TW: Themes of Suicide, Violence
In a rather original premise, Rhys Boughton keeps the Adult Animation dream alive with Cat Carnated, which, in a fresh and brilliant turn of events for this series, is actually YouTube-native, and you can watch the censored version now.
Something is refreshing and genuinely hilarious, in a physics-lite world, about watching a Cat embrace the nihilism of the beyond. After a mirage of dumb ways to die, we make it to the underworld, and what happens next for Atsuko is...beautiful.
In there is a hopeful metaphor about presentness, and how to find ways of looking at the world you're surrounded by with a little more kindness and awe. Sometimes, we're doing a lot, and the answer is to give life one more chance to surprise us.
I adored this short – I've been following Rhys for a while, and find what he's doing online really exciting. In an era of filmmakers being YouTube-native and telling their stories directly, Boughton is taking wild risks against censorship and algorithmic shadowbanning by exhibiting his work on the platform, but I'm really glad he's doing so.
The film also reached me at exactly the right time, when I also feel like my hopelessness is directly tied to my blinkered determination. I'm going to look at the sun and the water a little more.
'Cat Carnated' won Best Animation at London Film Club, 27th May 2026.