(つ◔౪◔)つ━☆゚.*・。゚ The 2023 TKSST Gift Guide ✩°。⋆・゚  
Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

Duck, Death and the Tulip

Watch more with these video collections:

This animated adaptation by Jorge Sandoval & Ella Yoon is based on German author and illustrator Wolf Erlbruch‘s children’s book Duck, Death and the Tulip. In this story about friendship, a duck meets Death “who, as it turns out, has been following her all her life.” The two explore the landscape together, “discussing life, death, and what any afterlife might be like.”

meeting
Though this telling is more melancholy and visually darker than the book‘s almost-playful approach, it continues to be an illustration of death as a part of life. Death is wistful but practical, a gentle companion for the duck as they spend time together.

resting in the trees
duck and death walking in the snow
Though the duck’s peaceful passing at the end of the story may upset some young viewers, as with the book it’s based on, it may be a prompt for curiosity, conversation, and understanding. Both versions of this spare tale can be a valuable resource for those who are immediately dealing with death.

duck's death
Follow this with more videos about death, life cycles, and seasons, including:
• Premier Automne by Je Regarde
Whale Fall (After Life of a Whale)
• Dia de los Muertos – An animated journey to the land of the dead
Father and Daughter by Michaël Dudok De Wit

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Whale Fall (After Life of a Whale)

Rion Nakaya

Way of Giants (Caminho dos Gigantes), a wordless animation about the circle of life

Rion Nakaya

Unmasking the Secrets That Ancient Mummies Hold

Rion Nakaya

The Sea Is Blue

Rion Nakaya

The Kite, Martin Smatana’s animated short about joy, loss, grief, and renewal

Rion Nakaya

The Grieving Process: Coping with Death

Rion Nakaya

The Dipped Painting Project by Oliver Jeffers

Rion Nakaya

The Animal That Wouldn’t Die: The Hydra

Rion Nakaya