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Animation has come a long way, but society still has much to learn. A beautiful short animation called In a Heartbeat that shows the struggle of a closeted gay boy outed by his heart. There's no doubt that the quality of the animation is stellar, but what's grabbing eyeballs is the surprise factor – the queer angle.

That we all continue to treat LGBTQ stories as something extraordinary or unusual is rather telling. Nonetheless, it's encouraging to learn that people are showering their love with stunning fan art on this sweet film produced at Ringling College of Art and Design by Beth David and Esteban Bravo.

At number 29 on the global 'trending' list, the film is getting the kind of attention a Pixar short or trailer would. And why shouldn't it, considering one can't really tell it apart from a Pixar animation.

A presentation of what literally following one's heart could mean, the film silently introduces us to a little brown haired boy who sees the boy of his dreams at school. Uncertain about his feelings, he tries to stay away, but his heart rushes towards the object of his affection.

The film cleverly shows the disapproval of society, with a short sequence where their classmates look at them disapprovingly – the only shot that shows how unfair the world is to queer love.

In a Heartbeat addresses the complexity of queerness in a heteronomative society, both the hesitation and the resignation, in a lucid and yet sensitive manner. The short, despite being an animation, doesn't caricature its characters or exoticise them.

The high-school romance is as innocent as any animation of its kind, and yet, it's one of the first to normalise same-sex love – a major feat in itself.