One of the defining traits of Soyeon’s animation is that she seeks to serve a purpose beyond simply entertaining. These creations often help to communicate a solution to an experience the artist herself has been through. The film “Me and My Dog” is about the anxiety and nervousness that often comes from speaking/performing in public. As a young girl, Yoo was always afraid of presenting or performing in front of people, especially when it came to signing in music class. The main character ‘the boy’ represents Soyeon and any youth who shares this feeling. The hero of the story is “steam dog” and is a love letter to her own dog who passed away a few years ago. Yoo states with great sincerity that whenever she was down or depressed, her dog always gave her great comfort and courage and creating this film was a way to display that as well create a lasting tribute to her departed friend.
The film’s action shows a boy who must sing in front of his teacher and classmates at school. His nerves exacerbate the awkwardness of his performance and his true abilities. His mistreatment by his classmates in regards to his performance result in hallucinations of ridicule from them. Overcome with the emotion and embarrassment, the heat of his face intensifies until he notices sounds above his head. Peering upward, he sees a dog made of steam. His attempts to escape the dog fail until he begins to understand that the dog is comforting him. As difficult situations arise, Steam Dog is always there to be the boy’s benevolent companion. When the boy returns to music class, Steam Dog sings with him. The support of his friend allows this young boy to find the true talent and confidence he possesses. Recognizing that his work is done, Steam Dog floats away in a happy yet tearful goodbye. The boy’s embarrassment leads to his burning face, which is where Steam Dog first appeared from. What we begin to understand from the film is that Steam Dog came from the boy and thus will always be with him and his newly acquired confidence.
Yoo often uses 2D animation for her films. She feels that it falls between the realistic and more traditional “cartoonish” appearance which combines the realism with the more creative look she desires. Being stuck somewhere between reality and fantasy helps to suspend the real world and present the ideas with Soyeon’s own artistic vision. She often combines different animation styles in the pursuit of her own signature presentation.
A characteristic that Soyeon is known for is her pairing of animation and music while being void of dialogue. It’s this animator’s contention that music and animation are related and reinforce each other when combined. Music helps to bring animation to life because it helps to create the illusion of space and depth to support the implied motion that is animation. Conversely, animation helps to visualize the music. Proving this concept, All the characters in “Me and My Dog” only speak as instruments. Yoo thought that it would be an interesting idea if any elements such as voice for the characters could relate to the main content (music) because the story is about a boy overcoming the trauma of singing in front of a crowd. She realized that musical instruments could replace the role of the voices in this story as a means of showing that the fear of something can surround us and be overcome. An unintentional benefit of this aspect of the film was that it instantly became internationally and culturally relatable without the need for augmentation. Proof of this is found in the film’s recognition from many parts of the world such as: winner at the Calcutta International Cult Film Festival, Best Animation: Diamond Award at the Los Angeles Film Awards, and an Official Selection at numerous Film Festival around the planet (Roma Cinema DOC, Barcelona Planet Film Festival, TMC London Film Festival, TMC London Film Festival, and many others).
While she continually cultivates her own work and signature style, Soyeon recognizes the fact that it is the journey of a modern day artist to conform at times to help create the vision and voice of others. She remarks, “I think it is really important to have one’s own styles to have a voice in their own art. At the same time, if you want to work in this industry in the first place, there are definitely certain styles that have already been refined. Sometimes it’s necessary to work within these certain styles which the industry prefers. I think it is important to have balance between both ways so that you can create your own art as well as be a flexible artist who can collaborate with others. The danger in only pursuing one of these potential avenues is that you may not learn from others or you might not create and discover your own personality. I want to do both because I feel that by embracing all the possibilities my work as well as my contributions to the work of others makes the finished product better for all.”