As is the tradition with most Disney Pixar films, a brand new animated short will be debuting in movie theaters along with Finding Dory on June 17, 2016. The new short, called Piper, is a touching story of a baby sandpiper (type of bird) and her mother. I’ve always been amused by these funny little birds by the beach and the Piper animated short is so stinkin’ adorable!
Learning About the Piper Animated Short from Director Alan Barillaro
On the last press event I attended, Alan Barillaro, Pixar Supervising Animator and now Piper Animated Short Director, shared some inside information on the story and animation process.
I’ve always found sandpipers very entertaining, that bird that runs away from the shore. It always felt like a character to me in a story we haven’t told, about a bird that’s terrified of the water. — Alan Barillaro
The concept of Piper began as a test project in creating new technology in the software development department. Finding Dory Director, Andrew Stanton, saw the potential and helped mentor Alan in turning this small test into a full animated short.
6 Fun Facts From the Piper Animated Short Film
Though you really need to see it yourself to appreciate how sweet the short is, here are a few fun facts from Piper.
- Features a mother-daughter relationship and is from a kid’s point of view.
- Waters in California were too murky to capture the underwater footage so Alan had to go to Kauai with family to film.
- Waves are hand-animated and bubbles are a combination of effects and hand-animation.
- Real bird tweets were used in the audio, along with sound effects of styrofoam being rubbed on someone’s head and squeaky shoes in the home improvement store.
- Animators avoided gestures not found in nature.
- Feathers were used as part of the acting to convey emotion.
This short is beautiful and so enjoyable to watch. It will fill you with warm fuzzies over and over again. You’ll be able to meet little Piper and follow her beachside adventures when the Piper animated short is released on June 17th!
Finding Dory and Piper will be in theaters June 17, 2016!
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I was invited on an all-expense paid media trip as a guest of Disney and PIXAR in honor of the Finding Dory movie. All opinions are my own.
See more:
Marvel’s Avengers Event | Avengers 2: Age of Ultron | Monsters University Event | Frozen Event | Big Hero 6 Event | D23 Expo 2015 | Finding Dory Event
