LOU (2017)

Directed by: Dave Mullins | 7 minutes | animation, short film, comedy, family, fantasy

At Pixar they love shorts. The short films give ambitious filmmakers the opportunity to develop their own ideas and more experienced animators get the chance to experiment. Each new theatrical release of a full-length Pixar film is accompanied by a short. For Pixar, the freedom of movement employees are given has paid off for years; countless shorts have won prizes and often the ‘starter’ is just as well – if not better – appreciated as the main film. Dave Mullins has worked as an animator on ‘Finding Nemo’ (2003), ‘The Incredibles’ (2004), ‘Cars’ (2006), ‘Ratatouille’ (2007) and ‘Up’ (2009) and is therefore very experienced . As early as 2005, he started developing ideas for his own shorts. His plans ranged from a beaver family to represent his own family and variations on the “Cars” theme to a story about a pirate and a mermaid. But it wasn’t all that. It wasn’t until he took his own childhood as a starting point that things started to look like something. The many relocations he went through in the past turned out to be the perfect source of inspiration for ‘Lou’ (2017). Each time he had to leave his friends behind and get used to yet another new school with new children. Sometimes that made him feel like he was invisible. The idea for an invisible figure, who can hide in plain sight in a primary school, was born.

Lou is a mysterious, anthropomorphic creature made up of found objects. Balls, pieces of clothing, books and toys that have been left lying around in the schoolyard together form a figure that moves quickly and invisibly as soon as the children dive into the classrooms. When they go out to play again, he disappears into the ‘Lost and Found’ box. He takes on a different form every time and, if you squint your eyes, somewhat resembles a Muppet. Lou has a special job: guarding the belongings of the children. Items lost by the bully JJ. Wanting to teach JJ a lesson, Lou manages to put the kid on the line to reunite the kids with their lost belongings. In this way two birds are killed with one stone; not only are the children happy to find their long-lost things, JJ also learns how to deal with his classmates in the right way. And that makes everyone better.

The animators at Pixar know better than anyone how to give inanimate things a heart and a soul. As in the ‘Toy Story’ series, for example, an optimal effect is also achieved in ‘Lou’. Although the figure Lou is mysterious and also a bit exciting, Mullins does bring him to life by giving him human traits. Pixar’s animation films – both the feature films and the shorts – are known for their ability to stir emotions and we see that reflected in ‘Lou’. Because keep it dry when Lou in his own way manages to penetrate the most vulnerable in the soul of bully JJ, whose behavior is even the result of a past event. The events are simple, recognizable and taken from real life; it’s the mold Mullins puts it in that makes it special. With ‘Lou’ Pixar delivers another high-quality short; a film that, in all its simplicity, manages to move, amuse and intrigue and surpass the main film (‘Cars 3’, 2017). And that’s a great achievement for a film that all together only lasts seven minutes.