Sometimes as your growing up, you feel that your cultural background differs so much that you feel like a different creature altogether, heck even a monster. When bringing friends over to hang out or dinner, there are sometimes language barriers that make things quiet and awkward. Not to mention some different customs that may seem weird to others. 

The Disney Launchpad short Growing Fangs plays with this idea. Director Ann Marie Pace is one of the six filmmakers chosen for the first round of Disney’s Launchpad. Following the theme of Discover, Growing Fangs takes us on a journey in getting to know a girl that is dealing with dual identities, human and vampire.

Here is the synopsis for Disney’s Launchpad’s Growing Fangs:

Val Garcia, a Mexican-American teen who is half-human/half-vampire, has had to keep her identity a secret from both worlds. But 3 when her human best friend shows up at her monster-infested school, she has to confront her truth, her identity, and herself.

It’s a great short that really shows the pressures that teenagers go through that deal with dual identities. Although the focus here is a Mexican-American family (who are also vampires), it can easily be relatable to people from other countries. Through personal experience, I know that there are some cases where you feel out of place when you stand out because of your culture.

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With the release of Growing Fangs, LRM Online’s Emmanuel Gomez talked with Ann Marie Pace about the film. We conversate about the challenges some teenagers go through in trying to fit into two cultures. As well as the clever use of the classic monsters for her film. It was a fun talk that you can check out down below!

Growing Fangs can be seen exclusively on Disney+ under Launchpad.