Animation: William Child's animated film about infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar

Date
27 September 2013

Share

If you thought that Johnny Depp made for a charming drug lord playing George Jung in Blow, please allow yourself to be swept away by the papier mâché realness being brought to you directly from the very skilled hands of William Child. For his final project the freelance illustrator, animator and designer made a brilliant short film about the bloody work of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, complete with hand-built sets, bags of powder stuffed into gutted fish, scuba divers and a jacuzzi. I know. I have no idea how he did it either.

The underlying theme of explosions, gunfights and debauchery (it’s very subtle, did you spot it?) is far more charming when it’s carried out by tiny papier mâché men in dressing gowns who are no bigger than the size of my hand, than by grown men in front of a camera crew, and clearly we’re not the only ones who think so. William has also made animated music videos for New York hip-hop artists Meyhem Lauren, Action Bronson, AG Da Coroner & Harry Fraud and a project documenting the different kinds of people found in Barcelona. And just to top it all off, El Patrón was made alongside a book about the animation, which comes with its very own coke stash smuggled underneath. Not to be sniffed at. (Sorry.)

Above

William Child: El Patron, The Pablo Escobar Story

Above

William Child: El Patron, The Pablo Escobar Story

Above

William Child: El Patron, The Pablo Escobar Story

Above

William Child: El Patron, The Pablo Escobar Story

Above

William Child: El Patron, The Pablo Escobar Story

Above

William Child: El Patron, The Pablo Escobar Story

Share Article

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.