BRIDGE -My Little Friends directed by Kazuyuki Ishihara

"BRIDGE -My Little Friends-" is a heartwarming animated short film about Jin, a cat who gains the ability to speak human language after eating a mysterious food called Chat Food. The story follows his determined efforts to comfort Mugi, a young girl grieving the loss of her beloved dog.

The film was developed under Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs’ “Anime no Tane” Young Animator Training Project, an initiative that supports emerging creators. Although the project received national funding, StudioGOONEYS invested more than half of the total production cost independently to ensure high quality and creative freedom.

The team chose this theme because, while animals are loved and kept as pets all over the world, many are also abandoned every day. The creators wanted to portray the emotional bond between humans and animals, capturing both the pain of loss and the quiet kindness that connects them.

Produced by a team with an average age of just 23, and marking the director’s debut, the film represents both technical innovation and emotional maturity. While it may appear at first glance to be hand-drawn anime, it is entirely created with 3DCG — faithfully recreating the warmth and expressiveness of traditional Japanese 2D animation through digital craftsmanship