Animated Short Takes Flight
For National Adoption Awareness Month, the creators of Adoptionly Yours greeting cards teamed up with the family-matching nonprofit Adoption-Share to create the animated short, “Flight of the Heart.” Shining light on a movement to remove barriers between parents waiting to adopt and children in foster care waiting to be adopted, this heart-to-heart story is one of hope, belief and beautiful connection.
Adoption-Share wanted to flip the narrative, making it clear that the families wishing to adopt far outnumber the children in foster care waiting to be adopted, and the need is for connection. Especially now, with more children lingering or aging out due to the pandemic. Adoption-Share's Flight of the Heart Campaign is all about mobilizing adopting parents, policymakers and stakeholders to bring children and families together, faster.
When Thea, the founder of Adoption-Share came to us with the concept of creating an animated short about connecting waiting parents and children, our imaginations took flight. A storyboard took shape. One of our Adoptionly Yours waiting cards became a paper airplane, the art from other adoption cards became the landscape of the adoption journey.
Jenna Wilusz, about to graduate from Savannah College of Art and Design, animated the traveling paper airplane through land and sky, over a twinkling star and diving dolphin. Katherine Sprung lent her voice talent and iMint Media provided post production.
Hollywood director, screenwriter and producer Sean Anders (Instant Family, Daddy's Home, Daddy's Home 2) and his wife Beth, who traveled the adoption journey toward becoming parents, created a special Flight of the Heart Narration.
The vision and voices, artists, animators and storytellers came together to help hopeful parents sending their hearts into the world connect with children waiting to come home.
