Tavi Gevinson Sings Neil Young In 'Cadaver' Animation
An animated Christopher Lloyd and Tavi Gevinson in the animated short film "Cadaver."
Photo: Courtesy of Jonah D. Ansell/"Cadaver"
Just when we thought the multifaceted, preternaturally talented teen fashion blogger-slash-media-mogul Tavi Gevinson couldn't get any cooler or more diversely creative, she goes and does a film. Yes, an actual FILM. And that's not all, folks, she sings in this thing too. Oh, and did we mention it's animated? Seriously, there's nothing this gal can't do. Aside from running her teen site Rookie, interviewing her girl crushes, posing for French fashion mag covers, and going to high school every day like a normal sophomore, she has recently started appearing in motion pictures too. There was the cameo she made in pal Spencer Tweedy's music video, and now she stars in the new animated short film Cadaver, written and directed by filmmaker Jonah D. Ansell, who cast Tavi in one of his earlier short films. (Who knew she was an actress?!) Not only does Tavi do a fantastic voiceover job in this fantastical love story about a human cadaver that comes back to life, she sings one of the sweetest renditions of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" we've ever heard. Um, can we just emphasize that Neil Young RARELY gives permission to any artists to record this song, and he personally gave Tavi permission. So, yeah, this is HUGE, y'all.
An animated Tavi Gevinson playing the part of Lynn in the animated short "Cadaver."
Photo: Courtesy of Jonah D. Ansell/"Cadaver"
A 2-D animated short as well as a picture book, Cadaver follows the story of a pair of medical students (one of whom is played by Tavi) who begin to dissect a human cadaver only for it to come alive again. The story is told as a "cinematic poem," meaning it rhymes like a modern Shakespearean sonnet. Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd plays the elderly cadaver whose heart needs one last bit of mending before he can rest, and Oscar winner Kathy Bates plays the thread that helps sew him back together. It's a sweet and hilarious film full of creepily tender moments, and Tavi narrates the entire thing while her onscreen character—dressed in her best lab coat chic with oversize square glasses—helps the cadaver find what he's looking for. We don't want to give away too much, but Tavi totally slayed us with her spare, haunting rendition of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," which she sings accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Like we mentioned before, Neil Young personally gave his permission to Tavi to record the song (and has only done so for the likes of Tori Amos and parent fave Jimmy Buffett) and did so in order for the song to reach a new generation. So if you're a major Tavi fan like we are (she's one of our 2012 Girls to Watch!), love Neil Young, animation, or simply want to have your own heart mended by a darkly beautiful animated story, we think you'll love Cadaver as much as we did. Check out a trailer for the film below!
CADAVER The Film Trailer from JAMS on Vimeo.
