The spontaneous creation of a jingle during tough times; that jingle turned into a song. That song turned into an animated story about friendship and a positive outcome. Oregon-based animator and filmmaker Steve Cowden created this story about a dog and a stray cat after his son and twin brother began playing an impromptu piano tune and singing the title lyrics “Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream.”

“The silly words seemed to lighten our heavy hearts,” Cowden explains. The creative moment happened in December of 2019, born from grief as the family coped with the unexpected death of Cowden’s nephew.[…]

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