'The Moon's Milk', A Stop-Motion Animated Short About the Final Time the Moon Could Be Reached by Ladder

In mid-2018, filmmaker Ri Crawford more than successfully funded his idea for “The Moon’s Milk” a stop-motion animated short taking place at a time when a sailor could reach the moon by ladder to gather the sweet milk within its craters. Crawford had been working on this idea since 2013 and it finally came to fruition with the help of a number of people, including (but not limited to) Caroline Penwarden who wrote the film’s score, the legendary Richard Beggs who provided sound design and performer Tom Waits who called Crawford up one day and offered to be the film’s narrator.

A completely handmade stop motion animated short about a time when the moon was close enough to reach by ladder.

The film tells the tale of a Captain Millipede and a crew of characters who are setting off one last time to gather milk from the moon as it was moving far beyond Earth’s reach. Among those aboard are his daughter, a musician named Noemi who is in love with Clyde, a deaf man with a talent for the moon and Otto Flores, an overconfident newcomer who flirts with Noemi. As they work, the moon starts shifting away. When Noemi sets off after her love who may be left behind, she finds herself and her accordion stranded upon the moon.

The action takes place between the gravities of two heavenly bodies, which further complicates the attraction between the characters. Longing, missed signals, and mishaps lead to the enchantment of the heavens with music.

Crawford shared a behind-the-scenes timelapse showing how the stop-motion animation was created.