Lou

Pixar short films are of such high quality that they often receive Academy Award consideration. The delightful Lou (above), for example, was recently nominated for an Oscar. What do the animators at Pixar have up their sleeve next?

It's one thing to call your baby your "little dumpling." It's another thing entirely for your baby to be an actual little dumpling. As revealed by Entertainment Weekly, the next animated short from Pixar involves a woman and a Chinese dumpling she's made that comes to life. Yes, the studio that gave us sentient toys, cars and emotions is now delivering anthropomorphic food.

Here's everything we've learned about the new short, titled Bao, so far:

 

What's it about? 

A Chinese-Canadian woman who is experiencing depression after all her children have grown up and moved out. While making dumplings, she's surprised to witness one of them magically come alive. She gets another shot of motherhood as she finds she has to care for the little appetizer, apparently all the way through puberty. 

 

Really? The dumpling goes through puberty?

According to Shi, the dumpling comes of age with a metaphoric transition from sweet to sour. “What is puberty for a dumpling?” she asks, answering: "Sesame seeds."

 

Did EW share a first look at the short?

Yes. Here's one image from Bao, which you can also find in the EW article, via Twitter:

 

 

Who came up with this idea?

Bao is the mastermind of Domee Shi, a storyboard artist with credits on Pixar features Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur. She is the first woman to helm a Pixar short. 

 

Where did the idea come from?

Shi told EW that she wanted to make a film inspired by her own upbringing as an only child of Chinese immigrants:

“Often times it felt like my mom would treat me like a precious little dumpling, wanting to make sure I was safe, that I didn’t go out late, all that stuff. I just wanted to create this magical, modern-day fairy tale, kind of like a Chinese Gingerbread Man story." 

 

What does the title mean?

As Shi explains it, "The word ‘bao’ actually means two things in Chinese: Said one way, it means steamed bun. Said another, it means something precious. A treasure.”

 

How else will the short honor Chinese representation? 

Just as last year's Pixar feature Coco and the past short film Sanjay's Super Team showcased the cultural heritages of their directors, Bao will clearly do the same for Shi. But the film also attracted collaborators identifying with the subject matter, similar to how Coco involved a lot of Latinx inclusion among its vocal and technical talents. Shi told EW:

“It felt like a really universally appealing story that a lot of people could identify with,” says Shi. “We got a ton of e-mails from people identifying with the mom character, or the dumpling character, saying, ‘Wait, that’s me,’ or ‘That’s my parents,’ or ‘I’m dealing with this right now.’”

Bao is scored by Chinese-American composer Toby Chu (Surf's Up 2: WaveMania), while the film's cinematographer is Hong Kong-born Patrick Lin (Up, Inside Out). Shi's own mother, Ningsha Zhong, served as a consultant and a model for the animators. 

“Our technical directors and special effects team put the camera super close to her hands and recorded every single little detail of how she folded the dough, how she cut each piece, how she rolled each wrapper into that perfect little bun shape," Shi told EW. "We [basically] recreated those shots with her hands and used them as the reference for animation.”

 

Can we see some concept art? 

Sure. Here are some concept sketches for Bao, which you can also find in the EW article, shared on Twitter:

 

 

How long is the short?

Seven and a half minutes. 

 

When can we see it?

Bao will premiere this month at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC before hitting theaters attached to the Pixar feature Incredibles 2 on June 21.