All you guys can say is it was cute?
That was a beautiful short! Such breathtaking visuals! The opening of the sky! The stars! The colorful sea! And while this certainly was cute, I liked the quirky, imaginative way the sun burst open, spilling its beams into the ocean, suddenly turning it into a happy day as suddenly as the music starts. The opening palm trees were very creative and so beautiful. How imaginitive, the way they formed!
I must admit, though, I was bugged by the stilted way some of the turtles turned and moved, especially when they jumped out of the water, and that one turtle that was jumping, I couldn't tell if it fell or hit its head on a cloud or what before the mother helped it up. I know you're young and maybe you work with 2D over 3D or you're just getting started in animation, but it still bugged me.
But anyway, the lightning really scared me before the shark came. It was creepy because the music was still happy but you knew something bad would happen, and like anything with happy music when something bad could happen, you feel bad, like "even if the turtle dies, the music will still play on, happy and unaffected."
Why was the shark orange? After it was very blue with the lightning flashing, it was orange?! Why did you use your color of happiness for the shark that would eat the turtle and make the turtle unhappy?! But even with the orangeness, it was kind of scary as it zoomed toward the screen. Had the shark been a cooler, darker, less happy color, or perhaps the colors of a true shark, it would have been rather frightful.
Then the turtle is lost and sees his mother in the sky. How sad! That's not cute, that's depressing! Unless we know the turtle will be alright on his own...will he/she?
And I must note on the music: I really preferred the female version during the credits. I know that it was slower than the male version you used, so maybe it wouldn't have worked with the faster visuals you wanted, but I liked that one so much better.
Also, did you splice the happy jazzy music with classical music? Or are the songs unedited?
And a strange note: Is this representing the fall from grace? Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden? Because the turtle FALLS from the sky, and then after enjoying "Heaven", loses his orange paradise! Getting kicked out of Eden. Then the turtle looks up at the sky to its mother, its creator, who could be representing God, who we always think of as dwelling in the sky.
Or is it just a tale of having to lose your happiness when you grow up and live on your own, without your parents or childhood anymore?