Meet the characters that will bring this film to life!
Especially in an animation about mental health, characters will determine the believability and relatability of our story. Here’s a bit about our film’s personalities based on our original concept art!
MILA
Meet our protagonist, Mila! When Mila comes face to face with the bear, symbolizing her depression, her world begins to collapse around her.
The bear intrudes in her life, keeping her from her day-to-day activities, and causes her relationships to fall apart. Mila soon learns to live and coexist in a healthy way with the animal, and quite literally, “bear” its weight.
MAE
Meet Mae! She’s Mila’s best friend. She’s perfectly put together, preppy, and always on top of her life - or so it seems.
Mae suffers with her own mental health struggles and shares with Mila that she, too, has an animal, just like Mila’s bear.
Mae’s character exemplifies the fact that so many of us have our own struggles, even those you may not expect, even when they may not show.
BEAR
Mila’s Bear is a bumbling, cumbersome weight in her life that follows her around everywhere.
He remains silent throughout the film and is not menacing or scary, but innocently begins to turn Mila’s world upside down.
Nobody else can see him like Mila can and his looming presence mirrors that of depression for her. It would be sound crazy to tell someone that you live with a bear, right?
He makes it difficult to share how she is feeling with others.
