Pinoy Pixar fans were ecstatic when Filipino-American director Robert Rubio revealed on Twitter that he is spearheading a Disney Pixar short film called Float which features two Pinoy characters.
Disney Pixar posted a video on its social media accounts on Friday which shows Rubio’s Float as one of the upcoming SparkShorts films. SparkShorts is an experimental storytelling project under Disney Pixar showcasing short films created by the company’s artists.
This year, we launched #SparkShorts, an experimental storytelling initiative that welcomes new creative voices at Pixar to share their stories. See the first three shorts at the @ElCapitanThtre beginning 1/18, followed by an exclusive launch on @YouTube in the weeks that follow! pic.twitter.com/9ssK5Sn1bn
— Disney•Pixar (@DisneyPixar) January 10, 2019
These artists include Rubio who says in the video that he sees the initiative as “a wonderful opportunity to tell my story.”
Rubio, who also worked as an animator and storyboard artist for other films like Tarzan and Treasure Planet, retweeted the video and said: “I’m so proud to be a part of this program and to be among these very talented people! And I have to give a shout-out to my wonderful and talented crew, Team Float!
It’s OFFICIAL! I can finally tell you I’m the #Writer / #Director of the #Pixar #SparkShort “Float”!
I’m so proud to be a part of this program and to be among these very talented people! And I have to give a shout-out to my wonderful and talented crew, Team Float! https://t.co/08Q9FRVgRS
— Bobby Rubio (@Bobby_Rubio) January 10, 2019
He confirms in another tweet that there are two Filipino lead characters, a father and a child, in the short. “I am proud to tell our stories. I know what it means to see our culture represented on screen! #RepresentationMatters”
YES @rachjuramirez those are #Filipino lead characters in my #Pixar #SparkShort! @Pixar’s first all #CGI Filipino characters! So technically, the first #Pixnoys! I am proud to tell our stories. I know what it means to see our culture represented on screen! #RepresentationMatters https://t.co/Xh3UKfKmRt
— Bobby Rubio (@Bobby_Rubio) January 13, 2019
SparkShorts Production Lead David Lally says in the video: “We’re giving filmmakers a little bit of time and just a little bit of money and they can make whatever kind of film they want.”
Jim Morris, the president of Pixar Animation Studios, also said in the video that they “created an opportunity for artists to show us some new ideas by doing a low-budget project of their own.”
The shorts will be released on YouTube starting February.
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