Not too long ago, we heard that Pixar had launched a little department that would specialize in "off-the-rails," experimental shorts...
While we are going to learn more about this new plan this coming August at SIGGRAPH, we got a small taste of what's to come from this program and their debut short, Smash and Grab, courtesy of Pixarian David Lally...
Here are two new images from Smash and Grab, the 1st short from Pixar’s new experimental story program! More at @siggraph! #pixar#animationpic.twitter.com/OY4kHrFk73— David Lally (@davidmlally) June 22, 2017
Getting some serious WALL-E vibes here, for obvious reasons. The train has a sci-fi/Art Deco-esque look that's pretty darn cool, and the robots looks like something out of a gritty futuristic action film.
The accompanying statement is pretty exciting... A Pixar project that's not overseen by the Brain Trust, a Pixar project that can be anything. Experimental... I wonder if they'll truly venture into adults-only territory should this program be successful, like they did with the Co-op program-supported short Borrowed Time. I continue to praise that little gem, a truly mature animated short film that was quietly supported by Pixar but swiftly rejected by Disney's top brass. If anything, I think this is a logical step forward for the studio.
I have no idea where it'll go, but my wild pipe dream is that this kind of experimentation somehow oozes into the feature pipeline. Even though I've been sympathetic of a lot of their more divisive recent productions, I do want to see a change of pace.
What say you on these developments?