As has been the Pixar Animation Studios tradition since their first animated feature, audiences are treated to an amuse-bouch before the main meal in the form of an animated short. For “Cars 3,” Pixar is serving up “Lou.”
“Lou” features a creature, force really, that inhabits a lost and found box in a school playground. Lou thinks of itself more as a guardian of the children’s things than a place to store lost items. So when a toy-stealing bully ruins playtime for other kids, Lou takes action.
The short has almost no words and accomplishes it’s best storytelling through pantomime. The story is pretty straight forward and it doesn’t shy away from the anti-bully theme either.
Here’s a short clip to enjoy:
“Lou” is directed by Dave Mulins. It’s his first project as director, but he has many other projects at Pixar under his belt as artist, animator, and supervising animator.
While not as endearing as “Lava” or technically stunning as “The Blue Umbrella,” I found “Lou” on par with other animated shorts (many of which have no dialogue either). Make sure you arrive early to “Cars 3” so you don’t miss “Lou.”
I really enjoyed Cars 3 and thought it was a worthy entry to that series, but I absolutely LOVED “Lou”. It’s message really resonated with me and I was impressed how they managed to tackle a serious topic with so much humor.
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