The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a lovely, thoughtful little animated short on Apple TV+. It is, indeed, about a boy, a horse, a fox and a horse… but not an oxford comma (sorry, grammar humor… I’ll show myself out).

The short is about a lost little boy who encounters a talking mole, then a talking fox, and finally a talking horse on one lonely winter’s day. The boy is lost and wants to find home, the mole wants to find cake, and the other two are here for the philosophy, I guess. Goals aren’t the motivating factor of this gentle film though… thoughts are.

This short has something to say and it wants to say it like you are cozied up in the warmest blanket on a cold day. It’s somehow both chill and warm at the same time. I was drawn into its tone and winsome softness.

The dialog is largely meant to deliver philosophical statements, not all of which are as deep as the film thinks they are. Indeed, some even might come off as simple and trite. But others… yeah… they deliver. But I suspect the ones that deliver and the ones that make your eyes roll will be different for different viewers. What I saw as a simple or unconvincing platitudes might be the deepest of deep thoughts to someone else.

I especially loved one that I was prepping a mighty eye-roll for… it was about asking for help and I figured it was going to be a simple one (like asking for help doesn’t make you weak, it makes you strong). But the film surprised me… asking for help doesn’t mean you surrender, it means you refuse to surrender. Maybe that’s no deeper than a puddle to you, but it made me stop and ponder my own obstinance at a challenge.

So what you get out of his simple little film might be different from what I get out of it. But I think it’s worth watching to see where you gently fall on this film’s winter’s day. I was surprised by it, moved by it, and I think it’s a special one.

Score: 91