Day & Night

Two side of the coin, day and night, appear as characters and look on at one another in awe and jealousy. That sounds like the simple of this latest Pixar short, appearing before Toy Story 3, but it's got a lot more sophistication, humor, and nuttiness going on than most other Pixar shorts. It also does something I've never seen from the production company: they have 2D, traditional hand-drawn animation! Sort of. Well, what happens is we see a landscape of day, and night, and they're in the traditional Pixar computer-animation. But then two figures, who are kind of blobs with eyes and noses and mouths, appear as the day and night fill up their bodies? This is less confusing than it sounds: like other Pixar shorts it takes an idea and runs with it, feeling complete as a story. But this time, as a difference, there's some smarter, edgier humor even than usual (and I've seen plenty from these shorts). Best is when the 'Night' figure looks on at 'Day' as a bunch of girls in bikinis (and one just sunning herself) are by a pool, but then when he/it looks on him/itself, the pool is closed. Also great is how a radio station and broadcast is used, sounding like it's out of the Twilight Zone. It's an ingenious little movie.

I have always liked or loved Pixar's films, and I thought now was a good time to revisit their short films. And I am so glad I did. Day and Night(which I did remember as the short before Toy Story 3) is a gem, even if I would personally put the likes of Presto, Knick Knack, One Man Band and Geri's Game over it. The animation is beautiful with some unique shades and colouring and the detailed backgrounds you would expect, and the music is great with the use of Rossini's William Tell. The story, if not as clear as other Pixar short films, tells so much in 6 minutes and has a thought-provoking message(however different we may be, we are all one and the same) to it of the dangers of racism and tolerance. The humour even without dialogue is smart and somewhat edgy, which I liked. The personifications of daytime and nighttime are very well done and easy to root for, I loved the end especially where night and day became twilight. Overall, if you love Pixar, you'll love this. 9/10 Bethany Cox

While other animation studios these days concentrate on features, Pixar likes to remember that it is a cartoon factory and continues to precede each theatrical feature with a short subject. DAY AND NIGHT, the latest, was released along with Pixar's TOY STORY THREE.

While Pixar's features -- and those of its competitors' -- become ever more sophisticated in their uses of computer animation to facilitate their stories, their short subjects have been becoming more cartoony. Their last short, PRESTO, recalled Tex Avery. This one suggests the sort of loose animation style favored by UPA, as one cloudy mass containing daylight scenes bumps into another cloudy mass containing night time scenes. The clouds' outlines are vague, populated by the highly detailed visions one expects of Pixar; but while the interiors show their natures, it is the vague outlines that carry the story -- and their characters.

Fpr a student of animation, it is a typical Pixar delight. Thanks for keeping the short movie cartoon alive, guys.

This delivers everything we expect from a Pixar short. It's clever, funny, interesting, with solid sound work, great music and the animation is amazing. The lighting and use of color are incredible, and crucial to making the concept work. This is quite creative. Basically night and day are actual living beings that grow jealous of each other's experiences. This leads to a conflict.

There is not a single word spoken here. Every time something needs to be expressed, it's either only visually or there is the sound of something that is happening during one of these two time periods, corresponding to what we're seeing and how they feel about it. I love the idea of introducing children to, for the mainstream, such unusual storytelling. Recommended. 8/10.

Really well-made film. From the animation style, I guess it's strictly for kids, although everyone can enjoy it. The unique colour combinations make it very interesting. It's very original, and that's the best thing of all. But it's a kind of short which I appreciate but can't say I loved. Probably because it didn't make me feel anything, nor it's funny.