Tanuki Too Spooky is a proposed animated short, currently only existing as an animatic, or a storyboard with accompanying dialogue and soundtrack, with brief sections animated fully for reference. It combines aspects of Shinto Japanese culture with western cartooning inspired by the likes of Chuck Jones. It follows Treble the tanuki shrine priestess and her master Forte the fox as they attempt to exorcise a demon from their temple attic. 

 

This work presents a moral in the context of a fable. Forte embodies all overbearing tendencies that can corrupt the confidence of another person. He is conceited, dismissive, and more than slightly misogynistic. When Treble tells him about the voices, he, at first, writes it off as hysteria. At least, until he begins to levitate and various objects go sailing across the room. And in his fervor to heroically vanquish the demon, he ignores Treble's warnings to not tamper with it's daughter's toys, much to his regret as he is soon violently tossed around by a vengeful spirit. In Shinto mythology, foxes or kitsune are exceedingly powerful creatures. Raccoon dogs, or tanuki, are much more humble in terms of magical prowess but excel in the art of transformation. As is said, "Where a fox has one disguise, a tanuki has eight." In folklore, these two species are often depicted in bitter rivalry. And, in the end, it is not brute force that solves Forte and Treble's dilemma, but a more thoughtful and compassionate alternative, illustrating that might is not always right.

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