{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Short description|American animator (born 1976)}} {{Infobox artist | name = Don Hertzfeldt | image = Don_Hertzfeldt_in_2015.jpg | image_size = | caption = Hertzfeldt in 2015 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1976|8|1}} | birth_place = Fremont, California, U.S. | education = University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. 1998) | known_for = Independent film, animation | movement = | spouse = | awards = | website = {{URL|bitterfilms.com}} }}
'''Don Hertzfeldt''' (born August 1, 1976) is an American animator, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is a two-time Academy Award nominee who is best known for the animated films ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', the ''World of Tomorrow'' series, ''ME'', and ''Rejected''. In 2014, his work appeared on ''The Simpsons''. Nine of his short films have competed at the Sundance Film Festival, a festival record.<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=542466782317903873|user=sundancefest|title=.@donhertzfeldt has had more films play in competition at #Sundance than any other filmmaker w/ seven including his latest WORLD OF TOMORROW|author=Sundance Film Festival|date=December 9, 2014|author-link=Sundance Film Festival|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DUUUppgDPNd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==|title=Instagram post}}</ref> He is also the only filmmaker to have won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice.
Hertzfeldt's work has been described as "some of the most influential animation ever created",<ref name="influence">{{cite web|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2011-11-11/beautiful-bitter/|title=Beautiful Bitter|last=Savlov|first=Marc|date=November 11, 2011|work=The Austin Chronicle|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> "some of the most vital and expressive animation of the millennium",<ref name="Interview with Little White Lies">{{cite web|url=http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/features/festivals/sundance-2015-don-hertzfeldt-29015/|title=Sundance 2015: Don Hertzfeldt|last=Ehrlich|first=David|date=January 20, 2015|website=Little White Lies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017062235/http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/features/festivals/sundance-2015-don-hertzfeldt-29015/|archive-date=October 17, 2015|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> "some of the most essential short films of the last 20 years",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/don-hertzfeldt-interview-world-of-tomorrow-episode-two-oscars-1201890607/|title=Don Hertzfeldt on 'World of Tomorrow Episode Two' and Expanding Upon the Best Short Film of the Century|last=Ehrlich|first=David|date=November 17, 2017|website=IndieWire|access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> and "films of a sort that never really existed before."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmmuseum.at/en/film_program/scope?schienen_id=1427295519333 |title=Austrian Film Museum}}</ref> In 2020, ''GQ'' described his work as "simultaneously tragic and hilarious and philosophical and crude and deeply sad and fatalist and yet stubbornly, resolutely hopeful."<ref name="GQ">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/don-hertzfeldt-world-of-tomorrow-profile|title=Don Hertzfeldt Is Back With Another Stick-Figure Film That Will Break Your Heart|first=Will|last=Leitch|website=GQ|date=October 26, 2020|access-date=June 8, 2021}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt's ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' and ''World of Tomorrow'' have been regarded by critics as two of the best animated films of all time.<ref name="TimeOut">{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/100-best-animated-movies-list#tab_panel_9|title=The 100 best animated movies ever made|date=March 29, 2016|editor-last=Calhoun|editor-first=Dave|editor2-last=Rothkopf|editor2-first=Joshua|website=Time Out|url-status=dead|access-date=August 19, 2015|archive-date=June 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625033440/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/100-best-animated-movies-list#tab_panel_9}}</ref><ref name="CineFix List">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y1fVoImuc0/|title=Top 10 Animated Films of All Time - A CineFix Movie List|date=April 3, 2021|website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lee III |first=Robert |date=2023-10-19 |title=The 10 Best Animated Movies of All Time, Ranked According to Letterboxd |url=https://collider.com/best-animated-movies-of-all-time-letterboxd/ |website=Collider}}</ref><ref name="Rolling Stone list">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/40-greatest-animated-movies-ever-20160628/|title=40 Greatest Animated Movies Ever|last1=Adams|first1=Sam|last2=Bramesco|first2=Charles|date=June 28, 2016|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=August 7, 2019|last3=Grierson|first3=Tim|last4=Murray|first4=Noel|last5=Scherer|first5=Jenna|last6=Tobias|first6=Scott|last7=Wilkinson|first7=Alissa|archive-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630000156/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/40-greatest-animated-movies-ever-20160628|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Ten Greatest Short Films Of All Time">{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/short-films-greatest-all-time-ranked/|title=The Ten Greatest Short Films Of All Time}}</ref>
In his book ''The World History of Animation'', author Stephen Cavalier writes "Hertzfeldt is either a unique phenomenon or perhaps an example of a new way forward for individual animators surviving independently on their own terms... he attracts the kind of fanatical support from the student and alternative crowds usually associated with indie rock bands".<ref name="fandom">{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Cavalier |year=2011 |title=The World History of Animation}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt's latest animated film, ''Paper Trail'', premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://x.com/donhertzfeldt/status/2000638903804641288?s=20|title=Hertzfeldt announcement|access-date=December 15, 2025|archive-date=December 22, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251222232413/https://x.com/donhertzfeldt/status/2000638903804641288?s=20|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/steph-curry-sundance-film-festival-short-film-ben-proudfoot-1236486856/|title=Sundance Film Festival Award Winners}}</ref>
==Personal life== Hertzfeldt was born on August 1, 1976, in Fremont, California, the son of an airline pilot and a county library clerk.<ref name="whoswho">{{cite book |last=Lenburg |first=Jeff |year=2006 |title=Who's Who in Animated Cartoons |url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinanimate0000lenb |url-access=registration |location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |page=[https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinanimate0000lenb/page/138 138] |isbn=978-1-55783-671-7 |access-date=April 8, 2015}}</ref> Some publications have his place of birth as Fremont while others name Castro Valley, California.<ref name="whoswho" /><ref name="oaktribbafilm">{{cite news |last=De Benedetti |first=Chris |date=January 16, 2007 |title=Bay Area films keep it real at Sundance festival |url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_5022651 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |location=Oakland, California |access-date=April 8, 2015 |archive-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418230230/http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_5022651 |url-status=live }}</ref> He is of half Swedish descent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/101eu3/don_hertzfeldt_filmmaker_ama|title=don hertzfeldt, filmmaker: AMA|website=Reddit|date=September 17, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref> Hertzfeldt attended Mission San Jose High School in Fremont.<ref name="oaktribbafilm" /> In his childhood, Hertzfeldt drew homemade comic books and, at the age of 15, he began to teach himself animation with a VHS video camera.<ref name="ntla">{{cite news|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/articles-e.html|title=Don Hertzfeldt is the most inventive underground animator in America. Will he ever make his peace with Hollywood?|last=Timberg|first=Scott|date=February 2002|newspaper=New Times LA|access-date=April 8, 2015|location=Los Angeles|archive-date=March 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331031736/http://www.bitterfilms.com/articles-e.html}}</ref> Two of Hertzfeldt's teenage VHS cartoons can be seen on the "Bitter Films: Volume 1" DVD collection.
