Pixar Animation Studios is known for its animated films for children, but adults may recognize dark themes in its offerings. Do you remember how you cried when you watched the opening montage in Up? Or how about Bing Bong’s last scene in Inside Out? And that incredibly moving furnace scene in Toy Story 3?
Another thing Pixar is known for is its shorts, which are screened either before a Pixar film or for home release. They are usually created to showcase its technological and cinematic advancements, either for the audience or for a client. They are so popular that they are even released as collections.
This year, one of Pixar’s shorts is called Borrowed Time, and is in line with the studio’s penchant for adult themes. Here, we are introduced to a sheriff who gets a new lease on life when he visits a place close to his heart. It’s both dark and powerful.
Another powerful thing about the short is how it looks so realistic. The strands of hair, the dust, and the sunset look so life-like that it immediately draws you in the story. The facial expressions are also so realistic that you quickly empathize with the protagonist.
Borrowed Time was made by Pixar animators Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats.
According to Hamou-Lhadj, “A goal for us was to make something that kind of contested the notion of animation being a genre, and one for children specifically. We really wanted to make something that was a little bit more adult in the thematic choices, and show that animation could be a medium to tell any sort of story.”
Indeed, Pixar has come so far from The Adventures of André and Wally B., its first short in 1984.
Watch Borrowed Time below:
Borrowed Time from Borrowed Time on Vimeo.
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