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Pixar's SparkShorts | Disney+ Review

Unique and ambitious storytelling done right...

By Joe HarrisPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Pixar's SparkShorts | Disney+ Review
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

I think I'm now at a moment in my life where I now watch TV and movies solely on streaming platforms as opposed to on actual TV channels. From Netflix to Disney+, I spend a lot of my time browsing the many shelves of mainstream and indie choices of movies and shows at my disposal.

During one of these weekends of perusing the virtual shelves, I came across a number of short animation movies on Disney+. It was the first time I'd heard of this side of Pixar movies under a smaller production company of "Sparkshorts". There were 7 in total and they were only around 10-12 minutes long so it was a good way to pass an hour watching a few shorts.

But what is Sparkshorts?

From a quick Google, I found that Pixar SparksShorts is basically a program within Pixar where the employees are given 6 months and a small budget with the aim of developing a short animated movie.

With different teams creating the films, the series showcases very unique films with their own style. Its one of the things that brought me to the series - they are stories that you'd never expect from Disney and Pixar.

So, what did I think?

Overall I really enjoyed watching the whole series, some of the films weren't as enjoyable as the others - but it was so refreshing to see stories that actually reflect real people with very real issues. One of the highlights was that each film dealt with themes that I would not have expected from the squeaky clean Pixar franchise; one film dealt with a girl being non-verbal while another combatted sexism in the workplace.

When it came to my thoughts on the individual movies it differed from short to short. So, here is what I thought about each:

  • Purl - This was very much a commentary on sexism in the workplace and how damaging it can be to change who you are to fit in. Being able to look back after all the movies, this was the least intense subject matter, yet handled just as appropriately in a way that would help children and some adults understand more about the theme. I quite enjoyed this one, the animation was bright and colourful and a great way to showcase such a serious theme. Very much felt like watching a scene from the incredibles.
  • Smash and Grab - Oh I really enjoyed this one, despite how dark it was. This one focused on being stuck in the same routine and class disparities (rather fitting for the world we live in this year). It felt very much like Wall-E, both in animation style and through its use of robots as the only characters. Even without words, you could get the touching emotion that came from each character, as well as how intense a situation they were in.
  • Kitbull - This was the most bizarre animation I've ever seen. It tells the story of a stray cat and an abused dog. The story is dark and depressing, wanting to tell us how animals still have feelings in spite of the harm that they are sometimes put through. Although the animation was really offputting for me, I felt it really captured the animals' movements well, especially with the cat.
  • Float - So this one definitely wins the prize for the most beautiful animation, especially when watching how they captured hair blowing in the wind. The story for this one felt a little thinner than its predecessors, talking about embracing unique skills rather than suppressing them. It just felt rather slow and pointless in the short time it had.
  • Wind - Following from Float, this film also featured beautiful animation, with a stand-out style for showing how constant wind affects a variety of different materials (inc. hair). Similar to Smash and Grab, this one featured no talking, however, the story didn't feel as strong, and rather odd that there wasn't any communication.
  • Loop - A powerful and diverse message about how we treat each other and especially people who live with learning or physical disabilities. Here we see a non-verbal girl wanting to enjoy a day kayaking. It was an eye-opening story that helped me understand how some people struggle to communicate what they would like, while also helping us all to understand where to find friendship in the most unlikely of places.
  • Out - The film that inspired me to watch the full series. This is heralded as the first Disney/Pixar film to feature a same-sex couple and a same-sex kiss. It highlights the struggles that people have with being their authentic selves and coming out to their families. It was a touching yet hilarious story and a really unique way of telling such an important story. The animation was very weird but didn't distract me from the overall story.

Would I recommend it?

Whether you want to watch one or all of them, this is a series that I think everyone should give a go. The themes that they tackle are super important and things that will hopefully make their way into Pixar's main movie franchises. Yes, the movies are a little more grown-up than you'd expect, but they're still family-friendly and help to see more unique styles of storytelling.

I'm hoping that we'll see a lot more stories coming from this area of Pixar, and I can't wait to see what the next team are able to provide to us.

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About the Creator

Joe Harris

A lover of writing with a tonne of thoughts and opinions stuck in his head. Lets see what comes out!

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