"Shape of Dreams"

13 April 2026

3 mins

Dreamy.

American star Zendaya is the focal point of this eye-catching film for On from director Spike Jonze, who also wrote it. It feels like a homage to a sequence one might expect to see in a TV programme for pre-schoolers in the days before it was decided that we should stimulate the hell out of the poor wee things. Jonze makes the most of his lead's charisma while digging into his box of perspective-altering trickery to create a sensational series of effects.

Seeing this in the wild a few days at a screening at the Everyman in Canary Wharf of The Drama - a black comedy featuring Zendaya - it looked, for a while, as though it might be an ad for Gap and, sad to report, it didn't really grab the attention of the cinemagoers urgently placing their orders for hot dogs, popcorn and other foul-smelling snacks, but they were in such a purchasing frenzy that DAVID isn't sure that a terrorist attack would have distracted them from their purpose.

The ad is exactly the kind of lovingly-crafted work that reminds us of the value of doing things for real. It is a beautiful combination of in-camera trickery and VFX magic (courtesy of The Perlin) designed to stir excitement about a brand, and a perfect illustration of the alchemy that always lie beyond the reach of the oxymoronic - emphasis on the moronic - AI 'filmmakers'.

USA

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