In the Pacific Northwest, a curious young raccoon wants to explore the world, but her father forbids her, as there is great danger.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Of the emotional variety; Papa scolds Marie not just out of worry, but for every single infraction, no matter how small. He snaps at her for attempting to replicate the way he's digging for clams, destroys a seashell that she finds, and doesn't comfort her after the ordeal with the coyote. She nearly follows his example with her own child before deciding to break the cycle.
- All There in the Manual: According to the director's Instagram, the adult raccoon ("Papa") is male, his child ("Marie") is female, and her own child ("Baby Boy") is male.
- Ambiguous Gender: Within the short itself, the raccoons' genders are never made clear.
Word of God confirms all
three genders of the raccoons on his Instagram. - Ambiguously Absent Parent: Marie's mother is never seen. Neither is Marie's mate when she grows up and becomes a parent herself, although the latter makes more sense, as real life raccoons are not monogamous and mothers raise the kits alone.
- Anger Born of Worry: Papa flips out when Marie runs off, understandably so since disobeying him is what led to the kid getting hurt. Deconstructed, as his "do as I say and don't question me" approach fails to actually prevent her from getting hurt in the first place, and getting shouted at after the fact just makes the damage worse. Later, the now-adult Marie nearly does the same thing to her own child, until she catches herself making the same mistake, and switches to a gentler, more understanding approach.
- Artistic License – Biology: Male raccoons don't play a role in raising their young.
- Because I Said So: Deconstructed. Marie's father doesn't explain or show her why she has to stay in the cave, just dragging her back and snapping at her every time she leaves it. Marie, who is very eager to explore this exciting new environment, keeps running off and learns the hard way why her father was being so protective. Later, she almost does the same thing to her own child, but then realizes that this approach isn't helping anyone, so instead she takes her child to the tree and shows them the coyote and gestures to her scar. Once he's given actual context and an explanation, the child understands and obeys, only venturing out with his mother and thus staying safe.
- Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Marie's father was extremely harsh and overprotective with her when teaching her how to make her way in the world. After she becomes a mother, she recognizes that she is repeating her father's behavior, and adopts a more gentle, diplomatic approach with her own child.
- Cruel Coyotes: One with Icy Blue Eyes ends up injuring Marie, the raccoon protagonist.
- Curious as a Monkey: Marie is a curious little raccoon eager to explore the world around her, but she doesn't know how dangerous it can be.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title references the old saying of "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," referring to Marie almost becoming like her abusive father. It is also a literal reference to Papa and Marie leaving the tree they live in to find clams by the sea.
- Empathic Environment:
- At the beginning, the sky is a bright cloudless blue, reflecting Marie's optimism and excitement to explore the world.
- Dark storm clouds gather during Marie's terrifying confrontation with the coyote, all the way up to Papa rescuing her and then angrily scolding her for nearly getting killed. Even after the danger passes, the sky does not clear because their negative feelings haven't resolved; Marie is shaken by what she went through and terrified of Papa's wrath, and he doesn't make a move to comfort her.
- After the Time Skip, the sky is still lightly overcast when Marie is being fearful of the world and overprotective of her own kit, like her father was.
- The sky turns bright blue again when Marie and her child are having fun together. As the short ends, they watch a beautiful sunset and hold a seashell to listen to the sounds of the sea.
- Eye Scream: The father raccoon lost an eye at some point, and fears losing his child to the harsh world that took it, and nearly does.
- Good Parents: When Marie grows up, she has a kit of her own. She initially repeats her father's mistake when she gets angry at her child for nearly getting eaten by a coyote, but when she realizes that she's scaring him, she catches herself and takes a more nurturing approach. She calmly shows her child the coyote from a safe distance and then points to her scar to explain why he shouldn't go out.
- Icy Blue Eyes: The coyote, a fierce predator, has terrifying blue eyes that seem to be bugging out of its skull.
- Logo Joke: The Disney logo is drawn in the sand, with Marie drawing the arch, and Baby Boy placing a shell at the end.
- Manly Tears: A blink-and-you-miss-it example, but as Papa is screeching at Marie after nearly losing her to the coyote, his remaining eye is shimmering with unshed tears.
- Meaningful Name: The short's title is a reference to the old saying, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", showing how Marie very nearly ended up becoming like her overprotective father.
- The name Marie has multiple meanings, including "rebellious" and "from the sea."
- Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: Aside from the animal noises.
- My God, What Have I Done?: While snarling and shrieking at her son for nearly getting himself killed by a coyote, Marie suddenly takes in the sight of her tearful, cowering child and her own shadow, and realizes she's becoming her father.
- Nasal Trauma: Marie gets a scar on her muzzle from being slashed across the face by a coyote. She still has it when she is an adult.
- Nature Is Not Nice: Nature is beautiful and exciting, but it's also full of predators who won't hesitate to hurt a baby raccoon.
- Parents as People: Papa is harsh and mean, but he also lost an eye to a coyote, and wants to protect his daughter from an outside world that wants to literally swallow her whole. Unfortunately, he fails to communicate why, and the kit's natural curiosity leads her into trouble. Years later, Marie, now an adult with a child of her own, repeats her father's mistakes until she catches herself and takes the time to show her child why they have to be cautious, before exploring the beach together.
- Pink Means Feminine: Downplayed — Marie's fur is a dull pinkish-grey, while her father and her own child have more natural grey fur.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- After Papa furiously scolds Marie for going out when he told her not to and nearly getting killed by a coyote, the camera shows them sitting on the tree branch as far away from each other as physically possible.
- Papa shatters a seashell Marie finds as a way to exert his control over her. Years later, Marie gifts her own child with a seashell as way of showing her being a better parent than her father was.
- At the end of the short, Marie and her own child are sitting on the same branch, but they are close together and listening to the waves of the seashell.
- Scars Are Forever: Marie is identified as an adult by having the same scar she received from the coyote as a child.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Papa is never seen again after the Time Skip. Considering that years have passed, and Marie is an adult when she returns, it's very likely he died at some point.
- Would Hurt a Child: The coyote immediately attacks young Marie when it sees her. Of course, it is a predator, and when a predator sees what looks like an easy meal, it has no reason to not go right for it.
