In-Between by Gobelins School: Crocodile shyness

A young woman is being followed by a crocodile, who represents her shyness. As he makes her life a living hell, she tries by every means to get rid of him.

High-paced rhythmic drama In-Between, created by the Parisian GOBELINS studio in 2012, poses a wide misunderstanding between shyness and introversion. The film visualizes in the form of a crocodile pet the social awkwardness of the main heroine. Following her visit to a psychologist, she now navigates her everyday life with a visualized obstacle. Trying to get rid of it won’t work, as one can't escape oneself. Only by accepting and undergoing an internal, peaceful reconciliation is she finally ready for social life, this time not without obstacles, but truly with herself.

The hand-drawn animation instantly catches the attention as all four main characters each have their unique style and soul. The heroine’s world and her crocodile are opposites, even in color palette — yellow and blue, respectively. And the animators use this difference thoughtfully to expose the irritation and surreal dissonance the heroine feels in the crocodile’s presence. As well as careful and powerful use of shadows to show the inability to embrace her true self in the beginning. Only to let the crocodile emerge from the shadows at the end of the film to lie sunbathing on the couch, thereby highlighting the main theme – acceptance.

The fast-paced rhythm of the story is a result of precise time management — crucial in short-form productions. The film begins with a series of scenes that transition into one another to convey confusion and fear, accompanied by energetic jazz improvisation, which makes the first part as confusing as the animators intended it to be. In the second part, we see a single continuous scene, the pace slows, the heroine tries to analyze the situation, and at the apex of suspense, we see her scared - now scared that she lost the crocodile. The film carefully shows us this part and, by slowing down, allows viewers to fully grasp the character’s transformation.

Watch In-Between

You can also view the behind-the-scenes footage captured during the film's production. Well-known techniques, such as reference acting – where animators themselves interpret the scene before coming up with the animation – are used. The whole process of hand drawing and scanning, as well as sound design, requires all the same steps as a feature film production.

This film is a great example of the limitless possibilities of animated shorts. In such a brief runtime, it uses every available filmmaking technique to move the story forward — and in doing so, it moves us too.
Created by Alice Bissonnet, Aloyse Desoubries Binet, Sandrine Han Jin Kuang, Juliette Laurent and Sophie Markatatos.

Article was updated on 24/7/2025, including the current film review

contributed by: Viktor Smolkin

Visit http://inbetweenlefilm.blogspot.com

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