Poignant Tales That Inspire and Innovate
An overview of the SparkShorts program at Pixar
An overview of the SparkShorts program at Pixar.
When Pixar’s SparkShorts program was established two years ago, it set out to provide a new avenue for fresh storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques and to play with new production workflows. As Pixar president Jim Morris said at the time, “These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”
As of July, animation fans have been treated to seven of these excellent, distinctive shorts. The program began on a high note with Kristen Lester’s short Purl, which received the Best of Show honor at SIGGRAPH last year and was nominated for a Humanitas Prize. The timing for the short, which made a strong statement about the importance of female voices in male-dominated workplaces, was perfect. It arrived as Pixar was trying to redefine its “boys’ club” image after John Lasseter’s exit from the studio.
Lester told Animation Magazine that the short was inspired by her own experiences as a woman working in animation. “I was often the only woman in the room early on in my career,” she said in a 2019 interview. “So, I wanted to make a short
that reflected that experience. Being a first-time director, our short schedule and our limited budget were some of our challenges, but I was lucky to have such a supportive team that helped me deal with them.”
Purl was followed by Brian Larson’s Smash and Grab, a charming tale about two robots trying to escape their soul-killing jobs, and Kitbull, Rosana Sullivan’s heart-warming tale of the friendship between an abused pitbull and a stray kitten. Sullivan’s short went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short.
“I think the SparkShorts program is different in that it is an initiative that spotlights stories that are personal, told by a group of diverse creatives, and allows for a broad range of voices to tackle wide-ranging subject matter like animal abuse, autism, depression, homosexuality, immigration
and gender equality,” says Bobby Rubio, who directed the program’s fourth short, Float. “Stories like these aren’t your typical animation fair, especially coming from a major studio. I felt like we were the offshoot independent group that was given carte blanche to tell whatever story we wanted to tell.”
Rubio says since SparkShorts started out without the Disney+ connection, there was no guarantee that anyone was going to see these shorts. “So my crew and I were doing this to show that we had an amazing story to tell and we wanted to do our very best to prove we had what it takes to make an awesome film with limited time and budget,” he points out. “I was a first-time director and most of my staff had their first experience in a leading role on Float. So the program also gave opportunities to artists and creatives to prove that
‘I am grateful to the SparkShorts program, because it gave me, a person of color, the opportunity to tell a story with Filipino American lead characters and let me tell a story about families that are different from the typical family.’
— Float director Bobby Rubio
we were capable of our roles and could deliver a great product!”
The Pixar veteran says directing Float reignited his passion for creating and telling his own stories. “I am grateful to the SparkShorts program, because it gave me, a person of color, the opportunity to tell a story with Filipino American lead characters (the first time for Pixar and any major animation studio) and let me tell a story about families that are different from the typical family.”
The writer-director points out that the child “floating” in his short was a metaphor for being different from others. “I wrote and based the story on my own personal relationship with my son, who is on the autism spectrum,” explains Rubio. “The message that I was trying to spread is to love, accept and celebrate our differences! Ever since the short has been streaming on Disney+, I have received many notes and messages from viewers on how Float has resonated with them and how much the short means to them. I’ve received so much positive recognition and support from friends and peers at Pixar and the animation industry, and I hope that I get another opportunity to direct in the near future, because I’m definitely ready for the challenge.”
Erica Milsom’s Loop was another first for the studio. The short centers on two kids who find themselves on a lake, unable to move forward until they find a new way to connect. It broke new ground by showcasing Pixar’s first non-verbal autistic character. Milsom tells us that it was important for the studio to find storytellers that had something to say, and then encourage them to find their own stories and styles. “When you allow someone to access a sophisticated toolset and master craftspeople, but you say, ‘We want to see what you will make,’ you’re going to learn something new about both what your tools and your craftspeople are capable of,” she explains. “So, that transformation of what kinds of stories we could tell at Pixar is beautifully expressed in the SparkShorts program.”
Milsom says Pixar is full of people who aim high in their storytelling and look for stories that leave audiences with something to think about or remember or carry with them as they travel through life. “So in the end, I think the SparkShorts are experiments in how wide-ranging our storytelling can be if we give a new community of creators the tools and see what they do to redefine the medium,” she adds.
For the director, one of the high points of her experience was being able to work with autistic actors and advisors together through art. “Learning from our advisors at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and working together with our voice actress, Madison Bandy, to find the best expression of our character’s experience was really fun and engaging. And then, leading this awesome filmmaking team as they soaked up the insight and found our interpretation on film, with the benefit of their well-honed craft and expertise, was amazing. I feel so proud of what these two communities were able to bring to life through this connection.”
Edwin Chang’s powerful short Wind was inspired by the experiences of his father, who emigrated from North to South Korea and then to the U.S. He says the SparkShorts program exists to give voice to a new and diverse set of storytellers and to enable them with creative freedom. “This freedom allows for stories that are more experimental, more risky and more personal than any shorts Pixar has done before,” says Chang. “In my case, it allowed me to transfigure my own family’s story into one in a world of magical realism.” Chang says it was quite rewarding to collaborate with others at the studio and to see their work make the film blossom in surprising ways. “Many moments stand out — the first time I saw a painting of the world inspiring its scale and wonder; when a character first moved with life; when the lighting imbued the images with weight and emotion — the talent of the crew came together to create something beyond any expectations,” says the director.
The short received a wide range of reactions and emotions during its early screenings. “These reactions revealed how one’s own history and background can deeply shape how one experiences a story,” explains Chang, who is currently working on one of Pixar’s feature films. “Elements like familial sacrifice and filial piety, which I hadn’t even realized were innate to my own upbringing, were less familiar to others and needed to be communicated more clearly. Ultimately, though, I was happy to see that audiences of many differ
‘This freedom allows for stories that are more experimental, more risky and more personal than any shorts Pixar has done before. In my case, it allowed me to transfigure my own family’s story into one in a world of magical realism.’
— Wind director Edwin Chang