In the third collection of PIXAR’s short films, following the 2007 and 2012 editions, a delightful menagerie of thirteen short films is available for audiences to watch at their leisure. Some of them are stellar packages of morals and vision; others are more for simple entertainment. Here are my five favorites:
“Piper” may be my all-time favorite short. A young sandpiper figures out what it means to live in the world of the sea, learning from a group of hermit crabs. It’s visually excellent and stunningly beautiful.
“Bao” shows a mother’s grief at her son leaving the nest, with food as a metaphor and therapy for working through and processing that sadness. It’s?a little?creepy, but it’s also beautiful.
“Riley’s First Date” also deals with parental struggles, this time from the world of?Inside/Out. All of the emotions are on display, but they’re able to show us a variety of perspectives as Riley, her parents, and a guy visiting their house have to deal with emotions, and hormones.
“Lou” rocks as a schoolyard bully learns a valuable lesson about his violence, actions, and pain, from the discard bin. It has to be seen to be believed.
“Party City” shows how we have a lot to learn from the older generation, even if we don’t fully understand monsters.
From the film releases of hits like?The Good Dinosaur, Brave,?and?Cars 3,?the others round out the set: “The Legend of Mor?du,” “The Blue Umbrella,”?”The Radiator Springs 500 1/2,” “Lava,”? “Sanjay?s Super Team,” “Marine Life Interviews,” “Miss Fritter?s Racing Skool,” and “Partysaurus Rex.”
