Pixar have been known not just for their feature-film length productions but also for the ‘shorts’ that often run ahead of those. For every Finding Nemo/Dory, Inside Out, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Wall-E and Brave there’s been the likes of memorable quicker entries such as La Luna, For the Birds, Knick-Knack, Presto and the original Luxo Jnr and Tin Toy.
The latest short story by two of their animators, Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats, is arguably the most poignant, dark and mature of tales. Though it’s not technically a Pixar project itself, the short has been touring various festivals and is now available through Vimeo (see below).
Entitled Borrowed Time it involves a sheriff and his son, the latter reliving a moment from his youth that changed his life forever. In less than ten minutes, the story packs the kind of emotional wallop that some full-length live-action projects fail to do and it will be a tough heart that doesn’t shed a tear by its end. The animation backing up the story is as top-notch as ever and the use of music shouldn’t be overlooked. If it had been a full-on Pixar project there might have been a lighter pay-off, but it does show that even with a distinctive Pixar-style of animation, the potential to tell stories for older audiences and not just the family-fare for which the studio is best known, is certainly there.
Borrowed Time from Borrowed Time on Vimeo.
