SNEAK PEEK: Pixar’s New Short Film ‘Lou’ is Heartfelt & Delves Into Schoolyard Bullying. #DisneySMMC
Pixar’s New Short Film ‘Lou’!
Being a mother and a student myself once upon a time, I’m familiar with the going-ons and sometimes misconstrued politics of the playground.
This month, I had the opportunity to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration: Land and Sea and catch a sneak peek of Pixar’s latest animated short, Lou. We also had the immense pleasure of having David Mullins himself and his wife to preview his labour of love to all attendees.
Mullins has been a Pixar animator since 2000 and has lent his talent to the Cars movies, Finding Nemo and Up and now with his directorial debut, Lou.
The short begins with something we are all familiar with, a box filled with toys and other random belongings; a Lost and Found box. Pixar performs its magic and brings the items in the box to life.
You’ll notice a humorous tone as you see an unseen creature quickly slink across the screen. Small elements like the creature’s attention to detail are hilarious as you watch it fix the Tic-Tac-Toe game on the jungle gym. It will make you laugh out loud.
Lou Reveals Himself!
It quickly begins to illustrate a story about a schoolyard bully and this unseen creature. As pictured above, Lou is shrouded with a red hoodie and baseball eyes, he is watchful and loves to give back. Lou steps up and decides to teach him a lesson.
According to http://www.pamperedpiglets.com/Teacup-pigs-for-sale.html, the bully is a boy named J.J. who Mullins shared that he chose to honour his Mom, Joyce Jean. You witness J.J. snatching a video game from one kid, taking a pigskin from teacup pig and stealing a little girl’s stuffie and whipping it through a basketball hoop. Lou takes notice and hijinks ensue!
‘LOU’ EASTER EGG: Mullins revealed that J.J. was re-worked from the Movie ‘Inside Out’ along with most of the other children in the class. You can see him in the corner and you will definitely see the resemblance.
One of the highlights of seeing the first sneak peek outside of Pixar studios of Lou, was the honour of having Mullins explain how it came to life. We were able to see the blood, sweat and tears that lie behind every Pixar creation and he shared what inspired the story.
Lou’s sole purpose in life is to give things back, Mullins thought that what better way to bring the story to life by introducing someone who “takes away” or “steals” in life?
But, he acknowledged that often times, bullies themselves feel invisible sometimes and if you take the time to see why they do what they do, you may be able to solve the issue.
During the production of Lou, Mullins suffered loss and hardship in his personal life with his father passing away and mother being diagnosed with cancer. He had to go back to the drawing board several times before finding THE story behind Lou.
What I admired the most was the love he has for his wife and how she herself is in the industry and had a large role in bringing Lou to life. It was incredible to see Mullins’ reaction to our authentic and candid reactions to the short. After the preview, he came up and tearfully said, “You guys laughed, where I hoped you would laugh.”
It was a magical moment.
The six-minute short directed by Dave Mullins and produced by Dana Murray will be showing in front of Pixar’s next feature film, Cars 3. It hits theaters June 16 and you might want to pack some tissues because you’ll need them at the end of this beautiful short.
Will you be keeping an eye out for Lou before Cars 3?
Let me know, til then–cheers m’deres!
Nancy Polanco is a freelance journalist, lifestyle content creator, and editor of Whispered Inspirations. She is a proud Mom to Gabby and Michaela and partner and best friend to Darasak. Having worked as part of a health care team for almost a decade, Nancy is happy to be back to her passion. She is a contributor to the Huffington Post, TODAY’s Parents, and an Oprah Magazine Brand Ambassador.
YES! I’m so glad that someone out there has finally made a decision to tackle this subject in such a huge entertainment forum. This is great!
Me too!
Pixar does it again with what sounds like an amazing short film. I can’t wait to see this. It sounds fantastic.
It is awesome!
I always LOVE those little short movies before the big movie! They (in my humble opinion) are sometimes better than the feature! 🙂
Haha, sometimes!
What a great way to address bullying in a different manner. I can definitely see the visual similarities to Inside Out.
It is a lot of fun to see the story behind it.
Lou looks like a great short. I will have to watch for it when we go see Cars 3.
Hope you love it as much as I did!
I am going to have to share this post with my daughter. She loves Disney movies and even more she loves Easter Eggs!!!
Awesome, hope she enjoys!
i love all pixar movies!! this one is very interesting too
Me too!
Disney Pixar’s Lou is very timely, bullying is no joke and leaves a negative impact on a child’s life. I hope the kids get to watch this and learn from it.
Yes, they show that there is a way to change someone’s heart.
I love hearing stories behind something that someone wrote. Wow! If he created cars then I know I’ll enjoy Lou. Look forward to seeing the 6 minute short.
It is a great one!
im sure this is a great movie! Pixar is awesome!
It is a great short!
I love the short films. I haven’t see this one yet. Finding the Easter eggs is fun too.
I love shorts too. This short in particular will premiere before Cars 3.
I’ll have to watch out for this. I love watching these short films. I’m sure I’ll be watching for it when I see Cars 3. I can’t wait to see that movie either!
Me too, I am excited for Cars 3.
I love DIsney short films so much! Even though they’re short, they’re still wonderful stories to be told!
There is so much heart behind them.
How neat! I love those little Easter Eggs. We’ll have to keep this movie on our radar, especially with having watched Inside Out and loving it.
Yes, you will have to watch for this short before Cars 3. 🙂
I love Pixar but haven’t seen one of their movies in a long time. I don’t think I’ve even seen the first Cars. 🙁 Sounds like I need to do some binge watching.
Oh my goodness, yes! You should totally binge-watch!
I love short films, let alone, ones that share a message that can be a touchy-yet important issue to bring up… I can’t wait to see it! I’ll make sure my kids are around to see it as well : )
Lucky you , getting to attend the sneak-peek!
Definitely something to have a conversation about. This short touches on it but, it is funny and nostalgic!
I admit that once I realized that the video wasn’t in the post, I skipped to the end to avoid spoilers, lol. My son and I will be going to see Cars 3 in theaters and I want to watch it then. But Pixar has never let me down yet, so I know it is going to be amazing. I’ll have to make sure we arrive ON TIME so we don’t miss any of the previews.
You do not have to worry, I did not give anything away. 😛
This is my first time to heard this new short film of pixars, my son will love to see this
Make sure to watch out for it before Cars 3.
My son loved Cars and watched it many times before. We have to watch out for Cars 3 and this short film as well. Bullying is no joke so without a doubt, this is s must-see!
So true, hope you guys love it when it comes out.
Lou sounds like it’s going to be a great movie. It’s great how it’s addressing bullying, it’s such an important topic for kids these days.
It is subtle but significant, which is nice! 🙂
Omg I always love these short films!!!! My daughter and I always have to tell my hubby that no!! We don’t fast forward through them, they’re cute!
Me too, we look forward to them.
I love Pixar short films, they are always so touching and perfect for my kids, I’m glad to see Pixar tackling a well-known touchy subject. I cannot wait to show this to my kids.
I agree, hope you like it!
Oh my gosh, this sounds like such an awesome movie! I definitely have to tell my sister in law about this for my nephew!
It is a great short, that is for sure.
Such a great topic! This is something I want my kids to see!
It was awesome. 🙂
Looks like a great short, hopefully will get a chance to see it.
Hope so!