Exclusive to Disney+, Pixar Popcorn's 10 micro shorts offer a quick glimpse into the everyday lives of some of our favourite Pixar characters, both old and new.
As the animation giant we know it to be today, Pixar was born from the medium of short film, and these origins are something the company holds close to its heart, displaying it proudly in its iconic Luxo lamp intro. The animated short has become a staple of Pixar over the years, its colourful characters iconic in their own right alongside the company's feature protagonists. The likes of Lava (2015, Murphy) and Bao (2018, Shi) offer an abundance of emotional depth in under 10-minutes, leaving audiences reeling before their accompanying features have even begun.
More recently Pixar's Sparkshorts series, which originated on YouTube before moving to Disney+, has presented itself as a powerful platform for younger Pixar animators to experiment with their own narratives and capabilities. The collection of Sparkshorts currently released have explored mature themes from understanding disabilities, gender inequality in the workplace, and coming out to ones parents; indeed they are collectively some of Pixar's most powerful shorts to-date.
In comparison therefore, on a surface level, the mere minutes-long Popcorn shorts appear to be rather lacking in substance. None of the 10 shorts offer a particularly new perspective on their characters, nor potential for any sort of deep message. Their lack of emotional depth is not unlike that of Disney+'s Forky Asks a Question (2019-) mini-series, or Disney Channel's Cars Toons (2008-2014). Rather simply, they are just snippets of fun. I would argue however, that this simplicity is part of Pixar Popcorn's charm.
As reporter Petrana Radulovic notes in her interview with producer Maureen Giblin for Polygon, what is unique about Pixar Popcorn is the circumstances under which the shorts were developed. As a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the series was the first of Pixar's kind to be created by the animators entirely from their own homes. As Radulovic divulges, the idea for these shorts were put into motion by Executive Producer Andy Bell in April of 2020, at the initial hight of the pandemic and the early weeks of quarantine in North America (2021).
In this regard, Pixar Popcorn is, at its heart, a testament to the talent of Pixar's animators. Despite restraints such as only using pre-established characters, models, and set pieces, the fine level of detail associated with Pixar is not at all lost. The shorts themselves are of a high technical standard, on par with studio's feature films. Their use of lighting is particularly strong, something Pixar has truly mastered in recent years. The only setback of the shorts is that their use of sound is not consistent, and disappointingly this leads to a potential for disconnect between the audience and Pixar's worlds and characters.
The shorts' scores and foley are completely sound. However, there is an inconsistency in the voice acting between the 10 pieces, and sometimes a lack of it entirely. This choice is not unlike Disney Animation Studio's At Home With Olaf (2020) YouTube series, which similarly hosted a mixture of shorts: some of which lacked any character sound, while others had small dialogue pieces recorded by Josh Gad at his home. Much like the Olaf shorts, Pixar Popcorn's strongest are those which make use of voice acting efforts and exertions. Without usually energetic characters such as Buzz Lightyear or Lighting McQueen so much as grunting, the shorts feel rather uncanny and as such, this detaches from the experience.
Understandably resources were restricted for the filmmakers' at home, and there may be multiple contributing factors as to the lack of voice efforts in certain shorts; be that a lack of pre-existing pick-ups or budget restraints. As such it is hard to critique Popcorn too harshly in this regard.
Overall, the Pixar Popcorn series was a short-but-sweet slice of escapism from the unprecedented times at hand. It is always pleasant to be reunited with Pixar favourites, and the common slice-of-life thread between the 10 shorts made for an experience best enjoyed all at once. Pixar Popcorn offers a glimpse into how some of cinema's most love characters exist mundanely in their homes and communities. The simply joys and positive spirits of these characters reflect what we all strive to find in our own lives. There needn't be any explicit reference to social distancing or staying at home, the general theme of positivity and cohesion are clear.
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