Though it's the first animated film I ever made, I'm so proud of the storytelling and heart of this project. Created in my first year at the UCLA Animation Workshop, this film remains near and dear to my heart, and is the reason I got hooked on animation as a storytelling medium.

I set out to make TREE HUGGER a commentary on environmentalism, and ended up with a film about love. As a society, we're conditioned to view the outdoors as "other," or separate from ourselves. But in fact, we all have a very real emotional relationship with nature. In the film, this relationship is felt by a sole forest creature who "meets" a giant redwood tree, and, realizing it makes an excellent companion, befriends it. Although it's an unconventional relationship, the tree fulfills the creature's every need, providing him with shelter, fun, and companionship. But when a thunderstorm strikes down the tree, the forest community rallies to keep the tree's memory alive, proving that in the circle of life, love survives in all its myriad forms.