Watch Memories Turn into Gold in Magical Animation 'The Alchemist's Letter'

Family, forgetting, forgiveness, and magic materialize in Carlos Andre Stevens newly-released short film, featuring the voices of John Hurt and Eloise Webb.

by TCP Staff

April 23, 2015, 8:00pm

The Alchemist's Letter from Carlos Stevens on Vimeo

If a device could turn any metal into gold, but its cost was your very own memories, would you use it? This is the central question behind Student Academy Awards® finalist Carlos Andre Stevens' moving animated short film, The Alchemist's Letter. In January, we brought you the trailer for the piece, which was animated by LAIKA's subdivision LAIKA/house as the final short film completed at their facilities in Portland, a storied animation factory formerly known as Will Vinton Studios. Now, the film has premiered in full, and you can weigh in on the true price of alchemy by watching it above.

At the end of her opening monologue, the alchemist's granddaughter (voiced by Cinderella's Eloise Webb) leaves off, "After the alchemist's death, his son returned to the home he once knew as a child." The result is a exploration into the nature of family, forgetting, and forgiveness, that crosses oceans, foreign lands, and even time itself. Oh, and did we mention the alchemist himself is voiced by two-time Academy Award nominee, John Hurt, too? Yeah, it's magical.

Watch The Alchemist's Letter above, check out some art from the film below, and visit the official website for more, including videos, downloads, and more.