Pixar releases “Out”, a short film with the studio’s first gay protagonist

The famous animation studio Pixar launched the ambitious — and necessary — project SparkShorts in January 2018. The program consists of discovering new talents within the studio itself, since with more than 1.500 professionals working there, not everyone has the opportunity to tell their stories, and only the same names were receiving the chance to perform your projects.

In the program SparkShorts, creators have six months and a limited budget to complete the project. In addition, they have creative freedom to explore more adult and personal subjects, which do not necessarily reflect the lightest shorts in the world. Pixar.

We've watched all 7 shorts released so far, which culminated in the release of "Oct” May 22 at Disney + — streaming service that should debut in Brazil in November 2020.

Pixar / SparkShorts Phase 1

The first three shorts of the project were first shown in August 2018 at SIGGRAPH, one of the largest conventions on technology and computer graphics in the United States. Subsequently, in February 2019, the three shorts were shown at the grandiose El Capitan Theater, where Pixar performs most of the first of his feature films.

The first three shorts of this amazing Pixar project were: “purl","Smash and Grab"and "Kitbull“. After the luxurious debut, the three shorts debuted on YouTube. Check out the full shorts below.

purl

The 1st short of the project Pixar / SparkShorts, purl, was written and directed by Kristen Lester. The short tells the story of Purl, a pink humanoid ball of yarn who starts working at a large corporation. Purl soon has to adapt to the macho environment to get noticed. The principal Kristen Lester reports that the idea came from her own experiences in animation studios, sometimes being the only woman in a male-dominated environment.

Check out the short below.

The short was received with great enthusiasm, not only because of its allegory to feminism, but also because it contains elements of classic XNUMX's films "How to Eliminate Your Boss"and "A Secretary of the Future".

Smash and Grab

The 2st short of the project Pixar / SparkShorts, Smash and Grab, was written and directed by Brian larsen. It's the story of 2 robots working on an arid planet, performing the same tedious task, until they decide to rebel.

Check out the full short below.

Smash and Grab received comparisons to the Oscar winner”Wall-E“However, I believe that the short can be considered as a lighter version of the shorts of the project “Love, Death and Robots" from Netflix. It's a short with an aesthetic that we're not used to seeing from the studio.

Kitbull

we already talked about Kitbull in our coverage of Oscar 2020, since the short was nominated for Oscar de Best Short Animation. The 3rd short of the project Pixar/Sparkshorts was directed by filmmaker Rosanna Sullivan and tells the story of the encounter between a fearless kitten and a Pitbull. Check out the full short below.

The short received excellent reviews for dealing with the delicate subject of animal cruelty.

Pixar / SparkShorts Phase 2

With the launch of the platform streamingDisney + in November 2019 for several countries (excluding Brazil), the Pixar — which is a subsidiary company of Disney — decided to launch the next titles directly on the platform. Are they: "Float" loop"and "Wind“. Check out the posters below.

Float

4th short of the project Pixar/SparkShorts, Float was written and directed by Bobby Rubio and launched at the premiere of Disney + on the 12th of November 2019.

Float tells the story of a father's relationship with a son who has special powers. The director Bobby Rubio created the story to recount his experiences as a parent of a child with autism and his early difficulties.

See the trailer below.

For fans of the saga X-Men, the theme is very similar, and by understanding a little of the director's personal approach, the short takes on even deeper contours.

Wind

The 5th short of the project Pixar/SparkShorts, Wind, is written by Edwin Cheng and was released in December 2019. It is an unusual story of a grandson and his grandmother, who are trapped in a strange vortex, and try everything to escape.

Check out the trailer below.

The efficient short, about the obstacles that life presents us, has a beautiful and fluid animation.

loop

The 6th short of the project Pixar/SparkShorts, loop, was written and directed by Erica Milson and released in January 2020.

The story focuses on Renee, a girl with autism, who on a sunny day at the summer camp, goes on a canoe trip with her classmate Marcus, who didn't want to be the girl's "nanny". see the Making Of of the short below (in English):

if you short it Float serves as an allegory for autism, here Pixar takes a necessary turn towards inclusion and puts a character with autism in the lead role. A very efficient short for representing voices never shown before.

Pixar / SparkShorts Phase 3

To start the new phase of the project SparkShorts, Pixar continues its excellent phase of experimentation and finally has a gay character starring in a leading role.

The studio recently added a lesbian character to the movie "Two Brothers: A Fantastic Journey“but the turnout was so small and quick, that many didn't even notice. And the LGBTQ+ community continues to ask for more inclusion both for Disney how much for Pixar.

Even many fans created fan fiction in which the character Elsa of the hit Frozen (from the studio Disney) would be a lesbian. Even the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend was used extensively before the sequel was released, but the requests went unheeded.

Oct

Oct is the 7th short of the project Pixar/SparkShorts. Written and directed by Steven Clay Hunter, the short tells the story of young Greg, who is moving when he receives an unexpected visit from his parents. With the help of the magical powers of a dog and a cat, he will discover how to come out as gay to his family. Watch the project trailer sparkshorts which culminates with scenes of Oct:

The short film is an important step towards representation, so that anyone in the universe LGBTQ + feel included and represented in studio animations. Now the next step is to have a character, in a bigger role, in a feature film, either from Disney ou Pixar.

For Brazilian fans of Pixar, access to the last 4 short films of the project SparkShorts, between them Oct, is not yet possible, as the streaming service Disney + It only arrives in Brazil in November 2020, and whether the material will be released by then, on other platforms, is still uncertain.