If you saw Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” in the theater, you were also treated to the animated short film “Sanjay’s Super Team.” The short “mostly true” story parallels a moment in the life of its director Sanjay Patel creating a very personal story.
Patel grew up obsessed with superheroes and disconnected from his family’s traditions, including his father’s religion. He drew his artistic influence from the worlds of comic books and Saturday morning cartoons, plus the Hindu gods and spirital culture that came to define his upbringing. Patel’s art and graphic novels re-envision Hindu mythology is a modern, pop-culture way.
Here’s more on how the film came to be in an interview with Patel::
In “Sanjay’s Super Team,” the new short film from Pixar Animation Studios, accomplished artist Sanjay Patel uses his own experience to tell the story of a young, first-generation Indian-American boy whose love for western pop culture comes into conflict with his father’s traditions. Sanjay is absorbed in the world of cartoons and comics, while his father tries to draw him into the traditions of his Hindu practice. Tedium and reluctance quickly turn into an awe-inspiring adventure as the boy embarks on a journey he never imagined, returning with a new perspective that they can both embrace.
I thought the short had a charming sense about it. It may have drawn on Patel’s personal story, but I think many families have to deal with the distance between generations. I know I don’t even begin to understand my son’s obsession with Minecraft. Same sort of thing.
If you saw the “Sanjay’s Super Team” short in theaters, what did you think?