Day & Night (2010)

Directed by: Teddy Newton | 6 minutes | animation, short film

In the funny and breathtakingly creatively animated Pixar short ‘Day & Night’, two funny characters are day and night (a bit like Barbapapa but with legs and a protruding nose), who know nothing about each other’s existence. When Dag is awakened by a crowing rooster, and then goes for a walk (giving the viewer a glimpse of the idyllic, sun-drenched setting) he meets Nacht, who is asleep. He discovers that the environment shown in him looks different with Nacht. At first they are surprised at each other’s existence, and they even get into a fight. But along the way they discover that they can learn from each other and even entertain each other. The message (literally narrated in the original version by a sound clip by self-help specialist Dr. Wayne W. Dyer) is that fear of the unknown, of new ideas and prejudices is only paralyzing.

The style of ‘Day & Night’ is special to say the least. Not only is there – for the first time in a Pixar short – partly hand-made drawings used, so that there is a great deal of detail, there is also no real plot. It’s all about tolerance and accepting each other and discovering that it enriches your own existence. It’s amazing that ‘Day & Night’, although without dialogue, manages to get the message across so clearly by using the ambient sounds. The psychotherapist’s words weren’t even necessary. In addition, the sounds from nature provide many funny moments: for example, when Dag empties his bladder after getting up, and when Nacht laughs, it sounds like croaking ducks passing by.

‘Day & Night’ is a treat for the eye, ear and soul. Director Teddy Newton received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film (but lost to Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann’s ‘The Lost Thing’). ‘Day & Night’ was shown before ‘Toy Story 3’ and also appeared on that DVD and Blu-ray. Because it is one of the most inventive Pixar Shorts, it should of course not be missing from the Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 2.