While at film school, Hertzfeldt was drawn to animation as it was a less expensive form to work in. He could not afford to buy the numerous rolls of 16 mm film required to shoot live-action. Because he had no formal training in animation, he has said he thinks of himself more like a "filmmaker who just happens to draw."<ref name="film school">{{cite book|title=Re-Imagining Animation|last=Wells|first=Paul|publisher=AVA Publishing|year=2008}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt has never held a job other than creating his animated films.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bridgerack.com/content/view/24/37/|title=A Conversation With Don Hertzfeldt, Part Four|last=Parks|first=Finnegan|date=October 15, 2007|work=BridgeRack|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226202926/http://bridgerack.com/content/view/24/37/|archive-date=February 26, 2008|access-date=October 30, 2007}}</ref> His earliest teenage video animations found film festival exposure, and in film school at the University of California, Santa Barbara he was able to find international distribution for each of his 16mm student films. He is a 1998 graduate<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=533|title=UCSB Grad Nominated For Academy Award|last=Magruder|first=Joan|date=February 15, 2001|publisher=UC Santa Barbara|access-date=October 10, 2014|archive-date=October 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012160141/http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=533|url-status=live}}</ref> with a B.A. in Film Studies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awn.com/oscars01/animrejected.php3 |title=Rejected |access-date=October 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629145325/http://www.awn.com/oscars01/animrejected.php3 |archive-date=June 29, 2014 }}</ref>
Hertzfeldt primarily supports his work through self-distribution such as ticket sales from theatrical tours, DVDs, VOD, and television broadcasts. He has refused all advertising work.<ref name="FAQ">{{cite web|url=http://bitterfilms.com/faq.html|title=frequently asked questions|work=Bitter Films|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125190506/http://www.bitterfilms.com/faq.html|archive-date=January 25, 2007|access-date=January 24, 2007}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt's influences include Steven Spielberg,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/10-confessions-from-rejected-cartoons-animator-don-hertzfeldt/|title=10 Confessions from 'Rejected Cartoons' Animator Don Hertzfeldt|first=Beckett|last=Mufson|date=April 5, 2015|access-date=November 13, 2024|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209011756/https://www.vice.com/en/article/4xqa8p/10-confessions-from-rejected-cartoons-animator-don-hertzfeldt|url-status=live}}</ref> Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Edward Gorey,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/roger|title=What would Roger have done? | MZS | Roger Ebert|date=June 18, 2018|website=www.rogerebert.com}}</ref> Monty Python, Stan Brakhage,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/225-don-hertzfeldt-s-top-10|title=Don Hertzfeldt's Top 10 | Current | The Criterion Collection|access-date=February 9, 2022|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209023422/https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/225-don-hertzfeldt-s-top-10|url-status=live}}</ref> silent films, and the animated shorts he saw at numerous animation festivals at a young age, including the early works of Aardman Animation and Bill Plympton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.skwigly.co.uk/100-greatest-animated-shorts-everything-will-be-ok-don-hertzfeldt/|title=100 Greatest Animated Shorts / Everything Will Be OK / Don Hertzfeldt|first=Stephen|last=Cavalier|date=April 16, 2015}}</ref>
In 2022, for the BFI Sight and Sound "Greatest Films of All Time" poll, Hertzfeldt listed the following ten films as important titles that had "knocked me over the head at some point in life and continue to do so": ''The Act of Killing'', ''Citizen Kane'', ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'', ''Gates of Heaven'', ''The Godfather'', ''Goodfellas'', ''Harold and Maude'', ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'', ''The Pianist'', and ''2001: A Space Odyssey''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/thejoshl/status/1599443722403385344?s=20&t=rj8B85dzAXDFwuD9bBgA1A/|title=x.com}}</ref>
==Technique== Hertzfeldt's work commonly features hand-drawn stick figures, in stories of black humor, surrealism, and tragicomedy. Some films contain existential and philosophical themes while others are more straightforwardly slapstick and absurdist. His animation was first created traditionally, with pen and paper, before transitioning to digital animation for his ''World of Tomorrow'' short film series. Hertzfeldt initially used antique 16 mm or 35 mm–film cameras to photograph his drawings and often employs old-fashioned special effect techniques such as multiple exposures, in-camera mattes, and experimental photography. While some of these techniques are as established as an occasional stop-motion animation sequence or a universe of moving stars created by back-lit pin holes, other effects are innovations on classical methods, as seen with the in-camera compositing of multiple, split-screen windows of action in ''It's Such a Beautiful Day''.<ref name="effects">{{cite web|url=http://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/truth-in-doodling/Content?oid=924285|title=Truth in Doodling|last=Jones|first=J.R.|date=February 8, 2007|work=Chicago Reader|publisher=Sun-Times Media|access-date=August 3, 2011|archive-date=September 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906071924/http://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/truth-in-doodling/Content?oid=924285|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="meaningoflife">{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/meaningoflife.html|title=the Meaning of Life|work=Bitter Films|access-date=October 19, 2007|archive-date=October 8, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008112939/http://www.bitterfilms.com/meaningoflife.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="rejected">{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/rejected.html|title=Rejected|work=Bitter Films|access-date=May 1, 2008|archive-date=December 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214235423/http://www.bitterfilms.com/rejected.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt's student films in the 1990s were photographed on 16mm. From 1999 to 2011, Hertzfeldt photographed his films on a 35mm Richardson animation camera stand, believed to be the same camera that photographed many of the ''Peanuts'' cartoons in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name="peanuts">{{cite web|url=http://imdb.com/name/nm0381116/bio|title=Biography for Don Hertzfeldt|work=Internet Movie Database|publisher=Amazon.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210050056/http://imdb.com/name/nm0381116/bio|archive-date=February 10, 2008|access-date=March 23, 2007}}</ref> Built in the late 1940s, it was one of the last remaining functioning cameras of its kind left in the world, and Hertzfeldt found it to be a crucial element in the creation of his films and their visuals.<ref name="camera">{{cite video |people=Don Hertzfeldt |title=bitter films volume one: 1995–2005 (audio commentary) |url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/dvd.html |medium=DVD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409032327/http://www.bitterfilms.com/dvd.html |archive-date=April 9, 2007 }}</ref>
In 2015, Hertzfeldt released his first digitally animated short film, ''World of Tomorrow'', which was created at the same time as another digital piece, an animated guest appearance on ''The Simpsons''. Both pieces were still hand-drawn by Hertzfeldt, but he used a Cintiq tablet instead of paper.
Discussing film and digital technology with ''The New York Times'' in 2008, Hertzfeldt noted:
{{quote|I don't know why these things are always framed as a big dumb cage match: Hand-drawn versus computers, film versus digital. We have over 100 years now of amazing film technology to play with, I don't understand why any artists would want to throw any of their tools out of the box. Many people assume that because I shoot on film and animate on paper I must be doing things the hard way, when in fact my last four movies would have been visually impossible to produce digitally. The only thing that matters is what actually winds up on the big screen, not how you got it there. You could make a cartoon in crayons about a red square that falls in unrequited love with a blue circle, and there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house if you know how to tell a story.<ref name="technology">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/movies/30ande.html|title=Contemporary Animators Rely on Traditional Techniques|first=John|last=Anderson|newspaper=New York Times|date=2008-11-30|access-date=2010-05-01|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525021909/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/movies/30ande.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
It's not unusual for Hertzfeldt to write, direct, produce, animate, photograph, edit, perform voices, record and mix sound, and/or compose music for one of his films, at times requiring years to complete a single short by working alone. The animation for one of his films may often require tens of thousands of drawings.
Hertzfeldt frequently scores his pictures with classical music and opera. The music of Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Smetana, Beethoven, Richard Strauss, and Wagner have all appeared in his films. On occasion, Hertzfeldt has also scored portions of his films himself, with a guitar or keyboard.
===Approach to writing=== Hertzfeldt described his relaxed writing process in a 2015 Reddit "AMA" session:
{{quote|It's like you're floating in an ocean, and you want to build a raft. So you just float there and you wait and wait. And eventually this little piece of something comes drifting by, maybe a memory, and you hang on to it, and then another little piece comes around, it is unrelated, maybe it's a funny sentence you overheard somewhere. And you keep collecting all these little things that just sort of drift by... a dream, a beautiful sentence in your head that just appeared while doing the dishes, an anecdote you stole from your old diary... and eventually you find connections between all the things and with all these parts you've gathered up you now have enough stuff to build a raft. And then once you have the raft you can remove all the bits that don't quite fit anymore, the spare parts that you didn't need after all, you toss them back or maybe save them for another raft later. When I write, there isn't a lot of active effort or swimming around, or calculation... for me that can be very poisonous to creativity. The big ideas won't happen right when you mentally stress on them... it's more a matter of being patient and being open to all the things that just drift in.<ref name="writing">{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/31g6qc/i_am_a_don_hertzfeldt_filmmaker_ama/ |title=i am a don hertzfeldt... filmmaker: AMA |website=Reddit |date=April 4, 2015 |access-date=July 8, 2017 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301131042/https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/31g6qc/i_am_a_don_hertzfeldt_filmmaker_ama/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
In another Reddit "AMA", on the subject of creativity, Hertzfeldt suggested the following:
{{quote|...You need to try to return to the time when you were a little kid, creating things on a big sheet of paper in a beautiful sunbeam, and not having any cares at all about how it might one day be received. It's when children learn to think, "Is this any good?" that they start to become paralyzed creatively. And this is why most adults don't draw, don't write, don't sing, don't dance, and are terrified in front of audiences.<ref name="creativity">{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/101eu3/don_hertzfeldt_filmmaker_ama/ |title=don hertzfeldt, filmmaker: AMA |website=Reddit |date=September 17, 2012 |access-date=July 8, 2017 |archive-date=March 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302205147/https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/101eu3/don_hertzfeldt_filmmaker_ama/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
==Student films, 1995–1998== Hertzfeldt made four 16mm animated student films while studying film at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
''Ah, L'Amour'' and ''Genre'' were produced at the ages of 18 and 19. ''Ah, L'Amour'' won the HBO Comedy Arts Festival Grand Prize for "World's Funniest Cartoon".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bitterfilms.com/lamour.html|title=Ah, L'Amour|work=Bitterfilms.com|publisher=Bitter Films|access-date=October 15, 2011|archive-date=September 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903034511/http://www.bitterfilms.com/lamour.html}}</ref>
His first dialogue short, ''Lily and Jim'', was released in 1997, and tells the story of a disastrous blind date. Its partially improvised vocal performances helped the short win twenty-five awards, including the Grand Prize at the New Orleans Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDt-Fz0PLvk|title=LILY AND JIM|last=Hertzfeldt|first=Don|date=May 12, 2011|work=YouTube|publisher=Alphabet Inc|access-date=October 15, 2011|archive-date=September 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902214321/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDt-Fz0PLvk&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>
His final student cartoon, ''Billy's Balloon'', is about an inexplicable attack on small children by malevolent balloons. It was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Grand Jury Award at the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival. In total, it won 33 awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bitterfilms.com/balloon.html|title=Billy's Balloon|work=Bitter Films|access-date=October 15, 2011|archive-date=September 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903034525/http://www.bitterfilms.com/balloon.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The popularity of each student short at film and animation festivals—and eventually around the world from screening on MTV and other networks—helped fund the next one, and eventually financed the production of his first film after college.
