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In Praise of ‘Wade’: The Brutal Animated Climate Change Horror Short

Climate change, tigers, and the apocalypse, oh my!
Wade Short Film
Ghost Animation
By  · Published on May 20th, 2022

Welcome to The Queue — your daily distraction of curated video content sourced from across the web. Today, we’re watching a short film about climate change, tigers, and the end of the world.


Wade” takes place long in a post-apocalypse we are almost certainly hurtling towards: a climate crisis that has caused the waters to rise and drastically alter the landscape of human settlements.

The Hooghly river cuts from the sea straight through the city of Kolkata, the capital of the West Bengal state. In “Wade,” the river has risen and transformed the city into a wetland; swirling with urban detritus and inviting all manner of animals to reclaim the city as their own. Mudkips slink across the bloated concrete. Dragonflies soar and dip along their newfound marshland. And roving gangs of hungry tigers stalk the soggy streets looking to pick off what remains of the human population.

Much like polar bears, tigers are exceptionally strong swimmers. Armed with webbed paws that allow them to traverse 20-mile-long rivers with ease. In the world of “Wade,” we follow a group of human survivors through the flooded wasteland. Sure enough, the group are ambushed by a gang of tigers, and carnage ensues … with an unexpected sprinkling of magical realism.

Brimming with kinetic animation, atmospheric storytelling, and top-notch sound design, “Wade” garnered a slew of awards when it hit the festival circuit in 2020. These include the Satoshi Kon Award at Fantasia and the audience award at the Brooklyn International Film Festival.

Be warned that “Wade” is NSFW and features violent and disturbing imagery. Proceed with caution.

Watch “Wade” | Indian Animated Short Film”:


Who made this?

Wade is the creation of the Kolkata-based animation collective called Ghost Animation. The short is written and directed by Kalp Sanghvi and Upamanyu Bhattacharyya. You can follow Ghost Animation on Instagram here. You can subscribe to Ghost Animation on YouTube here.

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Based in the Pacific North West, Meg enjoys long scrambles on cliff faces and cozying up with a good piece of 1960s eurotrash. As a senior contributor at FSR, Meg's objective is to spread the good word about the best of sleaze, genre, and practical effects.