WORMELOON

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  WORMELOON by Ercole Zaccaria

Inspiration

The project draws inspiration from vintage cartoon horror and the playful absurdity of pop-surrealism. The idea of mixing bright summer imagery with unsettling, squirmy creatures creates a perfect contrast between sweetness and mild grotesque humor.

What it does

The short film follows a giant watermelon under attack by hungry worms. As the worms crawl across its surface, they start nibbling through the bright red fruit, carving tunnels and creating chaotic patterns as they try to devour it completely. The tone stays light, exaggerated, and playful — a mix of comedy, weirdness, and sticky cartoon energy.

How we built it

Midjourney to create the visual look of the worms and the watermelon Kling to animate the crawling motion and the “eating” sequences Hailuo to refine timing, interactions, and the overall cartoon flow The workflow focused on keeping a cohesive pop-horror aesthetic throughout the scenes.

Challenges we ran into

Maintaining stylistic coherence between the worms, the watermelon texture, and the exaggerated cartoon effects required careful prompting and consistent animation control.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Winner at the NYC GenArt Hackathon — Hailuo, Oink (Best Narrative)

What we learned

The project shows how even a simple fruit can become the center of a fun, surreal horror moment, where cuteness and disgust merge into an entertaining animated spectacle.

What's next for WORMELOON

FILM CARTOON

Built With

• elevenlabs
• hailuo
• kling