Pixar movies never disappoint and my family rarely misses an opportunity to see them at the theater. One of the added bonuses is that they usually have a Short in between the previews and the start of the movie. These shorts manage to tell some pretty compelling stories in under 10 minutes, they are visually mesmerizing and have a knack for making you feel emotionally connected to a character very quickly. So I have compiled a list of my top 5 below, and to say I had to leave off a lot of other classics is an understatement.
Piper was featured before Finding Dory and tells the story of a baby sandpiper that needs to overcome their fear of water to learn how to eat. I always loved this one because it was able to tell a story without any words and the little bird was adorable. If you have ever been to The Disney/Pixar short film festival in Epcot, you may have seen this featured there too.
Lava was featured before Inside Out and tells the story of two volcanoes that fall in love. Now the fact that Pixar can make you feel bad for a volcano isn’t the most amazing thing about this short. I have always loved this one for the music, the song Lava is one of the best songs that Pixar has ever had in a short or featured film.
Partly Cloudy was featured before Up and is a new twist on the old take of babies being delivered by storks. Now in this one the stork is assisted by a cloud named Gus, the two are in charge of delivering some of the more interesting (crocodile, porcupine, shark) babies and it’s that comedy element that makes this one so much fun.
Geri’s Game was featured before A Bugs Life and its pretty amazing because the entire story is told with one character, yes that character is Geri. Geri is in a park having a heated chess game against himself and is filled with a lot of humor and does a really impressive job bringing so much emotion to this character in such a short period of time.
Out is the newest short listed, it just came out recently on Disney+, it also features an openly gay lead character for the first time. Out tells the story of Greg who is in a relationship with Manuel, but he is nervous to tell his parents. With the help of his dog and a few mishaps, Greg is finally able to tell his parents about his true love. The film is funny, touching and relevant, Pixar does a great job keeping it funny without over shadowing the story.
So there it is, what I consider my top 5 and the beauty of them is that you could watch all 5 in under under 40 min. Now I also should bring up the one that was sweet yet disturbing, go check out Bao (7min), it’s got a really sweet story, but my daughter was thrown off by some of the visuals. Be sure to listen to the Behind the Ears podcast this week to hear more about Bao.