==Independent animation, 2000–present== ===''Rejected''=== {{main|Rejected}} Soon after graduating from film school, Hertzfeldt purchased his own 35mm rostrum camera and made his next animated short, ''Rejected''.
Released nationwide in theaters through the Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation in 2000, the short won 27 film festival awards and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film the following year.
''Rejected'' is now considered a cult classic and one of the most influential animated films ever made.<ref name="4k">{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/don-hertzfeldt-rejected-4k-restoration-video-1202017112/|title=Don Hertzfeldt Releases 4K Restoration of Iconic Short 'Rejected,' Remastered from the Original 35mm Film — Watch|website=indiewire.com|access-date=November 7, 2018|date=November 1, 2018|first1=Zack|last1=Sharf|archive-date=November 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105012418/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/don-hertzfeldt-rejected-4k-restoration-video-1202017112/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://bridgerack.com/index.php/Cinemateque/A_Conversation_With_Don_Hertfeldt_Part_Three.html | title= Interview with Don Hertzfeldt | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080225161831/http://bridgerack.com/index.php/Cinemateque/A_Conversation_With_Don_Hertfeldt_Part_Three.html | archive-date=February 25, 2008}}</ref> In the early 2000s, pirated copies of ''Rejected'' turned the film into a viral video, where it has been credited with shaping the surreal sense of humor of the early Internet.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2020/12/21/rejected-20-years-later| title=Rejected 20 Years Later| date=December 21, 2020| access-date=March 10, 2023| archive-date=March 10, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310071618/https://www.filmsfatale.com/blog/2020/12/21/rejected-20-years-later| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018 ''New York Magazine'' wrote, "If there is a single piece of media that inspired what we nebulously refer to as "internet humor," it's probably ''Rejected''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/don-hertzfeldts-famous-cartoon-rejected-is-in-hd.html | title=The Cartoon That Invented Internet Culture Gets a High-Definition Rerelease| date=November 2018}}</ref>
In 2009, ''Rejected'' was the only short film named as one of the "Films of the Decade" by ''Salon''.<ref name="Films of the Decade">{{cite web | url=http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/films_of_the_decade/index.html?story=/ent/movies/film_salon/2009/12/31/rejected | title=Films of the Decade | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104192317/http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/films_of_the_decade/index.html?story=%2Fent%2Fmovies%2Ffilm_salon%2F2009%2F12%2F31%2Frejected | archive-date=January 4, 2010 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2010, it was noted as one of the five "most innovative animated films of the past ten years" by ''The Huffington Post''.<ref name="Huffington">{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/26/10-innovative-film-and-ar_n_800020.html#s213580 | title=Films of the Decade | work=Huffington Post | first=Sophia | last=Morenobunge | date=December 26, 2010}}</ref> ''Indiewire'' film critic Eric Kohn named ''Rejected'' one of the "10 best films of the 21st century" on his list for the BBC Culture poll in 2016.<ref name="4k"/>
The film presents itself as a reel of rejected commercial work by a fictional version of Don Hertzfeldt. The commissioned animated vignettes grow more and more abstract and inappropriate as the animator suffers a mental breakdown until they fall apart.
Although the film is fictional and Hertzfeldt has never done advertising work, he received many offers to do television commercials after ''Billy's Balloon'' drew international attention. In appearances, Hertzfeldt has told the humorous story of how he was tempted to produce the worst possible cartoons he could come up with for the companies, run off with their money, and see if they would make it to air. Eventually, this became the germ for ''Rejected''{{'s}} theme of a collection of cartoons so bad they were rejected by advertising agencies, leading to their creator's breakdown and ultimately the cartoons' metaphysical crisis.
===''The Animation Show''=== {{main|The Animation Show}} In 2003, Hertzfeldt created ''The Animation Show'' with ''Beavis and Butt-head'' creator Mike Judge. It was a biennial North American touring festival that brought independent animated short films to more movie theaters than any distributor in history. The programs were personally curated by Hertzfeldt and Judge. Highlights of the first theatrical program included a restored excerpt from Ward Kimball's 1957 "Mars and Beyond" through a special partnership with Disney, the stop-motion animated film ''Vincent'' by Tim Burton, new cartoons by Hertzfeldt to bookend the program, and never-before-seen pencil tests and animation experiments by Mike Judge.
A second ''Animation Show'' edition toured throughout 2005, featuring Hertzfeldt's new short film ''The Meaning of Life'' and new work by animators Peter Cornwell and Georges Schwizgebel. The third season of ''The Animation Show'' began its nationwide release in January 2007, featuring new work by animators Joanna Quinn and Bill Plympton, as well as Hertzfeldt's ''Everything Will Be OK''.
A stated goal of ''The Animation Show'' was to regularly "free the work of these independent artists from the dungeons of Internet exhibition," and bring them into proper movie theaters where most of the short films were originally meant to be seen. ''The Animation Show'' meanwhile launched a supplemental DVD series of animated short films, with content that varied from the annual theatrical programs. These DVDs were distributed by MTV.
In a March 2008 entry in his blog, Hertzfeldt announced he had decided to leave ''The Animation Show'', after having programmed three tours. A fourth season of the program was released in theaters in summer 2008, with no involvement from him.<ref name="bitterfilms.com"/>
In 2025, Hertzfeldt returned to short film programming with the creation of ''Animation Mixtape''.
===''The Meaning of Life''=== thumb|right|250px|Hertzfeldt at his desk during the production of ''The Meaning of Life'' Almost four years in the making, Hertzfeldt's twelve-minute ''The Meaning of Life'' premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and toured film and animation festivals in 2005–2006. Though its abstract nature puzzled some critics, it received mostly positive reviews. ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' called the film "the closest thing on film yet to Kubrick's ''2001: A Space Odyssey''."<ref name="bitterfilms">{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/meaningoflife.html|title=the Meaning of Life|website=Bitter Films|access-date=September 30, 2014|archive-date=October 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009004826/http://www.bitterfilms.com/meaningoflife.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In the film, the evolution of the human race is traced from prehistory (mankind as blob forms), through today (mankind as teeming crowds of selfish, fighting, or lost individuals), to hundreds of millions of years into the future as our species evolves into countless new forms; all of them still behaving the same way. The film concludes in the extreme future, with two creatures (apparently an adult and child subspecies of future humans), having a conversation about the meaning of life on a colorful shore.
In 2009, Hertzfeldt noted, "I don't often make the same sort of movie twice in a row. It's always been whatever's next in my head. From a commercial standpoint I guess I've made some pretty inscrutable decisions, like following up ''Rejected'' with a sprawling abstract film about human evolution, but it's really just been whichever ideas won't go away at the time. There's always a lot of new things I'd like to try."<ref name="trapdoorsun">{{cite web |url=http://www.trapdoorsun.com/film/don-hertzfeldt.aspx |title=An Interview with Don Hertzfeldt |website=Trap Door Sun |access-date=November 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115072238/http://www.trapdoorsun.com/film/don-hertzfeldt.aspx |archive-date=November 15, 2009}}</ref>
In 2014, ''Time Out New York'' named the film one of the "thirty best animated short films ever made."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-30-best-animated-short-films-ever-made|title=The 30 best animated short films ever made |last=Dudok de Wit |first=Alex |author-link=Alex Dudok de Wit |date=April 14, 2014|website=Time Out}}</ref>
===''Everything Will Be OK'', ''I Am So Proud Of You'' and ''It's Such a Beautiful Day''=== {{main|It's Such a Beautiful Day (film)}} thumb|right|A line around the block for ''An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt''
====''Everything Will Be OK''==== ''Everything Will Be OK'' was released in 2006 and became Hertzfeldt's most critically successful piece to date, receiving his strongest reviews. The 17-minute animated short was based on a character, Bill, from his webcomic "Temporary Anesthetics".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/anesthetics.html|title=temporary anesthetics|website=Bitter Films|access-date=July 23, 2013}}</ref> ''The Boston Globe'' called the film a "masterpiece" with the ''Boston Phoenix'' declaring Hertzfeldt a "genius."<ref name="http://www.bitterfilms.com/ok.html">{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/ok.html|title=everything will be ok|website=Bitter Films|access-date=July 23, 2013|archive-date=July 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729224443/http://www.bitterfilms.com/ok.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The short film was a cover story on the Chicago Reader, receiving four stars from critic J.R. Jones. ''Variety'' film critic Robert Koehler named ''Everything Will Be OK'' one of the Best Films of 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmjourney.weblogger.com/discuss/msgReader$3949 |title=Robert Koehler's Best of 2007 |last=Koehler |first=Robert |access-date=January 10, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203103009/http://filmjourney.weblogger.com/discuss/msgReader$3949 |archive-date=February 3, 2008}}</ref>
''Everything will be OK'' is the first chapter of a three-part story about a man named Bill whose daily routines, perceptions, and dreams are illustrated onscreen through multiple split-screen windows. Bill's seemingly mundane life, narrated in humorous and dramatic anecdotes, gradually grows dark as we learn he may be suffering from a possibly fatal neurological disorder.
Scenes throughout the trilogy are often divided into multiple windows of action on the screen at once against a background of pure black. Animated still photographs are also incorporated inside certain windows, as well as a handful of the colorful special effects and experimental film techniques that Hertzfeldt first utilized in ''The Meaning of Life''. Like many of Hertzfeldt's films, the trilogy's special effects were captured in camera.
