There’s quite a bit that can be said about this short, animated movie really since from the moment the king pulls out a Gameboy, or whatever it’s being called for this experience, it’s enough to cringe and think that yeah, a lot of us have been in that spot. Everything’s great, everything’s wonderful, at least on the outside, but when your significant other wants to be affectionate or spend time together and all one wants to do is play a video game, well, that’s when stuff starts to hit the fan with some folks since some individuals live with an SO to whom the game is everything. From their appearance to their attitudes these two characters are rather comical since the beautiful and slightly uptight queen and the slightly oafish king with the five o’clock shadow and the obvious video game addiction are stereotypes of what is seen in reality. Watch YouTube or Facebook or even Tik Tok videos and one might see how the inspiration for this short film might have been gained.
To be certain that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching or that it’s in any way offensive, in fact, it’s pretty amusing as the queen leans in to grab a kiss only to see that her king has turned away and has his attention fully aimed at the screen of his game. The reaction is a bit over the top unless one considers that the king might have been ignoring the queen for a much longer time than we get to see. The idea apparently is that the king hasn’t been giving his queen any attention and as a result, she’s become a little cross with the guy, which results in a smack to the face and her decision to leave the castle for another abode. The king is a bit torn for a bit but when it becomes apparent that the queen isn’t going to change her mind, which is apparent by her parting finger gesture as she rides away on her custom motorcycle, the reality hits home and the king feels his heart break, releasing an unknown, shadowy creature that seeks to soothe him after the loss.
Video game addiction is real, but it’s also something that many people don’t fully understand since the need, the compulsion, to sit and stare at a screen for hours on end without taking a break to do more than use the bathroom or get something to eat or drink, is an alien concept to a lot of people. But give credit to the king in this flick, his broken heart leads him to follow after his queen, who keeps running away upon seeing him, no doubt still disgusted by the fact that he picked the game over her, or so it appeared. But as the shadow that came from his heart is spurned after trying to comfort the king, it turns ugly and even troublesome as it creates a much more dangerous path for the king to follow, making it harder for the king to reach his beloved queen. At one point the game that he’s decided to keep becomes useful, first as a light source to help him find his way through the shadows, and then as a weapon to strike the shadow and send it falling back into the darkness so he can reach the light.
Once he’s finally free of the dark the king sees his queen heading into the other castle that was seen from the beginning, and of course, he follows her in. The only downside to this is that he sees her in the multiple arms of another suitor. As the doors close behind the king his yell of rage is easily heard, and as the doors open again, we see the suitor or his bulbous head at least, and the queen staked to the inside of the doors, as the battered and weary king emerges. Obviously, the king didn’t take the rejection or the fact that his queen was now smooching another person well, especially as he was trying to get her back. But as the shadow returns, the king sees the iconic words “Finish Her” on the screen of his game, and proceeds to stomp the shadow into the ground. Yep, things go dark pretty quickly.
The king apparently becomes a despot due to the pain and the result of his actions after being rejected. It’s an odd story, but it does carry a message that can be decoded but depends heavily on the perspective of the person watching. The whole idea of someone leaving over a video game addiction isn’t that far-fetched, and to be fair, neither is the idea of someone being just fickle enough to simply give up on someone rather than help them out. But of course, there are always other perspectives to consider.
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