Pixar Short Films

[StevePulaski]

The animation company Pixar has made some of the best animated features in years.

Rating: ★★★½

List of shorts:

Presto (3.5 stars).
Boundin' (3 stars).
One Man Band (3.5 stars).
Luxo Jr. (3 stars).
The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. (2 stars).
Monsters Inc: Mike's New Car (3.5 stars).
For the Birds (3.5 stars).
Knick Knack (4 stars).
Partly Cloudy (3.5 stars).
Cars: Mater and the Ghostlight (3 stars).
Geri's Game (3 stars).
Dug's Special Mission (3 stars).
Lifted (2.5 stars).
Remy and Emile Present: Your Friend the Rat (3.5 stars).
Jack-Jack Attack (3 stars).
Red's Dream (3 stars).
Tin Toy (3 stars).
BURN-E (3.5 stars).

Pixar has delivered some of the most captivating, colorful, energetic, and amusing animated features of all time. Their list of films, one just as good as the next, never cease to put a smile on the many faces of adults and children alike. Part of the reason they are so cherished is because we currently live in a world where many family films either suffer from immaturity, redundancy, lame plot points, pop culture references, unnecessary cameos, or worse, an uninspired script. Here's an animation company so ambitious that it reminds us what true animation is like.

Before every one of their films, if you see them in theaters, Pixar always attaches some sort of short as the predecessor to the film. Some of the pre-film shorts and some of the shorts just made for fun were compiled into an ABC Family special titled Pixar Short Films. Here we have eighteen different shorts that showcase the company's ability to touch on a story or parable not qualified to sustain a film. I'll go through each short and give a brief synopsis and evaluation of it. Forgive me for the length of some because for many not a lot is needed to be said. Sometimes you just enjoy something so short and sweet. And even in the shorts that are lower in quality are harmless and don't feel like time lost. What other company can you say that about?


Alec the Rabbit.

Presto: Our first short was attached to WALL-E in 2008. The short is titled Presto, about a magician and his rabbit who perform in front of a full house. Alec is desperate for an out-of-reach carrot, and when Presto is on stage performing, he can't help but play dirty until he gets what he wants. It's a classic man vs. animal conflict with a Pixar twist. The jokes are dirty, but are taken in such a manner that revolves around timing and wit and that's what counts the most. Three and a half stars.

Boundin': Boundin' was attached to The Incredibles in 2004, and overall, it is a solid short that gets the job done. The story is about a sheep that is known for its energy, who then gets taken away to be sheered and is put back in public with no hair at all. He becomes a joke and a mockery by his peers. Along comes a jackalope that tells him he still special in his own way and that he should not hide himself, but embrace his looks and keep his positive attitude. The short is cute, but not amazing. The visuals are stunning and probably some of the best in this whole special, but the spark is a little dim. Three stars.

One Man Band: I remember ooh-ing and ahh-ing over One Man Band when I witnessed it in the theater before Cars. My dad was less than impressed. Revisiting it, I can still say it holds greatly telling the simple story of a boy with a shiny coin who is torn between which street musician to give it to. The end result is cute and unexpected, and this makes for a truly well done short. Not to mention the attention to detail, like always, is exquisite, but for some reason it really stands out here. Most likely because of the costumes. Three and a half stars.

Luxo Jr.: For one, this is the first short in this special that wasn't paired with any theatrical Pixar film. Second, it's way too short. This idea is creative enough to span a decent-sized short. The story is that Luxo Jr., the son of the lamp Luxo (the Pixar mascot you see jump on the "I" before every film) is trying to get bounce like his father. I could see a full length three minute short span out before my eyes. Too bad this one's under a minute. Short and sweet is the moral here. Three stars.

The Adventures of Andre and Wally B.: This is definitely the weakest short yet. I believe the version aired in the special was significantly shorter, but still, it doesn't come off as anything special. The animation isn't stellar, but in 1984 this was the bee's knees, pun intended. It was the first use of motion blur in CGI animation and one of the first uses of 3D backgrounds. I get the impression they were more concerned with the look of the short rather than the overall story and plot. A tolerable short, but the weakest of its kind. Let it pass. Two stars.

Monsters Inc: Mike's New Car: Mike's New Car is an exercise in Murphy's Law that states that "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." The characters are taken from Pixar's film Monsters Inc. which is probably the second most unsung film in their library next to A Bug's Life. Mike's New Car focuses on Mike and his new six wheel muscle car where every problem in the book goes wrong. It's a nice little short, and just from the picture above you can tell some of the brightest, cleanest, most spotless animation was put to use in creating it. This was too the first Pixar short to utilize dialog and characters from a previous film. It also gets me more and more excited for the upcoming prequel to the original film called Monsters University. Three and a half stars.

For the Birds: For the Birds is lively and fresh as it depicts a group of smaller birds trying to share a long electrical wire, with one big bird weighing the whole wire down. The result is cute, unexpected, and utterly enjoyable. This also won the Academy Award for "Best Animated Short" in 2004. Well deserved. Three and a half stars.


On top is the uncut version, while on the bottom is the edited version.

Knick Knack: Knick Knack is one of the best shorts Pixar has ever put out. It is simple, yet extremely effective. It depicts a bunch of dust gathering knick knacks on a shelf, and one snowman in a snow-globe who is trying to get over to the luscious blonde hottie by the palm-tree. It is one of the most ironic shorts in the book, and serves as one of the biggest laughs in the entire special.

