~ THE STORY ~ If you don't have time to read all of it skip to the last section. :D ~~~ The cat's name is Buttons. She was named by a loving family, but mostly by her loving two year old owner, Rose. Buttons led a happy life until one day when Rose's father got sick. The family moved out of town to the country, for Rose's father to live out the rest of his days. During the move, they left Buttons behind. ~~~ She was captured and taken to the pound, where she was the only cat. Dogs, big and small, hurt her until she was barely able to move. Unable to deal with the expenses of taking care of Buttons, the pound kicked her out after about a month. She was turned out onto the streets while wounded, left to fend for herself. ~~~ Luckily, a kind cat called Mouse found her. Mouse was jokingly named because Mouse was actually a very, very large cat. However, Mouse was extremely kind. He took care of Buttons and helped her go back to full health. She made a new kind of life for herself in the dark alleys of the city with Mouse to protect her. ~~~ One day, while the cats were scavenging near a forgotten hotdog stand, big dogs came out of the alley behind them. They saw the cats eating good food, and they lept at Mouse. Buttons hid under an old cardboard box, since Mouse always did all of the fighting. She was very scared of dogs now. ~~~ They lept at Mouse and sank their teeth into his back. Mouse couldn't move out of the way fast enough. Howling, he turned around and darted into the street to escape the dogs. A large truck came out of nowhere and hit Mouse. He was killed instantly. ~~~ Heartbroken, Buttons shot out from under the box. The dogs didn't chase her because one of them was aso hit by the truck. She ran and ran and ran, heading out of the city. She followed the roads, figuring that if she went straight she would eventually find the end of the city. She knew she had to leave. ~~~ Buttons is running away from everything, all of the pain. She is running away from the loss everyone she loved, and from the hurt she felt when she was forgotten. She is running away from the memories of things she can't have anymore, and the sorrow she feels that nothing will ever be the same again. She is running because there is nothing left for her here. There might be something else out there, which is what keeps her going. Hope.
That story was a little deep, but that's what I was thinking when I made the animation. I wanted to do a city skyline and make the cat be running towards a new life, and so I came up with that story. ~~~ This is an awesome contest and I really hope I place! I worked super hard on my entry and I think that it turned out really well! ~~~ Good luck to anyone else who enters the contest. I've seen some really awesome animations from other people. I don't know how @ivypool2 will ever decide the winner! ~~~ Music by: @PaulRHJT ~~~ I finished this on Veteran's Day so I wanted to make the story and the song kind of sad. I know the song has the cool electronic part, but that is because Buttons knows that leaving this place will make everything a little bit better. She has hope. ~~~ True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. - Arthur Ashe
