Natalia Cortina

Earth Goes to Therapy is a 2D short animated film in which Earth is depicted as someone who is overwhelmed, anxious, and on the verge of a breakdown. I gave Earth a voice, emotions, and painfully human problems: body image issues, emotional exhaustion, relationship drama. Told in the form of a surreal therapy session with a therapist called Dr. Cosmo, the film uses dark humor and satire to explore environmental collapse, our disconnection from nature, and everyday hypocrisy.

By depicting Earth as experiencing emotions like anxiety, despair, and loneliness, I turned a global crisis into something intimate and relatable. Earth never directly mentions humans but instead describes feeling “bloated,” “anxious,” and “alone”—emotions that serve as metaphors for overconsumption, climate anxiety, and human detachment from the natural world.

My creative choices are grounded in research on anthropomorphism, which shows that we are more likely to care about something when we can connect emotionally with it. I also used comedy as an entry point—as a way to disarm the viewer, invite them to laugh, and encourage them to stay long enough to reflect. This film doesn’t offer solutions but is designed to spark substantive conversations. It holds up a mirror that reveals the crisis facing the earth and allows us to recognize ourselves in it. I want to make people laugh, help them reflect, and inspire wide-ranging conversations that yield insights into our situation.