Piper
By Erin
*I was invited to Monterey courtesy of Disney • Pixar for a media event. All opinions are my own*
Are you as excited as I am for Finding Dory to finally get here this Friday? Well, you can get even more excited now knowing that you’re in for a very special treat BEFORE Finding Dory starts! Pixar Animation Studios latest masterpiece is the adorable short Piper, in theaters with Finding Dory, and tells us the story of a very hungry sandpiper hatchling who ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. The only problem is that little Piper soon discovers that the food is buried beneath the sand, where the oh so scary waves roll up onto the shore. She must find a way to overcome her fear if she wants to survive and not starve. Directed by Alan Barillaro and produced by Marc Sondheimer.
During a presentation at the long lead press day in Monterey for Finding Dory, director Alan Barillaro talked about the extensive research, technical testing, and the themes that were explored in the story, inspirations, and finding Piper’s personality and sound.
A Little Bit About the Creators
Alan Barillaro (Director) joined Pixar Animation Studios in January 1997. He has worked on almost every Pixar film as an animator, including “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” and the Academy Award®-winning features “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “WALL•E” and “Brave.” On those last three features, Barillaro was given the role of supervising animator and was responsible for overseeing the team of animators who worked to bring the characters in the films to life. Following his work on “Brave,” Barillaro went to work with Pixar’s software development team to help craft an animation tool that would help provide additional creative flexibility to the studio’s filmmaking process. Piper was created as a proof of concept. Barillaro created a short animation test about a small bird – a sandpiper – on a beach. This animation test soon grew into what came to be the full-fledged short film, “Piper,” directed by Barillaro and will be debuting theatrically along with “Finding Dory” starting this Friday!