*NOTE: Originally published on Readwave
A time honored tradition that has made movie going more special.
It is expected that before the latest Pixar films, there will always be a short. While they aren't held as to high of a regard, they have been known to produce some top notch work. Here's 10 favorites that you should definitely give a second glance.For the sake of this piece, I am only recognizing shorts that played theatrically.
1. Geri's Game
Played With: A Bug's Life
It was the short that started it all about an old man playing Chess against himself. With some fine editing and great character animation, the insanity crafts itself as art and recognizes that sometimes the best stories don't need words at all. It's still the funniest and most concrete short that the studio has ever released.
2. Day & Night
Played With: Toy Story 3
The beauty is simple juxtaposition and clever blends of animation styles. The story of how opposites attract turns into an engaging and dizzying journey into deeper questions about humanity. Not bad for a studio that continually finds ways to introduce mass audiences to new ways of telling animated stories.
3. Knick Knack
Played With: Finding Nemo
While this short came out in 1989, it was released alongside one of the studio's most successful films 14 years later. Despite the age, it holds up rather well as a manic adventure of a snowman trying to escape his snow globe. It may lack the moral complexity of the studio's later shorts, but it still is a lot of fun to watch things go horribly wrong in the most creative ways possible.
4. Presto
Played With: WALL-E
For those worrying that Pixar was nothing but heartfelt, this is the perfect short for you. With some of the greatest visual gags in the shorts' history, it is astounding that they managed to pack so much life into less than five minutes. If the idea of a magic show gone wrong - all because a rabbit didn't get his carrot - appeals to you, then this is the perfect short for you.
5. La Luna
Played With: Brave
There was a lot of hype going into La Luna. For starters, it received an Oscar nomination a few months before it played theatrically. It was also one of the more inventive concepts from the studio. With a boy who goes to the moon to retrieve golden stars, things quickly evolve for the studio's longest short to date. Thankfully, its clever use of perspective and metaphors made it a rather compelling and overall enjoyable entry.
6. Luxo Jr.
Played With: Toy Story 2
This could easily win points on being a nostalgic entry. However, it is also the origin story of a company logo that we have come to expect before every film as a lamp bounces on a ball. It isn't just silly animation, it actually hearkens back to a 1986 short that helped to define Pixar. It is short and sweet and set a bar for what the studio would do for the next 30 years. Also, it is just a great piece of indispensable history.
6. Partly Cloudy
Played With: Up
For starters, this short's pairing with Up is ingenious considering both's involvement with clouds. In the case of Partly Cloudy, it decides to tackle the myth of storks delivering babies. This leads to a journey of instances in which one unfortunate stork must deliver dangerous babies. It is a simple gag and one wit plenty of humorous moments. However, it is the set-up that unbeknownst to us makes the finale such a beautiful and perfect finale.
8. Lifted
Played With: Ratatouille
It seemed like only time before the studio would tackle alien invasions in their shorts. While it may seem more like random gags stacked on top of each other, there's still something to enjoy about when the studio just chooses to go silly and takes it out on mankind by throwing a human across a room. It may lack the sentiments of latter day shorts, but it still has its moments.
9. For the Birds
Played With: Monsters, Inc.
The gag is simple and the themes of accepting others are rather profound. Overall, it makes for an underwhelming short that hits all of the familiar beats. It is fun to look at, but barely makes the list because of the lack of strong other competition.
10. The Blue Umbrella
Played With: Monsters University
Rounding out the list is the most recent entry that may seem a little familiar to those who remember Disney's Paperman short, but there's no harm in that. It's cute, creative, and reflects the studio continuing to challenge themselves stylistically. One can only hope that their upcoming short (Lava) will pack just as much of a punch.
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