Pixar Unveils New Short 'Sanjay's Super Team'

Concept art from Pixar's latest short, Sanjay's Super Team

Pixar has made it a tradition to pair each of their theatrical feature-length films with an original short. Though it has been known for a while that June's Inside Out will be released alongside Lava, directed by James Ford Murphy, the short that will be released in November with The Good Dinosaur remained concealed until recently. That short has now been revealed to be titled Sanjay's Super Team.

Directed by first-timer Sanjay Patel, Sanjay's Super Team draws inspiration directly from Patel's childhood. The LA Times gave the following description of the short:

"The seven-minute short begins with young Sanjay watching cartoons and eating cereal in a bland, beige room as his father jingles a bell, beckoning him to join in meditation. Reluctant and bored by the ceremony, Sanjay begins daydreaming a kind of ancient, Hindu version of 'The Avengers,' with the gods appearing like superheroes. As the daydream progresses, the color, light and animation of the film grows increasingly dazzling and cosmic, and Sanjay grows closer to understanding his father's inner world."

Sanjay Patel

Pixar often uses its shorts as a way to experiment with new animation styles and techniques; the combination of computer animation and traditional 2D animation in Day & Night and the photorealistic look of The Blue Umbrella serve as prime examples of this. Based on that brief description and the concept art, it certainly sounds like the studio will break new ground with their latest short. With the combined forces of Pixar's artists' masterful artistry and Patel's deeply personal story, Sanjay's Super Team will no doubt be a welcome addition to the impressive library of Pixar short films.

The short is produced by Toy Story 3 and Monsters University associate producer Nicole Paradis Grindle, with music composed by Mychael Danna, who won an Oscar for Best Original Score for his work on Life of Pi. Catch Sanjay's Super Team in theaters this November alongside The Good Dinosaur!