'Bao' - A New Pixar Short Reminding Us of Precious Little Tales

Press release:

Pixar's latest short, Bao is set to release alongside Incredibles 2 on June 15, 2018. The 8-minute short film (Pixar's longest to date) is written and directed by, Domee Shi, (Pixar's first Female-directed Short Film) and focuses on the ups and downs of the parent-child relationship through the colorful, rich, and tasty lens of the Chinese immigrant community in Canada. The official short film synopsis reads: 

An empty-nesting Chinese mom gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life. But she must come to terms with the bittersweet revelation that nothing stays cute and small forever.

 

In seeing the short preview, we cannot help but be reminded of Momotaro Peach Boy and Thumbelina (especially with the "another chance at Motherhood line there), but also Tom Thumb and Kaguya-Hime! The idea of precious little children (as in teeny, thumb-sized, etc) having to grow up and all the difficulties that come with that (especially from the parent's point of view) seem to be echoed here. We're looking forward to the rest!

You can see the 30 second preview below:

In a recent EW interview, director Domee Shi noted, "Often times it felt like my mom would treat me like a precious little dumpling, wanting to make sure I was safe, that I didn’t go out late, all that stuff", Shi tells EW. "I just wanted to create this magical, modern-day fairy tale, kind of like a Chinese Gingerbread Man story. The word ‘bao’ actually means two things in Chinese: Said one way, it means steamed bun. Said another, it means something precious. A treasure.”

Bao will premiere on April 21, 2018 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Advertising: 2018 Toyota CH-R Respins Fairy Tales to Inspire Sales

Some of these are fresher than others, but what's most interesting is that Toyota are using fairy tales at all in this social climate. It's another example of the two extremes that people are being drawn toward right now: either cynicism and reframing everything through the eyes of a 'false fairy tale', or wishing for magic and dreaming for a 'real one'.

 Here's Cinderella: 

Rapunzel (in Spanish):

Red Riding Hood:

 The Gingerbread Man (our favorite): 

The Tortoise and the Hare:

And then there are all these 'bad lip reading of a commercial' spin-offs which take some of the same situations (particularly the gingerbread man ad) and insert largely nonsensical phrases just to keep you watching. Although they don't seem to have anything to do with the fairy tale re-spins, they're enough for any fairy tale writer to pause and wonder if they just might... (you can find all those at the official YouTube channel for Toyota HERE.)

Stories for the Season: The Gingerbread Man/Boy/Baby

You wouldn't normally add "The Gingerbread Man" to a list of Christmas fairy tales but at a time when it's customary to build gingerbread houses and eat gingerbread cookies it's a story that easily comes to mind. To top it off, there's one author/illustrator who will confirm that this is, indeed, a story for Christmas. The much-beloved Jan Brett found a way to combine the story with the season in her book "The Gingerbread Baby"*.It's full of snow, Christmas colors and sprinkled throughout with Christmas motifs (these illustrations are packed with details!), though it isn't specifically a Christmas book (I did notice copies of Ms. Brett's book had made it to the 'children's holiday books' stand at the bookstore this year though!). While it essentially remains the traditional story of The Gingerbread Man, Ms. Brett's version has a twist children, in particular, love: the little boy outwits the gingerbread baby (and all the grownups) by baking a gingerbread house and luring the baby into it. The very last page has a flap you lift where you can see the baby safe, happy and snug in his new house, while the rest of his pursuers are left none the wiser, staring at a pile of crumbs in the snow.It's not the story with the excellent warning that the original is, of course, (I do prefer the Gingerbread Man being gulped down in one bite by the fox) but it's a sweet (pardon the pun) twist - especially when the other most current and recurring image of the gingerbread man is the version forever under threat of losing a limb (or head) from the Shrek movies. (Of course, that makes me think of a dark updating/retelling for a Christmas-thriller... but I digress.)Jan Brett was onto something and she knows it. The book is still in print, in hardcover, after ten years and Ms. Brett has catered to her enthusiastic children (and Mama) fans by making a ton of Gingerbread Baby activities available at her website. She was kind enough to put up all the links via her blog at the end of November HERE. There are bookmarks you can print out (shown in this post), cards to print & send, t-shirts to make, gingerbread houses to decorate and, of course, instructions (for paper) and recipes (for baking) for your own gingerbread houses and babies/men.You can get your own copy of the book HERE and there's also a board book available now too.

* The story can be read/told calling the 'gingerbread baby' a 'gingerbread man' too if you prefer.