cuts from the action of a potentially full-length version. These are quite exciting and, once again, could be presented on their own. But then we get to the toy at the bottom of the cereal box: the blooper reel. This is an entirely different, more surreal take on the project, that is also hilarious. This is partially due to the great voice work by Deborah Watson, who does the rowdy squirrel, who is a giggle maker, as well as an offscreen director who keeps desperately calling cut. There is also a flying acorn that reminded me of the Allman Brothers Band’s flying peach. Put all three together, and you get a short that is greater than the sum of its parts. Where Thunder Walks is rich in both material and possibilities. Let’s hope the AI bubble doesn’t burst before the feature is completed.
Where Thunder Walks screened at the 2026 The Wild Bunch Film Festival.
"…rich in both material and possibilities."