''Everything Will Be OK'' won the Grand Jury Prize for Short Filmmaking at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Grand Prize at the London Animation Festival, and 34 other awards.
====''I Am So Proud of You''==== ''I Am So Proud of You'', the second chapter in the story, was released in autumn 2008. Upon its release, Hertzfeldt traveled with ''I Am So Proud of You'' and a selection of his other films to 22 cities on a sold-out American tour (with two stops in the UK and three in Canada). '"An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt" presented a 35mm selection of his work followed by an onstage interview and audience chat with him.<ref name="An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt">{{cite web|url=http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=5829 |title=An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt |access-date=October 6, 2008 |work=originalalamo.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006034156/http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=5829 |archive-date=October 6, 2008 }}</ref> ''I Am So Proud of You'' also played at film festivals throughout 2009 and won 27 awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/proud.html|title=i am so proud of you|website=Bitter Films|access-date=July 23, 2013|archive-date=August 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817044350/http://bitterfilms.com/proud.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
====''It's Such a Beautiful Day''==== The third and final chapter, ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Hertzfeldt traveled with ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' in 2011 and 2012 on another North American theatrical tour to 30 cities.
Of the trilogy, Steven Pate of ''The Chicagoist'' wrote, "There is a moment in each installment of Don Hertzfeldt's masterful trilogy of animated shorts where you feel something in your chest. It's an unmistakably cardiac event, the kind that great art can elicit when something profound and undeniably true is conveyed about the human condition. That's when you say to yourself: are stick figures supposed to make me feel this way? In the hands of a master, yes. And Hertzfeldt is to stick figures what Franz Liszt was to planks of ebony and ivory and what Ted Williams was to a stick of white ash: someone so transcendentally expert that to describe what they do in literal terms is borderline demeaning."<ref name="chicagoist">{{cite web|url=http://chicagoist.com/2012/02/28/cult_animator_don_hertzfeldt_at_the.php|title=Don Hertzfeldt at the Music Box|last=Pate|first=Steven|date=February 28, 2012|work=Chicagoist|publisher=Gothamist|access-date=September 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819222030/http://chicagoist.com/2012/02/28/cult_animator_don_hertzfeldt_at_the.php|archive-date=August 19, 2015}}</ref>
In 2025, ''Collider'' named ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' one of the "10 Greatest Short Films Of All Time".<ref name="collider">{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/short-films-greatest-all-time-ranked/|title=10 Greatest Short Films Of All Time}}</ref>
====''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', the feature film==== In 2012, Hertzfeldt edited the three chapters of the short film trilogy together to create a seamless new feature-length version of the story. The feature film shares the same title as the third chapter of the story, It's Such a Beautiful Day, and had a limited theatrical release the same year.
It's Such a Beautiful Day was subsequently released on DVD, iTunes, Netflix, and on-demand on Vimeo. The film was released on Blu-ray in 2015 and in 2021, a remastered version was released on The Criterion Channel.
''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' was very well received by film critics. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named it their runner-up for Best Animated Feature Film of the year, behind ''Frankenweenie''. Indiewire ranked Hertzfeldt the 9th best Film Director of the Year in its annual poll (tied with Wes Anderson), and The A.V. Club film critics ranked the film # 8 on their list of the Best Films of 2012.<ref name="AVclub">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-best-films-of-2012-1798237699|title=The best films of 2012|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|date=December 19, 2012|website=The A.V. Club|access-date=August 8, 2019|display-authors=etal|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902161618/http://film.avclub.com/the-best-films-of-2012-1798237699|url-status=live}}</ref> Slate Magazine named ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' their pick for Best Animated Feature Film of 2012.
Critic J.R. Jones wrote, "with his humor, darkness, philosophical yearning, and insistence on drawing every line himself, [Hertzfeldt] may be the only legitimate successor to Charles M. Schulz."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://chicagoreader.com/film/its-such-a-beautiful-day/|title=Chicago Reader|date=November 20, 2012 }}</ref>
After a limited UK release in 2013, the film was ranked #3 on ''Time Out London's'' list of the 10 Best Films of 2013 and #4 on ''The London Film Review's'' list of the same. In 2014, ''Time Out New York'' ranked ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' #16 on its list of the "100 Best Animated Movies Ever Made."<ref name="Time Out New York">{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-100-best-animated-movies-20-11|title=The 100 best animated movies ever made|date=March 29, 2016|editor1-last=Calhoun|editor1-first=Dave|editor2-last=Rothkopf|editor2-first=Joshua|work=Time Out New York|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626203407/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-100-best-animated-movies|archive-date=June 26, 2019}}</ref>
In the years that followed, the film's status grew. In 2014, ''Time Out New York'' ranked ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' #16 on its list of the "100 Best Animated Movies Ever Made,"<ref name="Time Out New York"/> and in 2016, ''The Film Stage'' critics ranked the film #1 on their list of "The 50 Best Animated Films of the 21st Century Thus Far."<ref name="filmstage">{{cite web|url=https://thefilmstage.com/features/the-50-best-animated-films-of-the-21st-century-thus-far/5/|title=The 50 Best Animated Films of the 21st Century Thus Far|date=June 16, 2016|website=The Film Stage|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-date=August 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809010459/https://thefilmstage.com/features/the-50-best-animated-films-of-the-21st-century-thus-far/5/}}</ref> In 2019, ''The Wrap'' named ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' the #1 "Best Animated Film of the 2010s."<ref name="The Wrap">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/10-best-animated-films-2010s-spider-verse-frozen-toy-story-inside-out-photos/|title=10 Best Animated Films of the 2010s, From 'Frozen' to 'Spider-Verse'|date=December 29, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=January 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104065013/https://www.thewrap.com/10-best-animated-films-2010s-spider-verse-frozen-toy-story-inside-out-photos/|url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, the ''Vulture'' film critics ranked it #12 on their overall list of the "Best Movies of the Decade."<ref name="Edelstein">{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/every-movie-of-the-2010s-ranked-sort-of.html|title=Every Movie of the 2010s, Ranked|last=Edelstein|first=David|date=December 11, 2019|website=Vulture|publisher=New York|display-authors=etal|access-date=December 12, 2019|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125145432/https://www.vulture.com/article/every-movie-of-the-2010s-ranked-sort-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, IGN's ''CineFix'' gave it the #1 spot on their "Top 10 Animated Films of All Time" list.<ref name="CineFix">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y1fVoImuc0/ |title=Top 10 Animated Films of All Time - A CineFix Movie List|date=April 3, 2021|publisher=YouTube}}</ref>
In 2024, ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' was rereleased in over 100 theaters, paired with the debut of Hertzfeldt's new animated short film, ''ME''.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1783182999665680428|title=x.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C8fQIdaxWMI/|title=Instagram|website=www.instagram.com|access-date=October 7, 2024|archive-date=November 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241129213834/https://www.instagram.com/p/C8fQIdaxWMI/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''Wisdom Teeth''=== In October 2009, Hertzfeldt premiered ''Wisdom Teeth'', an unannounced, new five-minute cartoon at the "Evening with Don Hertzfeldt" screening at the Ottawa Animation Festival. It later screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010 and the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, where it was awarded a Special Jury Mention.<ref name="bitterfilms.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/forum32.html|title=journal page 32|website=Bitter Films|access-date=July 23, 2013|archive-date=November 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121042725/http://www.bitterfilms.com/forum32.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, it appeared as part of a series on the Showtime Network called "Short Stories".
===''The Simpsons''=== {{main|Clown in the Dumps}} In 2014, Hertzfeldt wrote, animated, and directed a surreal and futuristic two-minute "couch gag" for the premiere episode of the 26th season of ''The Simpsons''. It was the longest opening gag in the show's history and was described by Spin Magazine as "mind-melting," and "two of the strangest minutes of television ever to air on a major network during prime time."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2014/10/cat-stevens-tea-for-the-tillerman-simpsons-couch-gag/|title=Cat Stevens' 'Tea for the Tillerman' Replaces Normal 'Simpsons' Couch Gag|last=Unterberger|first=Andrew|date=October 13, 2014|website=SPIN|publisher=Billboard Music|access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Last night's 'Simpsons' couch gag was the longest in the show's history |last=Koch |first=Cameron |work=Tech Times |date=September 29, 2014 |access-date=October 10, 2014 |url=http://www.techtimes.com/articles/16729/20140929/last-nights-simpsons-couch-scene-was-the-longest-in-show-history.htm |archive-date=October 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016204038/http://www.techtimes.com/articles/16729/20140929/last-nights-simpsons-couch-scene-was-the-longest-in-show-history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/the-mysterious-voyage-of-homer-don-hertzfeldts-simpsons-couch-gag/ |title=The mysterious voyage of Homer: Don Hertzfeldt's Simpsons couch gag |first=Claire |last=Reilly |date=September 29, 2014 |access-date=October 10, 2014 |publisher=CNET}}</ref>
The sequence depicts Homer accidentally using a time-traveling remote control that regresses him to his original 1987 character model, then propels him into a distant future incarnation of the show called ''The Sampsans'' where he and his family have evolved into grotesque, mindless, catchphrase-spouting creatures. Future Homer sadly remembers past futuristic episodes, in which he still had an emotional connection with Marge and the children. Simpsons producer Al Jean called it "crazier than we thought," and "the most insane one we've ever done."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2014/09/28/simpsons-character-death-premiere/|title='Simpsons' producer talks character's death in premiere|website=EW.com|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=June 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606164604/https://ew.com/article/2014/09/28/simpsons-character-death-premiere/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''World of Tomorrow''=== {{main|World of Tomorrow (film)}} In January 2015, Hertzfeldt's first digitally-animated short film, ''World of Tomorrow'', premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize, his second. Illustrator Julia Pott performs the voice of the short's lead character, opposite Hertzfeldt's then-four-year-old niece, who was recorded while drawing and playing. Her spontaneous, natural vocal reactions and questions were then edited into the story to create her character.
