Partysaurus Rex (2012)

Starring: Wallace Shawn, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Corey Burton

Director: Mark A. Walsh

Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy

Rating: B

Rex (Shawn) is a party pooper, always disrupting the toys when they're playing because he's over thinking the consequences.  That is until one day Bonnie (Emily Hahn) picks him to join her in the bath and leaves him behind in the tub.  There he learns that the bath toys would like to continue playing but can't without water - and none of them can turn on the water, because they lack arms.  Fortunately, Rex has arms and he can start the party again - and thus prove that he is Partysaurus Rex not Party-Pooper Rex.

I'm not really sure how I felt about this one.  Ben Kendrick said that it  is "easily the most enjoyable franchise spin-off to date," which I can see.  Franchise spin-off shorts tend to be less than great, and Partysaurus Rex is definitely fun.  It just doesn't really convey the emotion or, really story, that a lot of the other shorts have.  It was enjoyable, but didn't set me up as emotionally as a lot of other shorts have done.

Paperman (2012)

 Starring: John Kahrs, Kari Wahlgren, Jeff Turley

Director: John Kahrs

Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy

Rating: A

George (Kahrs), sees Meg (Wahlgren) at the subway and falls for her, but their meeting is short lived - after a brief meet cute, they're swept in different directions by the trains.  Cut to his work, where he comes to the realization that the girl is just across the street from him and if he can throw the perfect airplane he can get her attention.

I really liked this short.  The emotion that it succeeds in conveying without words is just awesome.  You totally get the feeling of love and despair that George has, and are rooting for him the entire time.  Every time he throws a paper plane you find yourself holding your breath, hoping it goes into the right window.  The short is cheesy and a bit ridiculous, and definitely set in a dream world, but it's still fun and enjoyable.  In a lot of ways it really reminded me of shorts like Geri's Game or For the Birds, just because of the pure emotion.

La Luna (2011)

Starring: Krista Sheffler, Tony Fucile, Phil Sheridan
Director: Enrico Casarosa
Genre: Short, Animation
Rating: A

I think one of my favourite parts of going to see a Pixar movie is the short film at the start.  Brave does not fail in this regards, as it is preceded by the overly cute short film La Luna.  While not my favourite Pixar short La Luna had a good, easy to follow story that really served to bring you into the kind of mindset one needs before watching an animated feature film.

La Luna follows a little boy as he is joining his father and grandfather at work for the first time.  I'm not going to give away just what that work is, although I will say that the title of the short is in itself an indicator.  The bit that I liked most about La Luna was the way in which you see the boy trying to find his place in the world.  Both his father and grandfather have different views on things - even just in how to wear a cap - and the boy is caught in between them; the elder men want to influence the young boy, while the young boy wants to please both of them.  His struggle to do so is the crutch of this short, which becomes as much about his journey to determine who he is as it is about the Moon.  There isn't much more that I can say about this short without really giving it away, as it is a short, so I'm going to end it here.  This was a cute short that both served its purpose in bringing you into the right mind set for the upcoming movie and makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.