In just under three minutes, co-writer and director James Bowman creates a simple yet memorable animated short dealing with identity and purpose. Centered around a town where the characters are punctuation marks, specifically exclamation points and question marks, Bowman creates a solid story about Joe, a question mark, who is searching for himself on his path to becoming an exclamation point.

Maybe.

The Question is reminiscent of those wonderful ole' Schoolhouse Rock segments, and its direct and to the point narration would work wonderfully in creating a positive dialogue between parent and child as the bigger issues behind the story's simplicity are revealed and discussed. Bowman also serves up the film's jazzy original music, a nice complement to the film's laid back vibe and easygoing spirit.

The Question is Bowman's third short film, after Life's Journey and Kindred Immortal, and as near as I can tell Bowman still concerns himself with essential cultural and communal issues that impact all of us. Having had his films already screen at festivals around the country, The Question should easily find an audience on the indie and underground fest circuit.