On finally leaping digital animation after twenty years of working with pencil and paper, Hertzfeldt joked, "I kind of feel like it's like a rock band who traditionally was guitar, guitar, guitar and then for their new album, they're like, we're going electronic! But [then] they only use Casio keyboards and drum machines... It's not the cutting edge CG we're all used to."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/filmmaker-don-hertzfeldt-his-simpsons-couch-gag-an-217673 |title=Filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt on his Simpsons couch gag and the pains of animation |last=McLevy |first=Alex |date=April 14, 2015 |website=A.V. Club}}</ref>
Critics were universally positive in their reviews, describing the science fiction film as "one of the most satisfying shorts since Chris Marker's landmark 1962 ''La Jetee'' and almost certain to be the highlight of this year's Sundance, full stop,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/5-sundance-shorts-that-knocked-us-out/|title=5 Sundance shorts that knocked us out|last=Ehrlich|first=David|date=January 29, 2015|website=Time Out|access-date=April 16, 2015|archive-date=April 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417045911/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/5-sundance-shorts-that-knocked-us-out}}</ref> "dazzling, enthralling"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/seriousfilm/status/560986588629307392/|title=Hertzfeldt's WORLD IF TOMORROW|last=Cusumano|first=Michael|date=January 29, 2015|website=Twitter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205823/https://twitter.com/seriousfilm/status/560986588629307392/|archive-date=February 2, 2016|access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref> and "astonishing."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/thedissolve/status/558680834979270656/|title=Our #Sundance Day One|author=The Dissolve|date=January 23, 2015|website=Twitter|access-date=April 16, 2015|archive-date=February 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202205823/https://twitter.com/thedissolve/status/558680834979270656/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The film next won Best Animated Short at the SXSW Film Festival. ''Indiewire'' called the short film "one of the best films of 2015," and The Dissolve named it "one of the finest achievements in sci-fi in recent memory." ''The A.V. Club'' described the film as "visionary" and "possibly the best film of 2015,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/cartoon-about-clone-future-may-be-2015s-best-film-217741|title=A cartoon about a clone from the future may be 2015's best film|last=Murray|first=Noel|date=April 13, 2015|website=A.V. Club|access-date=April 16, 2015|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818032931/http://www.avclub.com/article/cartoon-about-clone-future-may-be-2015s-best-film-217741|url-status=live}}</ref> despite its short running time. The Austin Film Critics Association gave Hertzfeldt a Special Honorary Award in recognition of the film.
''World of Tomorrow'' was released on-demand on Vimeo in March 2015, simultaneous with its run in film festivals.
At the end of its film festival run, the film won over 40 awards. ''World of Tomorrow'' won two Crystal Awards from the Annecy Animation Festival, a Special Jury Award, and the Audience Award. The film also won two awards from the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Best Script and the Audience Award.
In 2016, ''World of Tomorrow'' won the animation industry's Annie Award for Best Animated Short Film.
In 2016, ''World of Tomorrow'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards, Hertzfeldt's second nomination.
In 2016, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''World of Tomorrow'' #10 on its list of the "Greatest Animated Movies Ever."<ref name="rollingstone">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/40-greatest-animated-movies-ever-20160628/|title=40 Greatest Animated Movies Ever|last=Adams|first=Sam|date=June 28, 2016|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=August 8, 2019|display-authors=etal|archive-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630000156/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/40-greatest-animated-movies-ever-20160628|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2019, ''Indiewire'' ranked ''World of Tomorrow'' #17 in its overall list of the "100 Best Movies of the Decade".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-movies-of-2010s-decade/|title=The 100 Best Movies of the Decade|last=Ehrlich|first=David|date=July 22, 2019|website=IndieWire|access-date=August 8, 2019|display-authors=etal|archive-date=July 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727123349/https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-movies-of-2010s-decade/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, ''Indiewire'' called it "one of the greatest short films in the history of movies."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/feature/best-sci-fi-movies-science-fiction-film-1201817994/3/|website=IndieWire|first1=Kate|last1=Erbland|display-authors=etal|title = The Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century, from 'Children of Men' to 'Her'|date = November 7, 2020}}</ref>
====''World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts''====
''World of Tomorrow Episode Two'' premiered in 2017 at Fantastic Fest in Austin and received rare "A+" reviews from ''Indiewire'' and ''Collider'', where it was described as "another soulful sci-fi masterpiece."<ref name="Collider">{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/world-of-tomorrow-2-review/|title='World of Tomorrow Episode 2' Review: Another Soulful Sci-Fi Masterpiece from Don Hertzfeldt|last=Foutch|first=Haleigh|date=December 29, 2017|website=Collider|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-date=August 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805070228/http://collider.com/world-of-tomorrow-2-review/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Daily Beast'' called it "one of the best films of the year... a must-see animated masterpiece."<ref name="dailybeast">{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/world-of-tomorrow-episode-two-is-a-must-see-animated-masterpiece|title='World of Tomorrow Episode Two' Is a Must-See Animated Masterpiece|last=Han|first=Karen|date=December 9, 2017|website=Daily Beast|publication-date=December 10, 2017|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-date=June 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615224832/https://www.thedailybeast.com/world-of-tomorrow-episode-two-is-a-must-see-animated-masterpiece|url-status=live}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt traveled with the film to theaters on a "winter mini-tour" in December 2017. The screenings opened with a surprise new two-minute cartoon, in which an animated Hertzfeldt introduces the program from the caverns of an alien planet.
''World of Tomorrow Episode Two'' won the Grand Prize at Montreal's Sommets du cinéma d'animation, an Audience Award at Fantastic Fest, and a Special Jury Award from the London Animation Festival.
In January 2018, the film played opening night at the Sundance Film Festival.
