“Jing Hua” by Jerry Huynh © Walt Disney Animation Studio
In June, Walt Disney Animation Studios presented its Short Circuit program with three premieres at the Annecy Festival. According to the company, “The goal of this innovative program is to take risks in both visual style and story, surface new voices at the Studio and experiment with new technical innovation. ”
The recently completed short animated films “Just a Thought” by Brian Menz about inner thoughts that come alive were shown; “Exchange Student” by Natalie Nourigat about a school with aliens and “Jing Hua” by Jerry Huynh in which a grieving woman pays homage to her late teacher with Kung Fu.
In a blog on Cartoon Brew, a comparison of Short Circuit to Pixar’s similar program Spark Shorts states: “The idea of “experimental” at a $200-billion corporation is very different from what the rest of the animation world considers experimental. (…) experimental? These films ain’t.”
The program was presented in Annecy by studio director Becky Bresee and the head of Effects Animation, Marlon West, as well as the authors themselves at the flagship Bonlieus Grande Salle theatre – together with the first pictures from the upcoming Disney film “Frozen 2”.
At the same time was announced that the Short Circuit films will be released next year on the new video-on-demand platform Disney+.
sources:
Annecy Film Festival: press release
Disney+ News
Cartoon Brew: Disney Announces Short Circuit