The Global Search for Education: A Whimsical Take on Vampire Mythology in Dying to Defrost
This month on Planet Classroom, audiences can screen Dying to Defrost, directed by Heather Ann Abeyasekera. This film is curated for Planet Classroom by the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival.
Dying to Defrost is a fresh, whimsical take on vampire mythology, blending fantasy and comedy in a way that captivates audiences of all ages. The 2D-animated short follows a centuries-old vampire on a desperate quest for warmth, flipping traditional vampire lore on its head. With a Looney Tunes-inspired visual style, humor, and unexpected twists, Dying to Defrost delivers a vibrant adventure filled with charm and originality.
The Global Search for Education is pleased to welcome Heather Ann Abeyasekera.
Heather, what inspired you to reimagine vampire mythology in such a unique way?
My personal belief is that sci-fi taken to the extreme becomes fantasy, and I was wondering, “Why do vampires need blood?” They’re powerful immortals, but traditionally, a person becomes a vampire after dying. So maybe human blood does something vampires can’t do? Maybe it’s not just about oxygen or nutrients, but what if it’s about how our own blood spreads warmth throughout the body? Since I personally despise the cold, I thought, “Dang, I think I’d rather stay dead than be eternally cold.” And that’s how it started.
How did classic animation styles influence your visual storytelling?
The bones of Dying to Defrost are absolutely a Looney Tunes cartoon, right down to the Daffy Duck-styled “back to square one” ending. The lifeblood, however, was the 1940s-50s’ UPA style of characters and backgrounds. They had a slightly cubist creativity and disregard for the laws of perspective and physics. I really wanted to take advantage of that to tell a very long and detailed story in a very short amount of time while making it as entertaining as possible.
What challenges did you face in blending humor with eerie fantasy?
I had to try six different endings until I found “the one.” The story was very personal to my life at the time, and I didn’t want it to end with our vampire struggling for nothing — it didn’t sit right with me to play it off like that. We had seen our vampire struggling for eons, and what’s the payoff? Just a joke? I wanted to balance humor and triumph with her ending. I really hope that it shows through so that we can all laugh and smile together with our vampire at the end.
How do you hope audiences connect with your protagonist’s journey?
I hope they laugh, first and foremost. And I hope they empathize with her struggles and can see themselves in her. I think hard work and struggling for what you want are an inevitability — I just hope that everyone finds their reward as worthwhile as she did.
Thank you, Heather!
C. M. Rubin with Heather Ann Abeyasekera
Don’t miss Dying to Defrost, now streaming on the Planet Classroom Network. This film is curated by the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival for Planet Classroom.