Piper (2016 film)
Piper | |
---|---|
Film poster | |
Directed by | Alan Barillaro |
Produced by | Marc Sondheimer |
Screenplay by | Alan Barillaro |
Music by | Adrian Belew |
Edited by | Sarah K. Reimers |
Production company | |
Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Piper is a 2016 computer-animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Written and directed by Alan Barillaro, it was theatrically released alongside Pixar's Finding Dory on June 17, 2016.[1][2] It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
The short involves a hungry baby sandpiper learning to overcome her fear of water. The inspiration came from less than a mile away from Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California, where Barillaro, a veteran Pixar animator, would run alongside the shore and notice birds by the thousands fleeing from the water but returning between waves to eat.[1][2]
Plot
A flock of sandpipers hunt for food at a seashore, rushing to peck at the sand when the wave recedes and retreating when it comes in. One baby is encouraged by her mother to join the flock, but she fails to retreat in time and is drenched by the incoming surf. The incident leaves the baby terrified of the water; she refuses to leave the nest, but soon notices a group of hermit crabs digging into the sand to find deeper food and keep from being buffeted by the tide. By copying their behavior, she starts to see the beauty of the underwater world and becomes skilled at discovering food for the flock.
Production
Alan Barillaro used new, cutting edge technology to create the six-minute short over three years.[3] In order to give the sandpipers and other birds visible in the background a realistic look, Barillaro and the Piper animation team visited beaches in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the Monterey Bay Aquarium to study their appearance and behavior. The sandpipers' feathers in particular were rendered in minute detail.[2]
Accolades
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | February 26, 2017 | Best Animated Short Film | Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer | Won | [4] |
Annie Awards | February 4, 2017 | Best Animated Short Subject | Piper | Won | [5] |
References
- 1 2 3 Snetiker, Marc (April 6, 2016). "Piper: Pixar's cutest new short-film hero gets first look". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Imbler, Sabrina (June 17, 2016). "A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Pixar’s New Short Film 'Piper'". Audubon. National Audubon Society. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ↑ Robinson, Joanna (June 16, 2016). "Behind the Scenes of Piper, Pixar’s Best Short Film in Years". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ↑ "89th Academy Awards Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ↑ "44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
External links
- Official website at Pixar
- Piper on IMDb