Meet the Imaginary Friend Society

In the fast-paced world of advertising, it can be easy to lose sight of what matters most, like telling meaningful stories. We have a very powerful medium and skillset that, when not being used to sell a product or promote a brand, can do a lot of good in the world.

Enter the Imaginary Friend Society. Put together by the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, the Imaginary Friend Society is a collection of films that attempt to bring some comfort and joy to a very serious situation, a cancer diagnosis.
As the Imaginary Friend Society states on their site:

“A cancer diagnosis is scary for anyone, but for a child, it can be even scarier. They’re bombarded with terminology and procedures that are intimidating and unfamiliar. Things like radiation, hair loss, blood transfusions, chemotherapy, and surgery. Just to name a few.

That’s where the Imaginary Friend Society comes in. A cast of characters inspired by the imaginations of kids themselves. Through a series of 20 animated short films, our imaginary friends explain a wide range of complicated cancer topics in a way that kids can understand. Because the more they understand about their treatment, the less scary it will be.”

Partnering with many of the top studios in our industry, the results are truly amazing and should be an inspiration to anyone working in or out of our field.

Please take a moment or two to scroll through these powerful films below and consider donating here.

Let’s all hope we see more efforts like this in the future!

WELCOME TO THE I.F.S.

Animation: Gentleman Scholar
Music: Jeremy Turner
Sound Design: Owen O’Neil

FINDING OUT YOU HAVE CANCER

Animation: Giant Ant
Music: Antfood
Sound Design: Antfood
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

FEELING SAD

Animation: Hornet
Music: Ambrose Yu
Sound Design: Ambrose Yu
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

WHAT IS CANCER?

Animation: Pigeon
Music: Black Iris
Sound Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

WHAT IS AN M.R.I.?

Animation: Roof Studio
Music: Butter
Sound Design: Butter
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS

Animation: Lobo
Music: Anvil Fx
Sound Design: Anvil Fx
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

RADIATION

Animation: Trunk
Music: Daniel Pemberton
Sound Design: Fonic
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

CHEMOTHERAPY

Animation: Star Beast
Music: Mike Newport
Sound Design: Radiate Sound
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

LOSING YOUR HAIR

Animation: The Mill
Music: Fidget NYC
Sound Design: Fidget NYC
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

WHY AM I TIRED ALL THE TIME?

Animation: Airplan
Music: Squeak E Clean
Sound Design: Squeak E Clean
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

WHO WILL BE TAKING CARE OF ME?

Animation: Flux
Music: Digicake
Sound Design: Digicake
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

FEELING ANGRY

Animation: Not to Scale
Sound Design: Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

HOW TO HANDLE SHOTS

Animation: MPC
Music: Store Front Music
Sound Design: Store Front Music
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

SURGERY

Animation: MPC
Music: Mophonics
Sound Design: Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

HELP FOR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Animation: Psyop
Music: The Teenage Diplomat
Sound Design: Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

LONG HOSPITAL STAY

Animation: Titmouse
Music: Travis + Maude
Sound Design: Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

BEING BY YOURSELF

Animation: Renegade Animation
Music: Butter
Sound Design: Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

BEING SCARED

Animation: Laundry
Music: Butter
Sound Design: Lime
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

RETURNING TO SCHOOL

Animation: Strange Beast
Music: Handy Martian
Sound Design: Handy Martian
Title Sequence: Elastic
Title Sequence Music: Jeremy Turner

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About the author

Joe Donaldson

/ www.joedonaldson.tv
Joe Donaldson is a director, designer, and animator who worked on Motionograpgher from 2014-2020. Previously, he was an art director at Buck. Over the past decade, he's lived and worked in Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles and has directed work for clients such as Apple, Google, Instagram, The New York Times, Unicef, Etsy, and The New Yorker. In addition to his creative work, in 2018 he started Holdframe. He's now working as a professor at Ringling College of Art and Design and when not teaching he can be found spending time with his family or out running.

4 Comments

Evan

This is so great! Fantastic work all around and such a great concept/cause.

Tq Wright

Great post. I only saw a couple of these before. Cool to see them all in one. Meaningful Inspiration feels nice.

Luca Struchen

This is really beautiful and inspiring. moving and strong on every level.

Supernaut

Absolutely lovely! What a great idea

Comments are closed.