Hot Spring Therapy (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Hot Spring Therapy is a four-minute animated fantasy short from CalArts. It follows a snow monkey whose unusual experience in a natural hot spring leads to an unexpected rescue mission involving specially trained snowflakes and their magical abilities.

Hot Spring Therapy is a 2026 animated fantasy short directed by Julie Zheng. With a runtime of just four minutes, the film centers on a snow monkey whose time in a natural hot spring takes an unexpected turn.

The short is produced by CalArts and contains no spoken language. Its compact premise combines a serene natural setting with a whimsical supernatural problem, giving the film a concise and visually oriented setup.

Hot Spring Therapy movie details

Story without spoilers

A snow monkey is bathing in a natural hot spring when he has an out-of-body experience. To bring him back, a group of well-trained snowflakes must use their magical powers. The premise sets up a brief fantasy rescue built around an unusual meeting of wildlife, heat and snow.

What to expect

As an animated fantasy short, Hot Spring Therapy has a simple, imaginative premise designed to unfold within four minutes. Viewers can expect a self-contained story involving a snow monkey, a natural hot spring and magical snowflakes. The absence of spoken language means the film does not rely on dialogue, while its fantasy classification points to supernatural elements within its compact setup.

Cast and creative team

Hot Spring Therapy is directed by Julie Zheng. No writers or cast members are listed in the supplied credits.

Release and production context

Hot Spring Therapy is listed as a 2026 release, with a release date of October 10, 2026. It has a runtime of four minutes and is classified as Animation and Fantasy. The film comes from the United States of America, was produced by CalArts and uses no spoken language. Its status is listed as Released.

Production companies: CalArts

Movies Dock view

With its brief runtime and unusual premise, Hot Spring Therapy is a tightly focused animated fantasy short. The combination of a snow monkey, a hot spring and magical snowflakes gives the film a distinctive foundation without requiring dialogue or an extended setup.

Film data:
TMDB