Three generations, one big job, one epic short film.

I love animation, and I’m especially in love with Pixar. One evening this week, when I had a long, brainless task that I couldn’t put off any longer, I set Pixar’s short film playlist to play in the background. This was the first video in the playlist, and I never got to watch (listen to) the rest. (I also never finished my brainless task.)

The first thing that struck me about the Disney/Pixar short, “La Luna,” was the visual style. It looks and feels like vintage animation. The color story and font remind me a bit of “The Little Prince.” The next thing I noticed was the fact that there’s basically no dialogue, but the story is simple enough that it doesn’t need it. The characters identified themselves almost instantly without needing words. This is visual storytelling at its best!

Then the characters worked their magic. In the story, each of the three generations serve a different purpose. The grandfather is the brain, the father is the brawn, and the child is the heart of the story. The three together make a wonderful whole.

The review on the poster above is exactly right. This does feel like a story that’s been around forever. I suspect that’s one of the telltale signs of really good storytelling.