The die-hard Pixar fan within this critic is a little disappointed that the last two Pixar theatrical releases ( Toy Story 4 and Onward) did not come with an in house theatrical short. The Simsons: Playdate With Destiney doesn’t count. These have become such a staple of the studio’s output for decades. . This viewer has very distinct memories of seeing Monsters Inc 3D in theatres and the adults in front of him whooping with joy when it became clear that For The Birds had also been remastered in 3D. There is a trade-off as far as losing the shorts theatrically goes. Disney + gives the studio an opportunity for experimentation with several potentially odd but interesting side projects. Hence we have Pixar Popcorn. These new shorts have been marketed as a season of TV. They are more realistically described as a collection of mostly dialogue-free 1-3 minute affairs from the universes of audiences favourite Pixar films.
Corrective runtime for all 10 shorts is roughly 18 minutes ( excluding the lengthy translation and foreign cast credits that Disney + likes to stick on the end of original content.)As expected given the scope possible within the runtime most of the shorts are a very simple slice of life narratives or basic one-joke premises. This is perfectly fine. What’s impressive about these mini productions is that they have a relatively high level of polish for what they are. Each short has been produced by an individual creative team. This pays off in showcasing animation that’s generally up to the very high standards audience expect from Pixar Each production even has its popcorn based variant of the Luxo Jr logo. It’s the little details like this the Pixar superfans will appreciate
For watchers of all ages, this brief series provides a well-produced injection of quality Pixar content that is built for streaming. Certain collectors might mourn the loss of the Pixar Short Film physical media collections ( these sorts of productions might have been an extra on one of those in the past.) That said if the studio can continue to build a portfolio of streaming content fans will be very pleased.
7/10
A Little Bit Of Everything 