Canadian animator Seth Scriver travels to remote northern Manitoba to make a film about his indigenous half-brother Pete, delivering a zany cartoon portrait of First Nations life that defies description.
The goal is to make something funny, beautiful, spiritual, political, complex, simple, and true. That should be easy, right?
Endless Cookie 2025
Two Canadian half-brothers – one white and one indigenous – collaborate in this wildly inventive animated documentary that brings oral history to magnificent life. Nearly a decade in the making, the film documents its own creation too. Filled with generous asides and diversions, it enlightens audiences about the realities of First Nations life in a unique and colourful way.
With funding secured, animator Seth Scriver flies north to Shamattawa in northern Manitoba to record stories for the film. His half-brother Pete lives in this remote Cree community, together with a massive extended family and 10 dogs. Pete proves to be a natural storyteller who can spin a simple story about setting a trap or getting a photo ID into a zany adventure.
Animated in the wild, psychedelic style of an Adult Swim cartoon, all the characters have a distinct, idiosyncratic look. The film is also packed with visual references to its antecedents, such as underground comic artists Robert Crumb and Kim Dietch. Endless Cookie is a never-ending treat for animation junkies as well as an indictment of colonial attitudes that persist to this day. — Michael McDonnell