I've seen a lot of hate and bad reviews for this simple 7 minute film. I think the only way you couldn't like it is if you can't relate, you're not a parent, or maybe you yourself are a problematic parent stuck in your ways so you reject this message. Otherwise, this film will really speak to you if you've experienced intergenerational traumas and/or repressive parenting and want better for the future. My son doesn't often sit and watch a movie but he saw me watching this and was intrigued enough that I started it over and he actually watched it all the way through since it's so short and beautifully animated. He still brings up the raccoons in conversation sometimes. It's exactly the kind of message you and your child should see if you are trying to break your habits caused by a similar upbringing and end the cycle for you and your own children. I want my child to call me out if I slip up and I'm being the mean raccoon. I want him to understand why I am being that way and why I don't want to continue to be like that. I want him to know it's a process and I'm growing as he is so we can both have a happier and healthier life together.
Spoiler summary: a baby raccoon has an aggressive mother with a repressive parenting style trying to keep her from growing and exploring with no understanding of why she is being kept from these things. The baby gets hurt anyways, just like the mother had when she was a child. They don't come together in the end, they're both just sad. That baby grows up and we see her with her own kit who wants to play and explore. She knows it's dangerous for her kit and her first reaction is to also repress them with no explanation and lash out in frustration. She realizes she is doing to her kit what her mother did to her and decides to break the cycle. She brings her up to the top of a tree and shows her kit the dangers that caused her scars. She lets her kit touch her scars and now with this understanding, the child understands why her mother reacted that way and knows there is good reason for her to be careful. So they continue life actually enjoying the wonders and exploring like the kit wanted to, but with necessary caution. Earlier in the film this mother's mother took her conch shell and broke it and the film ends with her and her baby at the top of the tree listening to their own conch shell. It really doesn't get as simple but powerful as this.
Spoiler summary: a baby raccoon has an aggressive mother with a repressive parenting style trying to keep her from growing and exploring with no understanding of why she is being kept from these things. The baby gets hurt anyways, just like the mother had when she was a child. They don't come together in the end, they're both just sad. That baby grows up and we see her with her own kit who wants to play and explore. She knows it's dangerous for her kit and her first reaction is to also repress them with no explanation and lash out in frustration. She realizes she is doing to her kit what her mother did to her and decides to break the cycle. She brings her up to the top of a tree and shows her kit the dangers that caused her scars. She lets her kit touch her scars and now with this understanding, the child understands why her mother reacted that way and knows there is good reason for her to be careful. So they continue life actually enjoying the wonders and exploring like the kit wanted to, but with necessary caution. Earlier in the film this mother's mother took her conch shell and broke it and the film ends with her and her baby at the top of the tree listening to their own conch shell. It really doesn't get as simple but powerful as this.