"The Phantom Stranger" is an American English-language animated short film from 2020, so not even half a year old, and this one runs for a quarter of an hour and was directed by Emmy winner Bruce Timm. There are three writers credited here, but as you can see from the fact that two are not alive anymore, there is just one that contributed directly to this one story-wise. The other two came up with the character(s) decades ago. This is the story of a young woman who is annoyed by her boring parents and joins a group of hippies in their little bus to a special place where a guru by the name of Seth is waiting for them to arrive. As we find out quickly, this guru is not just a harmless lunatic, but an ancient creature kept away by the chain around his neck. And he has to feast on souls that give him new vitality. So these hippies do not make it out alive. But the female protagonist does, partially with the help of the title character, who did not really feel as the the central character here with how he does not have as much screen time as some of the other characters. But luckily he has great screen presence and how he shops up the first time in the year is already pretty memorable. The second time when he helps the girl against the bad guy (even if she attacks the wrong fella initially and I kinda saw that coming) is even more memorable because it also includes a pretty spectacular fight sequence between the two really strong men. Or "men". We do not exactly know who or what the "Phantom Stranger" is, just that he is not one of the villains. Still interesting to hear from Seth that TPS also has his fair share of guilt with him and I don't feel like this was a lie. In any case, the way how TPS disappears twice while the girl is still talking to him was pretty cool. As for the girl, she was alright too, even if her story about finding her way felt a bit pretentious. Especially at the very end. And if she is really capable of knocking down the title character and tricking the villain (after seeing the corpses even) is highly debatable. She is certainly much stronger than she looks like. Overall, it was a pretty decent watch though and I would like to see a follow-up on this short film, maybe even in the form of a series. I'd appreciate finding out more about the Phantom Stranger, maybe about the guilt that I mentioned earlier. The voice actors also did a fine job here. The biggest name is probably Peter Serafinowicz with all the successful films he has been in, also pretty recently, but Grey Griffin is one who should not be neglected either with how prolific she has been over the years. No hesitation for me in giving this short film a thumbs-up. I even thought on one or two occasions that it could be a great film and deserve two stars more. But for now, let's go with 6 out of 10. Definitely recommended and it is not a problem at all if you have never heard of the title character here because neither have I and I still enjoyed it a lot. I'm sure many have not heard the name, but it just adds further to his aura of mystery. Go watch.
