The Bats is an award-winning hand-drawn animation by Jim Trainer

"The Bats" was drawn and animated by Jim Trainor in 1999. This 8-minute film won at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000, and for good reason. The emotion and beauty of this film lies in its simplicity, both in the way it's drawn and its premise. 

"The Bats" tells the story of a bat who leaves near a Mayan temple inside of a cave with other bats. The bats have 9 distinct pitches. We follow the bat throughout his life as his mother raises him, he learns to echo to find food, loses his brother, has sex, talks to god, faces the threat of extinction, and eventually cinpletes his life cycle. Let me know if this film made you cry, too.