In 2024, ''World of Tomorrow Episode Two'' was ranked #5 on ''Indiewire's'' list of the "Best Sequels of the 21st Century".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/best-of/best-sequels-21st-century-movies-film-1201911817/|title=The Best Sequels of the 21st Century|date=November 20, 2024 }}</ref>
====''World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime''====
''World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime'' was released on-demand worldwide on October 9, 2020. Unlike its predecessors, it was unable to premiere in theaters due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It received positive reviews, including another "A+" from ''Indiewire''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/10/world-of-tomorrow-episode-3-review-don-hertzfeldt-1234591378/|title='World of Tomorrow Episode Three' Review: The Best Sci-Fi Series of the 21st Century Goes Epic|first=David|last=Ehrlich|date=October 9, 2020|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031200525/https://www.indiewire.com/2020/10/world-of-tomorrow-episode-3-review-don-hertzfeldt-1234591378/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/animation-cartoons/2020/10/9/21509929/world-of-tomorrow-3-review-david-prime-emily|title=World of Tomorrow 3 is an epic about star-crossed lovers|first=Toussaint|last=Egan|date=October 9, 2020|website=Polygon|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033933/https://www.polygon.com/animation-cartoons/2020/10/9/21509929/world-of-tomorrow-3-review-david-prime-emily|url-status=live}}</ref>
Of the "dreamy, beloved" ongoing series, ''The Film Stage'' wrote, "Hertzfeldt has crafted what might be the crowning achievement of modern science fiction."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thefilmstage.com/world-of-tomorrow-episode-three-review-an-aesthetically-inventive-and-narratively-complex-evolution/|title=World of Tomorrow Episode Three Review: An Aesthetically Inventive and Narratively Complex Evolution|first=Brian|last=Roan|date=October 23, 2020|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031015715/https://thefilmstage.com/world-of-tomorrow-episode-three-review-an-aesthetically-inventive-and-narratively-complex-evolution/|url-status=live}}</ref>
''World of Tomorrow Episode Three'' appeared in theaters for the first time in 2023 as part of a special "World of Tomorrow" program with the Alamo Drafthouse cinemas, called "An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt, Who Will Not Be There".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hertzfeldt |first1=Don |title=WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE THREE |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3fBai6k_fU |website=Youtube |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Alamo Drafthouse |url=https://drafthouse.com/austin/show/world-of-tomorrow-trilogy}}</ref>
Film critic David Ehrlich ranked ''World of Tomorrow Episode Three'' #3 on his list of the 25 Best Films of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title='The 25 Best Films of 2020' |date=January 11, 2021 |url=https://www.yearendlists.com/2020/david-ehrlich-the-25-best-films-of-2020}}</ref>
In 2021, the film was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Short, Hertzfeldt's 4th nomination in the category.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/soul-wolfwalkers-lead-annie-awards-animated-feature-noms-4142162/|title='Soul,' 'Wolfwalkers' Lead Annie Awards Animated Feature Noms|first=Carolyn|last=Giardina|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 3, 2021|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516174035/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/soul-wolfwalkers-lead-annie-awards-animated-feature-noms-4142162/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''ME''=== The 22-minute ''ME'', was released in theaters in the summer of 2024 as part of a double-bill with the theatrical rerelease of his 2012 feature film, ''It's Such a Beautiful Day''.<ref name="auto2"/> ''ME'' debuted on VOD in October 2024.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/ondemand/marblehalls|title=Watch ME Online | Vimeo On Demand|first=don|last=hertzfeldt|date=October 6, 2024|via=Vimeo}}</ref>
''ME'' is an abstract, experimental musical described by Hertzfeldt as being about narcissism and pain.<ref name="auto"/>
''Sight and Sound'' Magazine compared ''ME'' to the "broken-puzzle poetry of David Lynch's ''Mulholland Drive''", describing it as a "socio-cosmic satire" about "communication breakdown and its upshots -- solipsism, abandonment, blight, fascism -- set in a contemporary landscape of high tech and low morality... the film is [Hertzfeldt's] most coded, gnomic, and perhaps intuitive; both on the nose and deeply cryptic."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/me-don-hertzfeldts-entropic-musical-short-is-out-this-world|title=Me review: Don Hertzfeldt's brutal world of tomorrow|date=October 14, 2024|website=BFI|access-date=October 29, 2024|archive-date=November 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241102061925/https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/me-don-hertzfeldts-entropic-musical-short-is-out-this-world|url-status=live}}</ref>
''The Film Stage'' described ''ME'' as a "dialogue-free musical that pushes the animation extraordinaire’s inventiveness to new heights. Starting as a small-scale family drama before reaching perhaps the widest scope of his work yet, it’s a rhythmically captivating odyssey into the fabric of humanity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thefilmstage.com/new-to-streaming-me-coma-hundreds-of-beavers-humanist-vampire-seeking-consenting-suicidal-person-more/|title=New to Streaming: ME, Coma, Hundreds of Beavers, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person & More|first=The Film|last=Stage|date=October 11, 2024}}</ref>
''Indiewire'' called ''ME'' a "brilliant apocalyptic musical about narcissism," noting it "seems to explode from a cosmic collision between nothing and everything all at once... these films keep stretching toward the stars as they probe deeper into the pit of our souls."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/me-review-don-hertzfeldt-1235057345/|title='ME' Review: Don Hertzfeldt's Brilliant New Short Is an Apocalyptic Musical About Narcissism|first=David|last=Ehrlich|date=October 16, 2024}}</ref> ''Polygon'' named it one of the best animated films of the year, calling it "the type of movie that sticks with you long after it’s finished, the type that makes you look at yourself, the people around you, and the world differently for having watched it."<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/recommendations/470081/best-animated-movies-2024|title=Best animated movies of 2024|first=Petrana|last=Radulovic|website=Polygon|date=October 28, 2024|access-date=October 28, 2024|archive-date=October 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241028132309/https://www.polygon.com/recommendations/470081/best-animated-movies-2024|url-status=live}}</ref>
''Cambridge Day'' called Hertzfeldt "perhaps our most beloved and influential living animator not named Hayao."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridgeday.com/2024/08/01/baldwin-gets-his-due-at-the-brattle-metallica-rocks-long-and-its-1999-anew-via-the-matrix/|title=Baldwin gets his due at The Brattle, Metallica rocks long and it's 1999 anew via 'The Matrix'|first=Oscar|last=Goff|date=August 1, 2024|website=Cambridge Day}}</ref>
In 2025, ''ME'' advanced to the "shortlist", the final round of voting for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards, but did not make the ultimate list of five nominees.<ref name="Oscars 2025">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/oscars-shortlist-2025-wicked-emilia-perez-1236251130/|title=Oscars Shortlist Announced in 10 Categories|date=December 17, 2024|access-date=January 23, 2025|archive-date=December 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241227121936/https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/oscars-shortlist-2025-wicked-emilia-perez-1236251130/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''Animation Mixtape''===
In 2025, Hertzfeldt created and curated ''Animation Mixtape'', a new anthology of international animated short films. Unlike past animation festivals, ''Mixtape'' is designed to only screen in theaters, with all of the net box office earnings paid to the animators in the program.<ref name="Mixtape">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/don-hertzfeldt-animation-mixtape-interview-teaser-1235143301/|title=Don Hertzfeldt’s ‘Animation Mixtape’ Short Film Anthology Gets Teaser, Late August Release|date=August 6, 2025}}</ref> The program featured a dozen animated films, including ''Martyr's Guidebook'', ''Zoon'', ''The Flying Sailor'', ''Wednesday with Goddard'', restorations of classic films ''The Big Snit'' and ''Hill Farm'', as well as never before seen hand-drawn animation from animator Bruce Bickford.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inkfilms.com/films/animation-mixtape|title=Animation Mixtape}}</ref> Hertzfeldt contributed a three-minute cartoon intro as well as an outro, resurrecting the "Fluffy Guy" characters from ''Rejected'' and ''The Animation Show''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svXG7M5OkMo|title=Animation Mixtape trailer|access-date=March 10, 2026|archive-date=January 5, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260105235641/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svXG7M5OkMo|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''Paper Trail''===
Hertzfeldt's latest film ''Paper Trail'' premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision. The jury described the film as "a meticulous and brilliantly crafted example of how a single idea, which unfolds with vision and ingenuity, can expand our way of seeing the world... a roving journey of one man’s life, twisting and turning along the way with moments that are at once playful, banal, sincere, and, in the end, deeply moving."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/steph-curry-sundance-film-festival-short-film-ben-proudfoot-1236486856/|title=Sundance Film Festival Award Winners|access-date=January 29, 2026|archive-date=January 29, 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260129070623/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/steph-curry-sundance-film-festival-short-film-ben-proudfoot-1236486856/|url-status=live}}</ref>
''Paper Trail'' subsequently won the Audience Award and Best Animated Short Film at SXSW and the Golden Gate Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival. The San Francisco jury called ''Paper Trail'' "one of those rare short films that comes around only every so often, and one that will likely go on to be referenced as a tentpole of animated storytelling... [it] may well be Hertzfeldt's masterstroke."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/festivals/sf-film-festival-2026-award-winners-1235192579/|title=SFFILM Fest Winners|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Other work== In December 2013, Hertzfeldt released a graphic novel, ''The End of the World'', through independent publisher Antibookclub. The 216-page book was described in his blog as containing many years of leftover film ideas reshaped into an experimental new story: "If the films were albums, I guess these would be the B-sides." In 2019, Random House announced they would be printing a new edition of ''The End of the World'' in wide release.<ref name=RandomHouse>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607568/the-end-of-the-world-by-|title=The End of the World|access-date=June 8, 2021|via=www.randomhousebooks.com}}</ref>
In 2013, Hertzfeldt created a 30-second piece called ''Day Sleeper'' on an iPad for the National Film Board of Canada. It was animated using their app, a tribute to experimental animator Norman McLaren.
In 2021, Hertzfeldt animated and directed ''On Memory'', a non-fiction special feature included on the ''World of Tomorrow: The First Three Episodes'' Blu-ray.
