Wow. I’ve been tracking Matthew A. Cherry’s journey with Hair Love since 2017 (ever since his viral Kickstarter campaign for the film), and I’ve finally gotten the chance to watch the magic unfold. To put it simply, I am in awe. From the endearing storyline to the animated style and music, Hair Love manages to produce both the heavy and lighthearted human emotions–all within seven minutes. This is how a short film succeeds, how it earns an Oscar. Yet for Cherry, Hair Love’s flourishing success was not based on winning an extravagant award.
“When you see all the pictures of kids in the classroom watching the short and then reading the book, the pictures of dads reading the book to their daughter, young girls pointing at scenes on the screen with joy, we’re already making a change and an impact,” Cherry told Good Morning America. “When you’re getting reactions in real life feedback like that, at the end of the day, regardless of what happens Oscars night, we already won.”
On his website, Cherry explains where the inspiration for the animated short stemmed from. “Hair Love was born out of seeing a lack of representation in mainstream animated projects, and also wanting to promote hair love amongst young men and women of color. It is our hope that this project will inspire.”