Might I also mention that this was one of the only Pixar shorts that was edited for content. I saw both versions, and it didn't occur to me what was different until the final minutes of the uncut version. In the edited version (the main version, found in the special) the beach girl and the mermaid's breasts are flat and she is wearing a seashell bra. In the uncut version, both the beach girl and the mermaid's breasts are barely contained by a small bra. Lasseter goes on record saying "It wasn’t big bad Disney coming in and insisting we do this … it was our own choice. It was just crossing the line for me personally as a father. So I made the decision to reduce (these characters') breast size." Props to him for making a bold, respectable decision. Four stars.

Partly Cloudy: This short should further the myth of the Stork, and should provide parents with some "carbon-copy proof" when the kids become curious on how they were brought in this world. Partly Cloudy, shown with the film Up, focuses on the story of storks who are in charge of delivering baby humans and animals to their rightful home. A lonely gray cloud is in charge of making animals that appear cute, but in reality, are a handful like baby alligators, eels, and horned-sheep. The stork who delivers the babies for the cloud has grown increasingly frustrated with the abuse he takes from the animals and takes matters into his own hands. The story is unique, sad, innocent, and charming without being too corny or too bubbly. Easily one of the best Pixar shorts. Three and a half stars.


Mater does his best to hide his fear of the ghostlight.

Cars: Mater and the Ghostlight: Mater and the Ghostlight follows the lovable Cars characters as they inform prankster Mater of a ghostlight that haunts innocent cars during the night. The light is bright, blue, powerful, and unmissable as it shines from an unknown location. The opening music is Braid Paisley's "Behind the Clouds" (maybe that would've been a better fit for Partly Cloudy). Regardless, this is a cute trailer, but also falls a little short in expectations given the already vibrant personalities of the cars. Most of the supporting characters are shoved to the side, and the experience doesn't feel as genuine as the original film. Three stars.

Geri's Game: Geri's Game was also one of the three shorts to win "Best Animated Short" from the Academy. Attached to A Bug's Life, Geri's Game depicts an elderly man who sits alone at a table and is playing checkers by himself. He moves both his and the opponent's pieces and it makes for quite an interesting game of checkers. But the effect left on us isn't that strong, and the premise gets to be a tad much after a while. Why this could win an Academy Award, and Knick Knack can't even get a nomination still perplexes me. But this still isn't a lost cause. Three stars.


Dug and Carl.

Dug's Special Mission: This short's okay too, but there are some questions I have. For one, why do the mouths of the dogs not move? If Pixar can make cars and toys' mouths move they should be able to animate a convincing talking dog. When the dogs speak a red light shows on their collar. Strange, but not a big deterioration. The premise is Dug is trying to fit in with a "cooler" dog pack and they make him do a bunch of arbitrary things that wind up hurting them instead of him. Never seeing Up, I heard this serves as a prequel. The ending might, but once again, I'm not entirely sure. Three stars.


Two aliens try to abduct a human.

Lifted: This is the second weakest short in the special mostly because of it's overall premise. It focuses on two aliens who have a huge control panel in front of them with a number of different levers. They are trying to abduct a sleeping human from his home in the middle of the night, and are getting frustrated because of the numerous levers. The premise is pokey, the effects beautiful, but the overall concept and execution is just very strange. I'm surprised Pixar would want to pursue an idea so strange. Two and a half stars.


Emile and Remy.

Remy and Emile Present: Your Friend the Rat: This short makes up for the previous clunker. Your Friend the Rat focuses on the characters from Ratatouille, and their PSA about how the rat has gotten an unnecessary bum-rep from humans when around the world they are "a man's best friend." They want nothing more than garbage and an occasional something to eat. The short is adorable, and the ending is delightfully unexpected. Three and a half stars.


The babysitter and Jack-Jack.

Jack-Jack Attack: The character Jack-Jack is the baby from The Incredibles, another Pixar film unseen by me. Here, Jack-Jack is giving an innocent babysitter a hard time by catching on fire, running up the walls, and doing everything opposite of a baby. It's a cute short, and sometimes, that's all it is. Three stars.

Red's Dream: Red's Dream was only the third Pixar short, filmed in 1988. It depicts a lonesome unicycle in a bicycle shop who dreams about one day being occupied by a great circus performer. Along with the performer, he one day could show off his juggling tricks as well. There are many Easter Eggs I pointed out in the short as well. For one, you can see Andre from The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. short on a clock, you can see Luxo on the desk of the shop, and the pattern of the floor resembles the ball Luxo Jr. was attempting to bounce on in the Luxo Jr. short. It's easy on the eyes, but it lacks the Pixar charm. Something tells me Pixar hadn't developed that yet. Three stars.

Tin Toy: Tin Toy, which can be found on the Dvd of Toy Story, was the very first Pixar feature to win an Oscar. I still believe it was because the public, and the Academy, were still in shock because of the animation. Because Tin Toy is cute, but ultimately, uninspired compared to the other shorts. It uses the same motion blur in its CGI animation as The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. did, and the imagery can't be criticized because of its time. It's surprising that since Pixar could make Toy Story look so evocative they couldn't remaster and brighten up the colors in Tin Toy. It still tells a cute story of a baby who abuses toys and because of that all the toys hide fearfully underneath the bed. Despite its premise, it can pass with a smile. Three stars.


BURN-E gets his own short.

BURN-E: To close off this incredible special is a WALL-E inspired short based off of another character named "BURN-E" (Basic Utility Repair Nano Engineer). The short is a beautiful close to such an exhilarating special, and is occupied by some of the most beautiful animation seen in the entire two hours. Three and a half stars.

Pixar Short Films is a limitless special that showcases more of the company's brilliance and hard work in developing some of the most captivating animation in history. Its stories are incomparable to any other animation company, and all the shorts shown are mostly fantastic. Despite a few little bumps, the end result is a magical special that proves that Pixar can and will tackle any idea regardless of limitations. They'll find a way around those limitations.