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Cohen’s Cartoon Corner by Karl Cohen
Shot from 'Lou', a new short from Pixarian Dave Mullins. photo: courtesy D. Mullins
Next Pixar Short
“Lou”, an animated short by Pixar veteran Dave Mullins, is set to be released with “Cars 3” on June 16th.
The six-minute short’s storyline features a bully named J.J., who exhibits Sid-like qualities—remember Sid from “Toy Story”? J.J. likes to snatch other kids’ toys and tosses them aside, leading Lou to decide to teach this bully a lesson with some playful hijinks.
In the still image released by the studio Lou is seen wearing a red hoodie with eyes made of baseballs and buttons, grinning mischievously from inside a school’s lost and found bin.
Director Mullins has been at the studio for over 16 years. His first Pixar credit was on “Monsters Inc.”. For most of his career at Pixar he has been working in the animation department, taking on roles ranging from animator to directing animator and supervising animator. “Lou” is the first film he has directed.
Mullins says the idea for “Lou” came from moving a lot during his childhood and feeling out of place. The purpose of Lou’s existence in the film is for him to return stolen objects to their rightful owners. The skateboard in the toy box refers to Mullins’ fondness for one growing up. The football in the chest is a reference to his father enjoying watching football.
The sandpiper kid from Pixar's Oscar-winning short. photo: courtesy Pixar
Pixar wins Short Oscar
Congratulations to Pixar for winning the Best Animated Short Academy Award. “Piper” is a sweet adorable sandpiper learning to find food in the wet sand while dealing facing her fears of incoming waves. It was shown theatrically with Pixar’s “Finding Dory”, the highest grossing film of 2016, with about $450 million.
“Piper”’s Director Alan Barillaro said he was a bundle of nerves throughout the Oscars. When he heard his name announced as the best animated short winner, along with producer Marc Sondheimer, his mind went blank. He was brought back to reality when his wife squeezed him hard.
Barillaro has worked at Pixar for years and his credits include work on some of Pixar’s biggest hits, including “A Bug’s Life“,“Monsters, Inc. “ and “WALL-E“. He is presently working on Brad Birds “The Incredibles 2“.
One of the locations from the first year of the Albany Film Festival. photo: D. Blair
Gorzycki’s Film at Albany Festival
Martha Gorzycki’s “Voices from Kaw Thoo Lei”, an important film, will screen at the Albany Film Festival on March 26th. This is its Bay Area premiere.
It is in program #3, screening around 2pm at the Albany Twin Theater on Solano Ave near San Pablo. The schedule will be forthcoming on the festival website.
Her latest film has now won eight festival honors and it continues to be shown at international events. This winter it has screened at the Sydney World Film Festival in Australia, at CineMagic in London and just a few days ago (Feb. 28) at Creation International Film Festival in Ottawa, Canada. So far this spring it will be shown at Show Me Justice Festival of Human Rights in Warrensburg, MO, on April 6th and at Docs Without Borders in Nassau, DE,ht on May 1st.
Martha is an Associate Professor in the School of Cinema Department at San Francisco State University and their Animation Coordinator.
Upcoming ASIFA-SF Program
Our next ASIFA-SF Program, about careers in animation, will happen Sunday, April 30, 2 pm, at SF State. It is free and the public invited, go to the Fine Arts Building 101, Coppola Theatre.
The six panelists we feature will include Jonathan Lyons, who has worked locally at ILM, Tippett, Image Movers Digital and The Orphanage. See his award winning film and sample reel here, Jamie Burton, who's working on the game Skylanders at Toys for Bob in Petaluma (go here), and Janelle Hessig, who works at KQED in their Film School Shorts Program.
Karl Cohen is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached .Posted on Mar 23, 2017 - 07:55 PM