Disney Pixar's New Short Film Features A Non-Verbal Girl Of Color On The Autism Spectrum As The Protagonist

This is the kind of representation we should be seeing more of especially in Disney Pixar films

Hailey

• Published in News
• February 3, 2020

Pixar currently has a short film program called "Sparkshorts", which is a program designed to introduce more experimental and pioneering themes and methods to animated media. It's also a way for individual artists to explore all aforementioned topics on a smaller scale than what Pixar would usually create.

A new short film named "Loop" caught the attention of many due to the fact that it featured a non-verbal girl of color with autism as the protagonist. While it is true that more strong female and POC characters started showing up in media as time passed, the industry is still far from normalizing various underrepresented groups, especially when it comes to content aimed at children.

It's heartwarming to see a protagonist who isn't negatively defined by her disability, and I'm sure this is a big step forward for anyone on the autism spectrum who hadn't had themselves represented in mainstream media until now.

Here's the poster for the film, which looks gorgeous, by the way.

I'll definitely see if I can find and watch this one.

And here's our protagonist!

This is the boy who goes on a canoe ride with the protagonist; the modelling and detail in Pixar animation never fails to impress me.

Lots of reactions (which were overwhelmingly positive), came from the reveal of the six new short films from the Sparkshorts program.

Of course, families with children on the autism spectrum spoke about this too.

Neither can I.

Some people felt that the 'labeling' of the character was far too forced/concentrated.

Feel free to let us know how you feel about talk regarding this new short film!

Take a look at the trailer here

Hailey