Pixar’s short films have always been a treat, from Luxo Jr. to last year’s brilliant Bao. The animation studio has just unveiled a fresh 8-minute film titled Purl on YouTube, and it’s a witty and beautifully crafted story about systemic inequality in male-dominated industries, and how to bring about cultural change. Except, because it’s Pixar, it’s done in an entirely non-preachy way, with gags, emotion, and visual invention to spare. Watch the film here:
From director Kristen Lester, the short stars Bret Parker as Purl – a pink ball of wool, who bags a job at a male-dominated testosterone-heavy office, amusingly titled B.R.O. Capital. She finds herself forced to change in order to fit in – until she’s confronted with a new yarn co-worker, and uses her newfound acceptance in the office to elevate others like her. All that, and it’s stuffed with knitting puns, and the occasional (extremely mild) swear word.
“It’s based on my experience being in animation,” Lester explains in this making-of video. “My first job I was, like, the only woman in the room. And so in order to do the thing that I loved, I sort of became one of the guys. And I came to Pixar, and started to work on teams with women for the first time, and that actually made me realise how much of the female aspect of myself I had sort of buried and left behind.”
Purl is the first short to emerge from Pixar’s SparkShorts program, giving employees at the company six months and a limited budget to create a short. In the coming days, two more shorts will hit YouTube – Smash and Grab, and Kitbull – while further SparkShorts creations are destined for the Disney+ streaming service. Bring on more touching yarns, please.
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