Coin Operated: A Heartwarming Animated Short About Dreams, Life and Going to the Moon

Always allow your dreams to last you your lifetime.  I guess that’s the message behind this very sweet animated short, written and directed by Nicholas Arioli.  A young boy wants to be an astronaut, as makes sure that he wears his space helmet wherever he goes, just in case he gets the chance to reach his destination – the moon.  Then one day he comes across a coin operated ride which is – of course – a rocket ship.  At five cents a go, it’s a must – so his mum leaves him to it while she goes inside the store to do her shopping.  The ride isn’t quite what he expected – but he figures that is five cents gets him a few bumpy seconds, what would a whole heap of five cents pieces get him?

There are a lot of theories on the YouTube comments below this animated short debating what the story is really about.  The ambiguous ending and the symbolic storytelling have assured that.  Does the old man die at the end? What happened to him mother? And why did he spend his own life selling lemonade?  There are countless interpretations – and I for one like to see this animated short as something of a meditation on the pursuit of dreams – and that even if they take a lifetime to achieve, they are still there for the getting.  Have a watch and see what you think!