''Piper'' is a 2016

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

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 ...

produced by

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Califor ...

. Written and directed by

Alan Barillaro Nicolas Alan Barillaro is a Canadian director, animator and writer at Pixar best known for his work on the animated short film ''Piper'', that earned him widespread acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film which he shared with th ...

, it was theatrically released alongside Pixar's '' Finding Dory'' on June 17, 2016. It won the

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

at the 89th Academy Awards, becoming the first Pixar animated short to win the award since '' For the Birds'' in 2001. The short film involves a hungry baby

sandpiper Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil ...

learning to overcome her fear of water. The inspiration came from less than a mile away from Pixar Studios in

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The resident population was 12,905 ...

, 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.

Plot

A flock of

s is hunting for food at a seashore by searching for

bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

exposed by receding waves and running away when the wave returns. A baby (named Piper) is taken to shoreline by her mother so she can learn how to find her own food. However, she fails to pull away in time and is soaked wet by the incoming surf. The incident leaves Piper terrified of the water and she refuses to leave the nest. Soon, she is compelled to return to the shoreline by her hunger and notices a

hermit crab Hermit crabs are anomuran decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit crab, most of which possess an as ...

digging in the sand. While she is watching the crab, a large wave comes in and submerges her. However, this time the crab tells Piper to open her eyes, allowing her to see large bivalves exposed by the wave. Excited, Piper overcomes her fear of water and learns how to catch the large bivalves when they are exposed underwater, catching enough to feed her entire flock.

Production

Alan Barillaro used new, cutting edge technology to create ''Piper'' over three years. In order to give the sandpipers and other birds visible in the background a realistic look, Barillaro and the short animation team visited beaches in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

, as well as the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biolo ...

to study their appearance and behavior. The sandpipers' feathers in particular were rendered in minute detail.

Release

''Piper'' was theatrically released on June 17, 2016, before ''Finding Dory''. It was also included on the

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

and DVD releases of the latter.

Reception

Critical response

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, Piper has approval rating based on reviews. Eric Kohn of ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

'' gave the short film a grade of "A-", calling it a "gripping survival story in cute, charming clothing". He praised the animation for being "incredibly lifelike" and said that Pixar had taken the medium of the short film into "uncharted new territory" with its realistic animation. Kohn also felt that while the short's plot was simple, its narrative style was similar to that of

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

films. Writing for ''

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'', Kirsten Acuna also praised the animation, calling the depiction of sand and water "incredibly real". Peter Debruge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that ''Piper'' was "simple as a haiku and yet stunning" and called it the "uncontestable best" of that year's nominees for the

. Stephanie Merry of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' called the short "one of Pixar’s strongest", while Marcy Cook of '' The Mary Sue'' opined that it was better than '' Finding Dory'' (alongside which it was released) and was worth the price of admission on its own. In 2022,

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

ranked the short second on its list of the best short films made by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

Accolades

The short was also part of

The Animation Showcase The Animation Showcase is a travelling film screening collection, showcasing animated short films. The showcase started in 2016, with the support of the private members club Soho House, with the intention of spotting upcoming creative talents i ...

2016.

References

External links

* at Pixar * {{Navboxes , title= Awards for ''Piper'' , list= {{Academy Award Best Animated Short Film {{Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject 2016 short films Best Animated Short Subject Annie Award winners 2016 3D films 2016 computer-animated films American animated short films 2010s Disney animated short films Pixar short films Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Animated films about animals Animated films about birds Animated films without speech 3D animated short films