Ranking SparkShorts Films

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Ranking SparkShorts Films

SparkShorts is a series of independent animated short films produced by Pixar. These films are different from Pixar’s regular short films by mostly emphasizing on diverse directorial talents and different, more emotional and deeper storylines. Although they can be overly manipulative as can be Pixar features themselves, there are some very strong shorts in this roster that are really impactful and authentic. Here is my ranking of these shorts.

7. Loop

This one focuses on a chatty boy and a non-verbal girl, learning to understand each other. Yes, this film is very serious and admirable in its treatment of autism, but the reasons why it gets the last spot is twofold: it is overly limited in scope and way too emotionally manipulative. It looks good and it is mature, but the magic was lacking this time around.

6. Wind

Speaking of emotional manipulation, Wind is as manipulative as they can get. It is about a grandmother and her grandson trying to escape an endless chasm. While the chasm itself is absolutely gorgeous and very atmospheric as is the entire movie, the way the film ended felt overly fabricated to produce tears in the audiences.

5. Float

It is about a man and his son who floats. He at first tries to hide that, but eventually gets to embrace his son’s uniqueness and the two get to share it properly. This movie’s central metaphor about autism is very thinly concealed, but thankfully the movie was less emotionally manipulative than the above entries and actually quite moving in its ending.

4. Out

Out is Pixar’s first ever film featuring an openly gay character. He is a man who is still closeted, but after he accidentally becomes a dog, he reconnects with his mother and eventually admits everything to his parents. The film is familiar in its body switching formula, but undeniably quite fun in those scenes. It’s also very well animated and ultimately quite charming.

3. Purl

Purl is all about gender inequality in a corporate workplace. It is very obvious and highly aggressive in the tackling of this issue, but the protagonist is so memorable and the animation is absolutely terrific that the movie worked out quite well at the end of the day. It’s polished and dynamic throughout.

2. Smash and Grab

This flick tells the story of two robots who are stuck in the same, repetitive job routine of mining ore on an asteroid and when they find there is more world outside of their train, they escape. Although far from the level of quality of ‘WALL-E’, the movie is very sweet in its central relationship, very intriguing throughout and featuring simply amazing world building.

1. Kitbull

Kitbull follows an abandoned stray kitten who forms an unlikely friendship with an abused pit bull. It is a safe cartoon for sure, but undeniably beautiful. It explores the abuse of dogs painfully and admirably, but the relationship between the kitten and the dog is truly wonderful. The animation is different and charming while the entire flick is very old-fashioned in its approach. It’s by far the best SparkShorts film so far and an easy number one choice.