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SparkShorts

SparkShorts is a series of American independent animated short films produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It consists of a program in which Pixar's employees are given six months and limited budgets to develop animated short films that were originally released on Pixar's YouTube channel, and later on Disney+.

Development
Pixar first announced the SparkShorts program on January 18, 2019. The program consists of giving employees at Pixar six months and a limited budget to develop indie short films, all of them based on personal experiences. Bobby Rubio, writer/director of the SparkShort film Float, described the program as "different film from the kinds of films" developed at Pixar, while Lindsey Collins said that the shorts are referred to as SparkShorts because Pixar "[wants] to discover that creative spark" in its employees. ==Films==
Films
Purl An anthropomorphic ball of yarn named Purl becomes the first ball of yarn to work at a company called B.R.O. Capital, but is discriminated against by her human coworkers. Purl promptly changes her appearance and personality in order to fit in, but soon finds out it may not be the best idea to do so. Smash and Grab Set on a futuristic Mars-like planet, two worker robots, named Smash and Grab respectively, must fight their way to freedom after choosing to escape from their exhausting work routine. Kitbull An independent kitten forms an unlikely friendship with an abused pit bull, whom he eventually chooses to help escape from his owners. This short accompanied Turning Reds 2024 U.S. theatrical release. Loop A non-verbal girl with autism and a chatty boy must learn to understand each other in order to fulfill a canoeing trip in an urban lake during summer camp. While the theatrical release of both the short and feature were cancelled in countries where Disney+ was available, Burrow still played theatrically before Soul in countries where Disney+ was not available in December 2020. The short would play again before Soul for its U.S. theatrical release in 2024. Twenty Something The film examines the challenges and insecurities of 'adulting.' Some days you're nailing it, while other days, you're just a stack of kids hiding in a trench coat, hoping no one notices. The film's protagonist is Gia, who finds herself in this exact scenario the night of her 21st birthday. Nona A widowed grandmother named Nona plans to spend her day off by shutting out the world to watch her favorite TV show, E.W.W. Smashdown Wrestling. However, when her five-year-old granddaughter Renee is unexpectedly dropped off, Nona is caught between her two favorite things. Renee wants to play, while the normally-doting Nona wrestles with wanting to watch the Smashdown, leading to a decisive showdown between the two, and a loving compromise. ==Accolades==
Themes
Purl was praised by many as an allegory for gender inequality and feminism, which Meghan Mehta of Study Breaks noted was "mature for Pixar's target audience". Alex Reif of Laughing Place said that Smash and Grab is "[a] story about two workers who don't get the same luxuries as those who control them". Nick Skillicorn of Idea to Value felt that the SparkShorts program "enables the staff to flex their creative muscles in new ways, and try ideas which would never be accepted into a feature-length film aimed at families". ==Music==
Outside media
A Spark Story On January 29, 2020, Disney announced that an untitled documentary series focusing on the SparkShorts series was in development for Disney+. On July 21, 2021, it was reported that the project was being redeveloped as a docu-film under the name A Spark Story, with McGinn, Sterman, and Gelb producing. == See also ==
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