Hertzfeldt created the animated logo for Jennifer Lawrence's production company, Excellent Cadaver. The logo debuted with the release of ''Causeway'' in 2022.<ref name=logo>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1588945125937655808?s=20&t=s3g17_G31hXSYF4KhBpYjw|title=Excellent Cadaver}}></ref>
In 2024 it was announced that Hertzfeldt is collaborating with Ari Aster on an animated feature film called ''Antarctica''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/Thisisntflying/status/1830078024579961258|title=x.com|access-date=September 9, 2024|archive-date=December 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224211624/https://x.com/Thisisntflying/status/1830078024579961258|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Influence== Hertzfeldt's work has been credited with being a prominent influence on surrealism and absurdism in animation in the 2000s, including shaping Adult Swim's brand of animated comedy.<ref name="AWN">{{cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/articles/people/iaqua-teeni-big-screen-interview-matt-maiellaro-dave-willis/page/4%2C1|title=Aqua Teen on the Big Screen: Interview with Matt Maiellaro & Dave Willis|last=Clark|first=Craig J.|date=April 12, 2007|work=Animation World Network|page=5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126174220/https://www.awn.com/animationworld/aqua-teen-big-screen-interview-matt-maiellaro-dave-willis|archive-date=January 26, 2025|access-date=February 26, 2025}}</ref>
In 2008, Comedy Central noted his work as having "influenced an entire generation of filmmakers."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/05/don-hertzfeldt.html|title=Don Hertzfeldt: The CC Insider Interview|last=Tobey|first=Matt|date=May 29, 2008|work=Comedy Central|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531122208/http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/05/don-hertzfeldt.html|archive-date=May 31, 2008|access-date=June 1, 2008}}</ref>
In 2012, Hertzfeldt was ranked #16 in an animation industry and historian survey of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Animation."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animationcareerreview.com/tags/100-top-animators|title=The Top 100 Most Influential People in Animation|date=March 8, 2012|website=Animation Career Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130322170118/http://www.animationcareerreview.com/tags/100-top-animators|archive-date=March 22, 2013|access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref>
An animated science fiction story in the third season of ''Fargo'' was an homage to Hertzfeldt's work.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fargo-law-contradiction-john-cameron-interview-1000098/|title='Fargo' Director Talks Bringing Minnesota Nice to Los Angeles|website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=May 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/7o5raz/hi_its_don_hertzfeldt_filmmaker_how_are_you_ama/|title=hi it's don hertzfeldt (filmmaker) how are you? AMA|last=Hertzfeldt|first=Don|date=January 5, 2018|access-date=January 5, 2018}}</ref>
In 2018, Raphael Bob-Waksberg cited Hertzfeldt as an influence in the creation of the animated series ''BoJack Horseman''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/bojack-horseman-netflix-raphael-bob-waksberg-718290/|title='BoJack Horseman' Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg on the Show's 10 Biggest Influences|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 12, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cracked.com/article_38230_15-trivia-tidbits-about-bojack-horseman.html|title=15 Trivia Tidbits About 'BoJack Horseman'|website=Cracked|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
In 2021, Pete Docter acknowledged Hertzfeldt's visual influence on the Pixar film ''Soul''.<ref name="Soul">{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/don-hertzfeldt-talks-the-present-and-future-of-world-of-1846389650|title=Don Hertzfeldt Talks the Present and Future of World of Tomorrow, His Incredible Sci-Fi Animated Series|website=Gizmodo|date=March 4, 2021 }}</ref>
In 2025, Clint Bentley cited ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' as one of the influences behind his film, ''Train Dreams''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://letterboxd.com/crew/list/films-that-influenced-clint-bentleys-train/|title=Films that influenced Clint Bentley’s ‘Train Dreams’|access-date=January 19, 2026|archive-date=December 4, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251204152416/https://letterboxd.com/crew/list/films-that-influenced-clint-bentleys-train/|url-status=live}}></ref>
Hertzfeldt influenced many webcomics including ''Hyperbole and a Half'', ''xkcd'', and ''Cyanide & Happiness''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://transcriptvids.com/v/zJOS0sV2a24.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909142105/http://transcriptvids.com/v/zJOS0sV2a24.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 9, 2017|title=Authors@Google: Randall Munroe of xkcd|date=November 12, 2007|website=Transcript Vids Home|access-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbr.com/talking-comics-with-tim-cyanide-happiness-kris-matt-dave/|title=Talking Comics with Tim: Cyanide & Happiness' Kris, Matt & Dave|last=O'Shea|first=Tim|date=March 29, 2010|website=Comic Book Resources|access-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref>
==Awards and honors== Hertzfeldt has had more films play in competition at the Sundance Film Festival than any other filmmaker, with nine: ''Rejected'', ''The Meaning of Life'', ''Everything Will Be OK'', ''I Am So Proud of You'', ''Wisdom Teeth'', ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', ''World of Tomorrow'', ''World of Tomorrow Episode Two'', and ''Paper Trail''. He returned to the Sundance Film Festival in 2013 to serve on the Short Film Jury.
In 1999, at the age of 22, Hertzfeldt was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for ''Billy's Balloon'', where he was the youngest director in competition. The same year ''Billy's Balloon'' won the Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Award.
In 2000, at the age of 23, Hertzfeldt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his fifth short film, ''Rejected''. He lost to Michaël Dudok de Wit for ''Father and Daughter''.
In 2001, Hertzfeldt was named by ''Filmmaker Magazine'' as one of the "Top 25 Filmmakers to Watch."
In 2002, Hertzfeldt joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2007, ''Everything Will Be OK'' won the Grand Jury Award for Short Film at the Sundance Film Festival, a prize rarely given to an animated film.<ref name="Sundance 2007">{{cite web|url=http://festival.sundance.org/2007/winners/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival_Announces_Jury_and_Audience_Awards.pdf |title=2007 Sundance Film Festival Announces Jury and Audience Awards |access-date=March 28, 2007 |date=January 27, 2007 |work=Sundance Institute |page=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226135844/http://festival.sundance.org/2007/winners/2007_Sundance_Film_Festival_Announces_Jury_and_Audience_Awards.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2007 }}</ref>
In 2007, ''Everything Will Be OK'' advanced to the "shortlist", the final round of voting as a contender for an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film, but did not make the ultimate list of five nominees.<ref name="Oscars 2007">{{cite web|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/2007-animated-short-oscar-shortlist-2427.html|title=2007 Animated Short Oscar Shortlist|date=December 23, 2006|access-date=January 23, 2025|archive-date=September 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140902183105/https://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/2007-animated-short-oscar-shortlist-2427.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2007, Hertzfeldt accepted an invitation from the George Eastman House's motion picture archives to indefinitely store and preserve the original film elements and camera negatives of his collected work.
In 2009, ''Rejected'' was the only short film named one of the "Films of the Decade" by Salon.com.<ref name="Films of the Decade"/> In 2010, it was noted as one of the five "most innovative animated films of the past ten years" by ''The Huffington Post''.<ref name="Huffington"/>
In 2010, at the age of 33, Hertzfeldt received the San Francisco International Film Festival's "Persistence of Vision" Lifetime Achievement Award "for his unique contributions to film and animation," and "for challenging the boundaries of his craft."<ref name="Lifetime Achievement Award">{{cite web|url=http://sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=9&pageid=1554&TitleId=|title=Lifetime Achievement Award|date=April 23, 2012|website=San Francisco Film Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424230002/http://sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=9&pageid=1554&TitleId=|archive-date=April 24, 2012|access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref>
Hertzfeldt was the youngest director named in the ''They Shoot Pictures, Don't They'' list of "The 100 Important Animation Directors" of all time.<ref name="important directors">{{cite web|url=http://alsolikelife.com/shooting/2009/08/100-important-directors-of-animated-short-films/|title=100 Important Directors of Animated Short Films|date=August 27, 2009|work=alsolikelife|access-date=August 30, 2009|archive-date=July 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726080037/http://alsolikelife.com/shooting/2009/08/100-important-directors-of-animated-short-films/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2012, Hertzfeldt received the Ted M. Larson Award from the Fargo Film Festival, for his "contributions to film culture."<ref name="Ted Larson Award">{{cite web|url=http://www.moviemakingwiki.net/index.php?title=Ted_M._Larson_Award|title=Ted M. Larson Award|website=Movie Making Wiki|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101202007/http://www.moviemakingwiki.net/index.php?title=Ted_M._Larson_Award|archive-date=November 1, 2012|url-status=usurped|access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref>
In 2015, Hertzfeldt won the Grand Jury Award for Short Film a second time at the Sundance Film Festival, for ''World of Tomorrow''.
In December 2015, Hertzfeldt received a special award from the Austin Film Critics Association, "in celebration of a career of remarkable short filmmaking and contributions to animation spanning two decades, with 2015's award-winning ''World of Tomorrow'' being recognized as his best work to date."
Hertzfeldt has been nominated for four Annie Awards for Best Animated Short Film. He lost for ''Rejected'' in 2001 and ''Everything Will Be OK'' in 2007 and won for ''World of Tomorrow'' in 2016. ''World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime'' was nominated in 2021 and lost.
In 2016, ''World of Tomorrow'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards, Hertzfeldt's second nomination. He lost to ''Bear Story''.
In 2025, ''ME'' advanced to the "shortlist", the final round of voting for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards, but did not make the ultimate list of five nominees.<ref name="Oscars 2025"/>
==DVD and Blu-ray releases== <!-- FAIR USE of Hertzfeldt-dvd.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hertzfeldt-dvd.jpg for rationale -->
Hertzfeldt owns the rights to all of his work and has self-distributed his films under the moniker "Bitter Films" since the 1990s.<ref name="http://www.bitterfilms.com/ok.html"/>
Bitter Films' first DVD release was a 2001 limited edition DVD "single" of the short ''Rejected''. The DVD included a deleted scene, audio commentary, and a few hidden pages. It is now out of print.
''Don Hertzfeldt Volume One: 1995–2005'' was released in 2006, collecting the first 10 years of his work. All of the short films were remastered and restored in high definition from their original film negatives. The DVD was made available only to fans via the Bitter Films website, with the first 750 pre-orderers receiving an "exclusive mystery gift" (either a 35mm clipping from ''Rejected'' that was autographed by Don, or a unique drawing by Don on a Post-it note).
This DVD marked the first time his student films such as ''Genre'' and ''Lily and Jim'' were made widely available to the public. Many of these works were only previously found on limited-release VHS collections of animated shorts, long out of print.
The special features for ''Don Hertzfeldt Volume One: 1995–2005'' included a time-lapse documentary of the making of ''The Meaning of Life'' called "Watching Grass Grow", ''The Animation Show'' Trilogy cartoons, ''Lily and Jim'' deleted dialogues and outtakes, ''Rejected'' trivia captions, ''The Meaning of Life'' special effects audio commentary, an over 140-page "archive" section (of rare footage from Hertzfeldt's earliest cartoons, original pencil tests, deleted sequences, abandoned footage, and sketch to scene comparisons), ''Lily and Jim'' audio commentary, ''Rejected'' audio commentary, and a retrospective booklet, with liner notes by Hertzfeldt.
