There are two kinds of movies you go to see in theaters. Movies you can take your time driving to and Pixar movies.
The latter, of course, comes with a special treat before the feature film gets under way: A Pixar short, a magical mini movie, the likes of which have been paired with every Pixar feature since A Bug’s Life, way back in 1998.
These days there’s good news for anyone who’s ever gotten caught in traffic on the way to a Pixar movie.
Disney and Pixar have begun releasing collections of their storied shorts as films of their own, small collections of their even smaller movies.
The latest, Pixar Short Films Collection: Vol. 3 (Blu-Ray + Digital), showed up on Surf and Sunshine’s doorstep courtesy of the studio, so we could get a sneak peek at what’s in store for you.
The DVD treatment pairs the following shorts together for the first time:
- Bao
- LOU
- Piper
- Lava
- Sanjay’s Super Team
- Riley’s First Date?
- The Radiator Springs 500 ½
- Party Central
- The Blue Umbrella
- The Legend Of Mor’du
- Partysaurus Rex
- Bonus Mini-Movie: Marine Life Interviews
- Bonus Mini-Movie: Miss Fritter’s Racing Skoool
Of course, you can sit down and watch straight through with the family, but if you’re inclined to skip around, our advice is to start with Bao.
The first-ever Pixar short to be written and directed by a woman (Domee Shi), it was paired in theaters with The Incredibles 2 and left parents scrambling for tissues.
The story of a steamed bun (a bao) that comes to life in the hands of an aging mom who’s feeling the sorrow of an empty nest, it’s a tearjerker but one that’s hard to resist.
You’ll need a pick me up, so head straight to Piper. It’s the story of a hungry sandpiper hatchling on her very first venture out of the nest, and an Oscar winner that leaves you full of can-do attitude.
Paired with Finding Dory in theaters, Piper has the same tenor of everything being alright in the end.
If you’re watching with the little ones, head straight to Partysaurus Rex. Its name pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?
One of Pixar’s Toy Story toons, it’s not just a good way to prep for the news that Toy Story 4 is coming (!!) but a positive tale of making new friends … and having a little fun along the way.