Pixar: The 10 Most Emotionally Moving Animated Shorts, Ranked

Pixar originally started to develop short films as a method of pushing their technology further, experimenting with their narrative structures and giving a chance to brand new creative voices. However, in the years since the Pixar short film has become quite the attraction in itself.

With all of Pixar’s best shorts now featured on Disney+ new and old fans alike can rediscover these well crafted films. Some of these shorts are incredibly powerful and extremely moving, so much so that they may bring a tear to the eye. Pixar is well known for creating emotionally thrilling stories and their shorts are certainly no different.

10 The Blue Umbrella (2013)

This is a simple love story between two people… and two umbrellas! The Blue Umbrella is a quirky tale put together by Pixar which showcases some of its most beautiful animation, in a film that was clearly designed to push the limits of Renderman.

Despite being quite easy to follow, there’s an emotional narrative throughout this piece that’s conveyed simply through a red and blue umbrella. Taking the audience through the highs and lows of meeting someone for the first time, it conveys both the excitement and hope of a new relationship.

9 Loop (2020)

Pixar’s Loop broke new ground as it centered on a character with autism, a first for the animation studio. The central focus of the story was in fact the relationship between a young boy and girl, who came to learn how they could build a friendship with one another. This is incredibly powerful in terms of its representation.

Loop was also some great storytelling from Pixar, who thrive when exploring topics often ignored by other mainstream media producers. The result is a great addition to the SparkShorts series.

8 Sanjay’s Super Team (2015)

Sanjay’s Super Team was essentially a story about a father and a son who couldn’t quite communicate in the way they needed to. For young Sanjay, he was mainly focused on playing with his toys and watching superhero cartoons. However, his father wished for him to connect to his culture and religion.

The result is a combination of the two, with Sanjay learning about his heritage through the use of his superheroes, allowing for the father and son to come together despite initial differences and interests.

7 Purl (2018)

Purl is an interesting take on a woman’s experience in a typically male-dominated workplace. Some of the sexist tropes associated with this scenario are shown here, but they are all conveyed through the use of a small ball of wool.

At first, Purl she tries to change herself to fit in. However, there comes a point where Purl can bring in more women like herself, changing the work space in order to be more suitable to a wider range of people. It’s a story many would be familiar with, making it all the more powerful and relevant.

6 Geri’s Game (1997)

Geri’s Game was an incredibly expensive experiment for Pixar, who wanted to see if their technology was capable of creating the human form. The result was a short film, that on the face of it is an endearing and funny piece.

However, a number of small details about Geri’s Game makes it clear that this isn’t just a short about an old man playing chess, but instead a short that says something about aging, loneliness and perhaps even how to stay happy towards the end of life. Notably, this is one of Pixar’s earliest shorts and its animation is quite impressive given its age.

5 La Luna (2011)

La Luna takes a look at a generational tradition of cleaning the fallen stars from the moon. It’s a touching idea and one that’s visually stunning, with the amazing light of the stars creating a half moon in the final shots.

However, for the young man being taught how to carry out this ancestral work, there’s a touching story about looking up to elders and how they can pass down knowledge to continue doing this kind of unbelievable work. It’s a great metaphor in the real world and the fictional.

4 Float (2019)

Differences should be celebrated, but the father in Float initially tries to hide that which is special about his son. The young boy has the ability to float in the air, but the father deems this too strange and keeps it hidden from society — or at least he tries to.

Over the course of the film the father comes to learn that his son’s abilities can actually make people happy and that he should have the freedom to be who he wants to be. It’s a message that extends past this strange context.

3 Lava (2014)

Lava is one of Pixar’s few musical projects, but this song and accompanying animation tells quite a beautiful story of a volcano looking for love, or lava. It’s a film that manages to pack quite a lot of story into a short amount of time.

Clearly another experiment for Pixar, Lava is a departure from some of their other more narrative-driven short films, but demonstrates just how far they have come in the way in which they form a tale. This love letter to romantic films is just as touching as expected from the studio.

2 Bao (2018)

Some of Pixar’s most memorable stories happen to be around the theme of parenthood. Indeed, from Marlin’s desperate search for Nemo to Andy going off to college with his childhood toy/partner Woody looking on like a proud parent, this is a concept that has been at the heart of great movies.

Bao took this a step further, using the metaphor of a sentient dumpling as a way of conveying what it’s really like for a parent to watch their child grow up. It’s a film that is designed in such a way that even those who don’t have kids can relate to it.

1 Out (2020)

One of Pixar’s very first LGBTQ+ stories in their long history, Out explores the story of a young gay man having to come out to his parents. However, during the chaos of moving house, he switches places with his dog!

While the premise may seem a little too fantastical, this body-switching concept actually opens up the possibility of exploring the main character’s own thoughts surrounding his sexuality. Finally coming out to his parents, this is a moving piece which could easily be extended to a feature film.

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