Journey of the Waterbear

A short film about a small tardigrade on a big journey.

Join our little tardigrade hero as he faces the dangers of deep oceans, arctic tundras, scorching deserts, and even outer space…

Tardigrades, colloquially known as “water bears”, are eight-legged micro-animals that can withstand nearly any environment. They are one of the most fascinating creatures on our planet… so we´re making a movie about them!

Inspired by musician Cosmo Sheldrake’s “Tardigrade Song”, we decided to make an animated short film showcasing a lovable little water bear and the world as he sees it. From the smallest microscapes to the vast expanse of space, we follow the water bear’s journey through dangers and wonders.

“The Journey of the Water Bear” is a short film about the microscopic creatures called “Tardigrades”, also known as “Water Bears”. It was inspired by a song from the British musician Cosmo Sheldrake. The film began as a casual side project by Samuel Enslin in 2016, but became a full-fledged project once it was hosted on Artella in early 2017. Now, the project has a team of about 15 artists that collaborate from all over the world to create a beautiful and stunning film showcasing the little tardigrade hero.

It’s a simple, optimistic message, and the Tardigrade itself is, apart from looking terribly cute, an amazing creature. It thrives deep in the ocean under tons of pressure; it surives up to 150 years without hydration; it withstands more radiation than any other creature on earth; and, unlike any other creature we know of, it is able to survive within the vacuum and chilling temperatures of space.

This film is not only going to cover vastly different environments like the deep sea, the arctic, space, and nuclear wasteland, but it will also go from microscopic levels to epic landscape shots. We hope to show the world through the tardigrade’s eyes, exploring microscapes and macroscapes and all of its dangers as a tardigrade might encounter.

If you wanna learn more about these amazing creatures, check them out on Wikipedia!