Shorts for Cats > Little Wings

Written and directed by Morgan Rhodes, "Little Wings" is a tale about a young boy named Thomas (Joseph Castanon) living with his mother (Kelly Ann Ford) and abusive father (Robert Gantzos) in a small farmhouse. His mother tells him the Legend of the Butterfly - that a wish whispered to a butterfly is carried straight to god and granted. When Thomas frees a butterfly and whispers to it his wish for help and a mysterious stranger (Ron Canada) arrives who tells him how he can "escape to Joy".

The direction is very good and some of the photography is beautiful. All of the acting is of a high calibre, particularly the performance of Gantzos as the abusive father who only makes a brief appearance but exudes a believable menace without being over the top. Unfortunately, the story is somewhat smaltzy with a slightly unpleasant after tone. Escaping the abuse seems to be equated with disappearing into your imagination and ultimately in not waking up again.