The Squid War

The Squid War is a 2020 computer-animated action comedy-drama science fiction short film produced, written and directed by Adam Dahlberg and serves as pilot for The Sky Show. The film is about a young man who recalls how the squid menace began. The short is based on Dahlberg's Minecraft Machinima How Squid Came To Be and premiered in theaters in 2021 with Vampirina.

Plot
A 27 year-old man named Adam "Sky" Dahlberg goes to therapy to work out his “squid” problem in order to abide by the law to not end up in jail again. Sky was forced against his will into therapy due to his crazy shenanigans which caused Sky’s family, friends and the authorities to become very much worried for him and his sanity. Dr. Tyler Brotato his therapist tries to talk him through his problems by going back to the beginning where it all began. Sky then has flashbacks to a time where the great Squid War had begun. Billions of years ago, the squids originated from an ocean planet called Siluriana, their sole purpose is to enslave the entire universe. For centuries, the squids waged wars upon the whole universe, they possessed technology that is far beyond anything the other worlds had. But when all hope was lost, very powerful warriors called the Morosian Knights fought the squids back. After a long battle, the squids were defeated and forced to retreat back to where they came from. Sky's family, the Dahlbergs were the most legendary Morosian Knights in the history of the universe. But in Washington D.C. 1999, the squids murdered Sky's parents when he was 6 years old. 10 years later, Sky formed his gang, the Sky Army.The Sky army came together and tried their best to rid the planet of squids and their destruction. After everything had settled, they had thought that they had wiped the squids from Earth. Yet, the squids returned stronger than ever and destroyed everything they loved! The squids had evolved and no longer abided by laws of nature.The only way they could destroy the squids was teaming together with Jason Probst, Jerome Aceti and Ty Ellis. They marched right into the portal to Siluriana fighting at the squids front door and in the end they got their sweet revenge and saved the world! Sky’s therapist Dr. Brotato tries to convince Adam that his squid vendetta is all just a figment of his imagination and that the squids are just a part of him that he tries to lock away deep inside of himself. Sky can’t believe what he was just told and is reminded that he wanted to become a ice cream sandwich yet that wasn’t possible. Dr. Brotato tries convincing Sky that people and squids are the same and that anything is possible. The therapist tells Sky that it isn’t his fault yet Sky doesn’t accept this easily at first but after a long talk with Dr. Brotato he finally accepts that the squids were just in his head and don’t actually exist...or do they.

Cast
Adam Dahlberg as Himself

Tyler Christie as Dr. Brotato

Trey Parker as Squids

Release
The short was released on May 3, 2020.

Music
The film's score was composed by Trevor Rabin.

Transcript
The Squid War/Transcript

Opening logos




Critical reception
The short was met with universal acclaim, receiving an approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Trivia

 * The short film is a pilot episode for The Sky Show