Sunday, February 25, 2024

Day & Night

Yes, this is the 2010 Pixar short that played before Toy Story 3. Apparently I never discussed it at the time for whatever reason: 

This Pixar short was better than I remembered. It was only viewed in the summer of ’10, when it played before Toy Story 3. Back then, I had no idea there even would be a short (this shows how many Pixar films I saw in general at that point, let alone theatrically) & my opinion at the time was that it was just strange. I’d like to think that my knowledge of film has increased in the almost 14 years since… not to mention becoming wiser & more mature w/ age.

It is still weird that the two stars are humanoid blobs which show daytime scenes and nighttime scenes on their bodies, or that they naturally hate each other until… they bond over seeing women in bikinis? Yeah, that has aged like milk by 2024 standards and perhaps there were other ways for those non-verbal beings to communicate their similarities & thus form a bond. 

Even then, that point doesn’t ruin the short. After all, there is also a gag involving a waterfall which was a blatant reference to urination… after quarreling & being afraid of the unknown, they bond as a voiceover explains how the unknown should not be feared. That text was taken from an old speech by Wayne Dyer… someone I’d never heard of before but Wiki tells me he was a self-help author and motivational speaker popular in the 70’s, which may have been when many of the animators were kids themselves.

The blend of 2D & 3D animation and the vibrant score from Michael Giacchino were also key assets. A segment not liking a certain plot device is understandable; personally, this short is more appreciated by me than the theatrical experience way back when.

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