When I first heard from dad and animator Brandon Ray about this alphabet video for toddlers that he created for his own children, Bleu and Violet, I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. But after watching, I am utterly charmed. The Paper Alphabet is a terrific way to teach toddlers their ABCs and honestly, to give older kid–and you– a chuckle too.
It’s a little They Might Be Giants, a little Yo Gabba Gabba and a little animation festival short film entry, if you can imagine that.
To be sure the word choices can be a bit edgy; C is for Car which soon turns into Crash, at which point an aging hippie flies out of his pink convertible. Also, F is for Fire which is a little freaky, but on the traumatization scale I’d say it still ranks below that scene in Dumbo. And if you don’t laugh at the two guys eating a Sandwich at S, then something is wrong with you.
Enjoy the paper cut animation, and the fact that Brandon stays mercifully simple and clean with the typography so your kids can actually read the letters in the first place. And if the narration is a little rough for you, put on your own music and just sit back and wait for your kids to ask you to play it one more time.
Find The Paper Alphabet Video by Brandon Ray on YouTube