In 2007, ''Everything Will Be OK'' was released as another DVD "single". Special features on this release included over a hundred pages of "archival" material (sketches, storyboards, deleted materials), and a hidden feature that played a narration-free version of the film. Fans who pre-ordered the DVD received a unique 35mm film strip clipped from one of the film's theatrical prints.
''I Am So Proud of You'' was released as a similar "single" in 2009. It featured a similar 148-page "archive" of production materials, as well as a hidden narration-free feature. Fans who pre-ordered the DVD received a unique 35mm film strip clipped from one of the film's theatrical prints.
''Don Hertzfeldt Volume 2: 2006–2011'', a DVD collection of all work from 2006–2011 (including the feature film version of ''It's Such a Beautiful Day) ''was released in November 2012. Special features for the release included over 40 minutes of live Q&A material from the touring program, the cartoon ''Wisdom Teeth'', a deleted scene from ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', and a 24-page booklet. Fans who pre-ordered the release also received a unique 35mm film strip clipped from a theatrical print of ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', and other free gifts.
In 2015, Hertzfeldt ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund future productions, with the Blu-ray debut of ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' and ''World of Tomorrow'' as the central pledge reward. The campaign raised over $215,000. With rising pledges he restored and remastered additional short films ''The Meaning of Life'', ''Rejected'', ''Wisdom Teeth'', and student films ''Billy's Balloon'' and ''Lily and Jim'', adding them to the Blu-ray as well. Also included on the disc was an interview, his piece from ''The Simpsons'', and the first preview of ''World of Tomorrow Episode Two''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1072409840/hertzfeldt-on-blu-ray/description|title=HERTZFELDT ON BLU-RAY|website=Kickstarter|language=en-US|access-date=September 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/kickstarter.html|title=hertzfeldt on blu-ray|website=Bitter Films|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322155744/http://www.bitterfilms.com/kickstarter.html|archive-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref>
In 2021, a second fundraiser campaign raised over $450,000 for future productions. The main pledge reward was the Blu-ray release of ''World of Tomorrow: The First Three Episodes'', a collection of the first three ''World of Tomorrow'' short films plus a booklet of production notes, a deleted scene, and a related new animated short called ''On Memory''.<ref name="Bitter Films">{{Cite web|url=http://bitterfilms.com/bluray.html|title=hertzfeldt on blu-ray|website=bitterfilms.com|access-date=January 31, 2022|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214021108/http://www.bitterfilms.com/bluray.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Other rewards included signed prints, original production artwork from ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'', ''World of Tomorrow'' jigsaw puzzles, and original drawings.
Since the 1990s, Hertzfeldt has annually auctioned off rare animation artwork and original film props to raise money for local charities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1655276970849058817|title=x.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1549468745919340544|title=x.com}}</ref> Other artwork has been occasionally given away through the Bitter Films online store through special promotions. Because Hertzfeldt does not often do signings, his animation artwork is rare for collectors and fans to own. The 2023 charity auction marked the first time original animation drawings from ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' had ever been made available.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1651652933274968071|title=x.com}}</ref> ==View on advertising== Hertzfeldt has been offered numerous lucrative advertising deals, including ad campaigns for Cingular Wireless and United Airlines, which he has declined. He has made various comments over the years about his dislike of corporate America and says he will never be involved with the advertising world. He has said, "The goal isn't to try and make as much money as I possibly can, the goal is to try and make good movies."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/articles-r.html|title=2008 Don Hertzfeldt interviews|access-date=February 18, 2026|archive-date=April 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415032918/http://www.bitterfilms.com/articles-r.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In a 2015 ''Vanity Fair'' interview, Hertzfeldt said:
{{quote|...Many people in our industry would see advertising work as the ultimate goal, which really illustrates the sad state of affairs that's set up for many young animators. They're basically being taught that their [own] work has no value. Their personal projects, even when Oscar-nominated and whatnot, are perceived as just a way to attract some empty corporate advertising gig where they can maybe make enough money to fund another personal project that's maybe dropped on YouTube, loses money, and forgotten about. It's a terrible cycle. Artists shouldn't be making art on the side, it should be their job. We need to retrain audiences who've grown used to the free YouTube model that [short films] are worth paying for.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/don-hertzfeldt-world-of-tomorrow-interview|title=Oscar Nominee Don Hertzfeldt on the Disappearing Art of Short Films|first=Spike|last=Carter|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=27 May 2015|access-date=Jun 8, 2021}}</ref>}}
In a March 2009 blog entry, Hertzfeldt compared filmmaking to his love of hiking and exploring new places: something he does just because he "enjoys doing it and will probably always enjoy doing it." He compared doing advertising to being paid to not go explore the woods, but to walk around someone's house eight hours a day wearing a sandwich board with a picture of a product on it. "Money's not the reason I take walks. It doesn't really factor into it. I take walks because I enjoy doing it. It's something I'd do if I was rich, and it's something I'd do if I were poor."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bitterfilms.com/forum33.html|title=journal page 33|website=Bitter Films|access-date=July 23, 2013}}</ref>
Nevertheless, several international ad campaigns have borrowed heavily from his unique style and bear enough resemblance to Hertzfeldt's work as to be mistaken for it. The most well-known instance of this is a series of television ads for Kellogg's Pop-Tarts, which use black and white stick figures, "squiggly" animation, surreal humor, and even an occasional crumpling paper effect, all very similar to Hertzfeldt's style. Despite all these similarities, Hertzfeldt was not involved in any way.<ref name="Pop-Tarts">{{cite web|url=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/23993|title=Killer Rabbit w/info on Dark Crystal 2, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy Animated, Choose Your Own Adventure & more!!!|date=July 27, 2006|work=Ain't It Cool News|access-date=August 8, 2006|quote=Don Hertzfeldt did not do those Pop tart commercials. He is looking into ligation about it.|archive-date=December 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219142714/http://www.aintitcool.com/node/23993|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Filmography== '''Feature Films''' * ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' (2012) * ''Antarctica'' (TBA)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/Thisisntflying/status/1830078024579961258|title=x.com|access-date=September 9, 2024|archive-date=December 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224211624/https://x.com/Thisisntflying/status/1830078024579961258|url-status=live}}</ref>
'''Short Films''' * ''Rejected'' (2000) * ''The Meaning of Life'' (2005) * ''Everything Will Be OK'' (2006) * ''I Am So Proud of You'' (2008) * ''Wisdom Teeth'' (2010) * ''It's Such a Beautiful Day'' (2011) * ''World of Tomorrow'' (2015) * ''World of Tomorrow - Episode Two: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts'' (2017) * ''World of Tomorrow - Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime'' (2020) * ''On Memory'' (2021) * ''ME'' (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hertzfeldt |first=Don |date=December 27, 2023 |title="i am happy to report that my next film, ME, will at long last be released next year" |url=https://x.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1740080375727038940 |access-date=December 27, 2023 |website=Twitter}}</ref> * ''Paper Trail'' (2026)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hertzfeldt |first=Don |date=December 16, 2025 |title="i've made a new animated film called "paper trail" that will premiere next month at the sundance film festival✍🏻"rejected" will also return to ruin sundance after 25 years, in a special anniversary program. see you soon🌞 #sundancefilmfestival" |url=https://www.facebook.com/donhertzfeldt/posts/pfbid08VMj9ubkbq2diiLMSvjQd4mx1LsyTW2fiq7BdvTLCr1ZCi1eshG47vvG4g3CfMnHl |access-date=December 18, 2025 |website=Facebook}}</ref>
'''Student Films''' * ''Ah, L'Amour'' (1995) * ''Genre'' (1996) * ''Lily and Jim'' (1997) * ''Billy's Balloon'' (1998)
'''Miscellaneous''' * ''Welcome to the Show/Intermission in the Third Dimension/The End of the Show'' (2003) (cartoons created to book-end the first "Animation Show" program) * ''Day Sleeper'' (2013) (created for the National Film Board of Canada) * ''The Simpsons'' (2014) (episode "Clown in the Dumps" two minute couch gag) *''Intro'' (2017) (cartoon created to introduce a Hertzfeldt theatrical program) *''Excellent Cadaver'' (2019) (logo created for Jennifer Lawrence) *''Animation Mixtape Intro'' (2025)
== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * {{official website|http://www.bitterfilms.com|Bitter Films}} – official site * {{IMDb name|id=0381116|name=Don Hertzfeldt}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20091105061346/http://blog.afi.com/afifest/index.php/2009/11/01/an-interview-with-don-hertzfeldt American Film Institute 2009 interview]
{{Don Hertzfeldt}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hertzfeldt, Don}} Category:American animated film directors Category:American comedy film directors Category:American surrealist artists Category:Animators from California Category:Stop motion animators Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:People from Fremont, California Category:Artists from California Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:People from Castro Valley, California Category:Annie Award winners Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners Category:Postmodernist filmmakers Category:Mission San Jose High School alumni