Finally available on Disney+, Red Alert is the first feature film by the talented and young director Domee Shi. But before giving him the green light for this film, Pixar first gave him a short film. She did Bao. Irresistible.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Living alone with her husband, a Chinese-Canadian woman becomes a mother the day one of her dumplings comes to life.
Bao, a film written and directed by Domee Shi. Available on Disney+
WHAT IS BAO?
It’s eight minutes of concentrated happiness. Bao tells the story of a mother in need of her child and who transfers all her love to this little bao that she has made and which comes to life.
With this short film, Domee Shi – the director of Red Alert – rises in rank at Pixar. Until then storyboarder on several films, including Vice Versa, she was entrusted with a first solo project. For this occasion, she decides to tell a story very close to her personal story.
during the presentation to the press of Red Alert, Bao is very much inspired by his mother:
“Bao was inspired by something my mother always told me whenever I visited her. Even as an adult, she always held me close and said, ‘Domee, I wish I could put you back in my stomach to know exactly where you are at all times.’ And I’d be like, ‘Oh, that’s adorable, but it’s kind of scary.’ So that was kind of the inspiration for this sweet, creepy short .”
Behind this adorable and disturbing story, Bao marks a real turning point in Domee Shi’s career. First released as the first part of the film The Incredibles 2 in 2018, Bao had an unusual destiny. In December 2018, Disney decided for the first time in its history to publish it for free on YouTube.
The adventure does not stop there since Bao then won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2019!
