''Lou'' is a 2017 American computer-animated

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by Dave Mullins and produced by Pixar. It was theatrically released alongside Pixar's '' Cars 3'' on June 16, 2017. The film is about a lost-and-found box and the unseen monster within. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards. Characters: Joseph Jared "J.J." Cupperton, LostOrUnder "LOU" and Other Kids

Plot

The lost-and-found box in a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

playground is home to Lou, a creature made from the assorted unclaimed items (whose name is made up of three letters missing from the sign on the box). After each recess period, Lou picks up the toys and items kids have left behind, leaving them in the box and subtly encouraging their owners to find them when they return. A bully named J.J. starts stealing toys from the other children and putting them in his backpack. Lou is angered by this and decides to take J.J.'s backpack once J.J is the last kid on the playground. J.J catches him in the act and a chase ensues, with Lou constantly changing his shape to avoid being caught. During the chase, Lou notices the name tag on J.J.'s underwear matches the name tag on a toy in the bottom of the box, an old plushie dog that a bigger kid had stolen from J.J. some years before. Lou shows the dog to J.J, but refuses to give it to him until J.J. not only returns the toys he stole but also helps find the owners of every single item in the box. J.J. initially returns the toys begrudgingly, but is surprised when a girl gratefully hugs him. He begins to enjoy returning the remaining items, making some new friends in the process. Returning to the box for the last time, J.J. finds that Lou is no longer present, as all of his parts have been claimed by their owners. J.J. sees his plushie dog is the last toy left and happily reclaims it. A football lands near him and he decides to join two other boys for a game of catch.

Reception

''Lou'' premiered at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

festival on March 12, 2017. It was theatrically released on June 16, 2017, together with Pixar's eighteenth film '' Cars 3''. The film is dedicated to Mullins' father, who died during the making of the short.

Critical reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 75%, based on 12 reviews.

Awards

References

External links

* * * 2017 films 2017 3D films 2017 computer-animated films 2010s Disney animated short films Animated films without speech Films scored by Christophe Beck Pixar short films 3D animated short films {{2010s-Disney-animation-film-stub