Short Circuit, our experimental shorts program, is coming to Disney Plus in Spring 2020! Founded in 2016, Short Circuit provides emerging filmmakers within the Studio the opportunity to create innovative, original shorts. Three shorts will have their world premiere at Annecy.
In what has become an annual tradition at Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) returns with a Bonlieu Theater presentation showcasing the Studios’ latest projects, presented by the filmmakers themselves. On Friday, June 14, head of animation Becky Bresee and head of effects animation Marlon West take to the stage to give an inside look at the making of Frozen 2, and the directors of three new shorts - "Just a Thought", directed by Brian Menz, "Exchange Student", directed by Natalie Nourigat and "Jing Hua (Flower in the Mirror)", directed by Jerry Huynh - present their shorts in world premiere screenings at Annecy.
The shorts are part of Short Circuit, the Studios’ experimental program that began in 2016 where anyone at Walt Disney Animation Studios can pitch an idea and potentially be selected to create an original short film with the support of the Studio and their fellow artists. The goal of this innovative program is to take risks in both visual style and story, surface new voices at the Studio and experiment with new technical innovation. The program has so far given 20 Disney Animation artists the opportunity to create their own short, most averaging 2:00 minutes in length. Last year’s award-winning Disney Animation VR short, Cycles, directed by Jeff Gipson, was created within the Short Circuit program as well. The short films within Short Circuit will be available Spring of 2020 on Disney+ in the U.S., Disney’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service.
The program has so far given 20 Disney Animation artists the opportunity to create their own short, most averaging 2:00 minutes in length. Last year’s award-winning Disney Animation VR short, Cycles, directed by Jeff Gipson, was created within the Short Circuit program as well.
D82 wrote:Does that mean 20 shorts have been produced within this program since 2016? Has any of them been released?
Not to my knowledge. The shorts made by interns aren't part of this program. The only one released so far in festivals and conferences is the VR short Cycles.
D82 wrote:Is this a new Disney or Pixar theatrical short or is it another kind of short?
I believe those are more WDAS shorts made through the Short Circuits program. For Disney to submit them for an MPAA rating must mean those three will get a limited theatrical release at The El Capitan for Oscar consideration just like what they did with the first three Pixar Spark Shorts.
Sotiris wrote:Not to my knowledge. The shorts made by interns aren't part of this program. The only one released so far in festivals and conferences is the VR short Cycles.
I wonder if these shorts will be also available on Disney Plus along with the new ones.
Sotiris wrote:I believe those are more WDAS shorts made through the Short Circuits program. For Disney to submit them for an MPAA rating must mean those three will get a limited theatrical release at The El Capitan for Oscar consideration just like what they did with the first three Pixar Spark Shorts.
I didn't understand the three titles were animated shorts. What you say makes sense. Thanks for the additional info and for answering my questions!
Exchange Student
Life is hard enough for an exchange student at a new school, but as the only Earthling at a school for Aliens, the central character in this fanciful story is the ultimate outsider and must prove her worth to be accepted by her unusual new classmates.
Just a Thought
An awkward 12-year old boy named Ollie experiences “bubble trouble” when his infatuation for a girl is embarrassingly revealed as his innermost thoughts take the form of a physical thought bubble. When the bubble takes on a life of its own, Ollie struggles to keep his thoughts under control and hidden from his seventh grade crush.
Jing Hua (Flower in the Mirror)
Using Chinese-style landscape paintings as a visual inspiration, this film follows the story of a grieving woman who pays tribute to her recently departed teacher by creating a painted world using a magical form of kung fu.
These three shorts look better than I expected. They have very original concepts and I love the art styles, especially for the last two, though the style of the first one is not bad either. I can't wait to watch them.
Fourteen shorts produced via the Short Circuit program will be released theatrically at The El Capitan starting from August 12, making all of them eligible for this year's Oscars. A Kite's Tale is conspicuously absent from the roster.
The good news is that Cycles is among them, which means that there is a non-VR version of that short. Maybe A Kite's Tale will be released at The El Capitan Theatre too at a later date.
The titles look quite varied in art style and subject matter. I think the ones I'm most curious about are Downtown, Just a Thought, Zenith, and The Race.
I was wondering why the Pixar Spark Shorts are around 8 minutes long while this WDAS ones are just around 2, according to the first post in this thread. I wish they were as long as the Pixar ones. On the plus side though, they're faster to produce, so I guess more people at WDAS will have the chance to direct their own short.
By the way, this is just a little curiosity, but I just learned that Julia Butters, the girl who appears with Leonardo DiCaprio in that scene from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where they're shooting a western movie together, is the daughter of Disney animator Darrin Butters. She voices the main character of the short titled Fetch.
I just noticed the above short of Jing Hua and wow, that really does look like it comes straight from Mulan. I'm sure they could have differentiated between the two properties some more if they wanted to. Even the name sounds similar (Hua coming straight from the Ballad of Mulan and the live-action film, and Jing is not that far off from Ping). It's beautiful work but really disappointing how they basically only know one Chinese tale.
We’re a dyad in the Force. Two that are one. "I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it." - Kylo Ren "I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." - Rey
D82 wrote:By the way, this is just a little curiosity, but I just learned that Julia Butters, the girl who appears with Leonardo DiCaprio in that scene from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where they're shooting a western movie together, is the daughter of Disney animator Darrin Butters. She voices the main character of the short titled Fetch.
She's also starring on the ABC sitcom "American Housewife". Where would Hollywood be without nepotism?
JeanGreyForever wrote:It's beautiful work but really disappointing how they basically only know one Chinese tale.
Another mistake they made was making it in CG. You can't tell by looking at a screenshot, but when the character moves it's obvious she's computer animated. It doesn't make sense to make a painterly-looking short and have your main character in CG. What's the point of that? There's an inherent stiffness in the medium that goes against the natural flow of movement in martial arts and brush strokes in a painting.