#1760: Immersive Fairy Tale about Automation with “The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody”

I interviewed Nicolas Bourniquel about The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy.

Here is the story synopsis for The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody:

"Once upon a time, there was a little mouse who worked relentlessly to achieve a single goal: becoming somebody. Driven solely by her ambition, she slowly grew mean and arrogant, pushing everyone away. One day, she accepted a job offer from the most prolific toymaker in the world: Santa Claus. The little mouse was about to discover that climbing the corporate ladder was not all she had hoped it would be… La triste histoire de la petite souris qui voulait absolument devenir quelqu’un is a biting satire of corporate life in the form of a VR Christmas tale."

Here are the contextual domains that are explored:

From humble creative workshop [5] at home [4] to express her identity [1] through social media [3], but then becomes completely invisible [12]. Then a transition into the other worldly character of Santa's workshop [9], which becomes a professional workplace that is highly industrialized and automated [10] turning the creative work into a slog of manual tasks devoid of too much creativity or autonomy [6] work that translates into a bit of a situation of slavery [12]

Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity:

1st Center of Gravity of Emotional Presence: Narrative-driven, immersive animation. This very much a character-driven story2nd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Very detailed world that you enter into. From Paris streets to the speculative workshop of Santa updated with all of the latest gifts of automation3rd Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: Dialogue amongst the characters - English and no subtitles.. is there any narration?4th Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: No narrative agency or any embodied Interactions

Archetypal Themes and Character Explored:

Radical and Free, Bepoke and Handcrafted Creativity with unbounded creative imagination in tension with Automated Utility & a bit of structured authoritarianism. Certainly a modern day fairy tale that speaks about the dynamics of AI and automation. "The little mouse was about to discover that climbing the corporate ladder was not all she had hoped it would be..." -- "how difficult it is for artists to find their place in a hyper-competitive, automated world. On one side, there’s the struggle to exist and be seen when you’re as “small” as the little mouse and still need to earn a living. On the other, there’s the challenge of preserving craft and creativity in a world where machines increasingly threaten to replace creators altogether."

Artist Statement:

"With La triste histoire de la petite souris qui voulait absolument devenir quelqu’un, we aim to explore how difficult it is for artists to find their place in a hyper-competitive, automated world. On one side, there’s the struggle to exist and be seen when you’re as “small” as the little mouse and still need to earn a living. On the other, there’s the challenge of preserving craft and creativity in a world where machines increasingly threaten to replace creators altogether."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C83cO-zapE

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Music: Fatality