Kari Gold Sets

Top 10 Pixar Shorts!

Ok, so our Obsessed With Pixar month has so far been dominated with the studio’s exceptional feature film output, but their roots lie firmly within short film production. Starting in 1984 the company has made 20 shorts on a range of subjects, the most recent being Hawaiian Vacation with the stars of Toy Story (I’ve unfortunately not seen it yet, as it has yet to be released alongside Cars 2 in the UK – perhaps some of our US readers could enlighten us!?!).

As A Bug’s Life (1998) was released, Pixar decided to accompany this with their short film Geri’s Game , to great success. Since then, each of the studio’s theatrical releases has featured a short film before the main production, harking back to the golden era of Hollywood when A grade feature films would be accompanied by a B feature, a news reel and a cartoon. Generally adopting a very moralistic stance, these nuggets of animation are often as engaging and entertaining as Pixar’s feature films.

In celebration of Pixar’s equally impressive short films, here are what we consider the 10 greatest!

In the short film that accompanied the theatrical release of Ratatouille, Lifted focuses on a small alien called Stu, who is training in human abduction. When he fails to be successful (abducting a farmer called Ernie, who bears a strong resemblance to Linguini, the protagonist of Ratatouille), he begins to feel sorry for himself.

Pixar manage to create a vast array of comedy through Stu’s inability to get the abduction right – the moments when the farmer is accidently slammed into walls and ceilings is pure comedy gold – but viewers can’t help but feel sorry for the little guy, who is obviously trying his hardest to succeed. Therefore, when he begins to weep at his failure and his trainer, Mr B, allows him to launch the spaceship, the message of the short becomes apparent. Suggesting that we should all strive to do our best and take pride in this rather than success alone, Lifted features a very strong moral message that resonates with adults and children alike. Combined with the cute animation of Stu, Lifted is an excellent entry into the studios canon of short films.

Pixar’s second foray into animated short films, Tin Toy , is the first to feature a strong moral message. When Tinny the toy soldier discovers that his new owner, Billy, is not that nice, he decides to hide under the boy’s bed. Discovering a host of toys living in similar fear, it is only when Billy falls and hurts himself that Tinny discovers the courage to go out and cheer the boy up. Tin Toy deals with the reality of having to put somebody else before ourselves – something that we all inevitably have to do at some point in our lives – even if we get hurt in the process. The frustration of this act is highlighted in the fact that Tinny is quickly discarded by Billy, who becomes more engrossed in the box and plastic bag the toy arrived in. Suggesting that performing such a good deed as putting others first can often go unnoticed by the benefactor, Tin Toy also implies that others may benefit and appreciate it (as evidenced by the toys that manage to escape Billy’s room).

Game Says His 'Pot Of Gold' Is 'Nothing Materialistic' | Popular ...

The Game casts material possessions aside in favor of the more important things in life. “You never grasp ahold of every coin in the pot, so you gotta take as much as you can,” Game said of the song’s concept on the Los Angeles set of his video on Tuesday. “To me, those coins are my family, my girl, my friends — nothing materialistic.”

On the Chris Brown-assisted single, which will appear on Game’s upcoming R.E.D. Album (August 23), the Compton, California, rapper contemplates his success in the face of the world’s ills as CB sings about how he misses the days “when life was simple.” It is that notion that ultimately shaped the video’s direction.

“He wanted to do a concept that was kind of a tribute to everything that has influenced him over the years and got him to the place that he’s at now,” the video’s director, Bryan Barber, said. “He had this real cool idea about the gold impala that N.W.A used in one of the videos and going to this house where he lived as a kid.”

For Game, the video was also a chance to look back on his childhood and to connect with his own son by taking the youngster to daddy’s old stomping grounds. “First scene is I’m up in this attic with all these Tupac posters and Snoop Dogg and just basketballs. It’s sorta real reminiscent of my room growing up in my house,” the West Coast spitter said. “I got my son in there. So it’s like me bringing my son back to where I grew up because he doesn’t know anything about that. He’s spoiled, he lives far out, he goes to private school. So just showing him the things that existed and the daily routine when I was a kid.”

As good as Game’s intentions were, the shoot went a tad awry. California producer and Game collaborator Mars was robbed at gunpoint for some cash and jewels. He was on set during the shoot, but the actual robbery took place blocks away, according to a Game representative.

After the robbery, however, the producer sent a tweet putting things in perspective, as he too seems to value the intangibles over material possessions: “Can’t believe I just got robbed! #thankgodimalive,” Mars wrote .

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