Bao is a short-film that played before the showing of Incredibles 2 in cinemas. It was also included in the DVD release of Incredibles 2.
The short is about an aging Chinese mom suffering from empty nest syndrome who gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy. Mom excitedly welcomes this new bundle of joy into her life, but Dumpling starts growing up fast, when he grows up he becomes moody and eventually gets eaten by Mom, and Mom must come to the bittersweet revelation that nothing stays cute and small forever. However, her actual son comes back and they make non-sentient dumplings together. This short film from Pixar Animation Studios and director Domee Shi explores the ups and downs of the parent-child relationship through the colorful, rich, and tasty lens of the Chinese immigrant community in Canada.[1]
Trivia[]
- Domee Shi, a storyboard artist who, with Bao, becomes Pixar’s first female short director in the studio’s history, was inspired to write and tell a story flavored by her upbringing as the only child to Chinese immigrants.
- In Chinese, the word "bao" can refer to the characters "包," a bread-esque pastry or bun, or "宝," which means "treasure."
- Bao is the first Pixar short film to be directed by a woman.
- This is, for so far, the last Pixar short film to be released in theaters worldwide, due to Disney+ launching their own series of Pixar shorts simply titled SparkShorts.