I’ve always appreciated the fact that Pixar builds in a good deal of adult circumstance and humor into the classic animated movies it theoretically is aiming at my kids. Sure, my kids are going to want the toys and bed sheets, but I’m the one who actually gets the movies.
But a new short film, called “Borrowed Time,” from Pixar animators Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats, is clearly aimed at me, or people like me who love quality animation but wouldn’t mind something with a little edge.
“Borrowed Time” is a Western about loss and coping. In six minutes of action, there is beautiful scenery, super-detailed close-ups, a loving connection … and a rifle blast to the face and a near suicide. So, yeah, not exactly for the kiddies, but everything doesn’t have to be, right?
“The goal for us was to make something that kind of contested the notion of animation being a genre and one for children specifically,” Hamou-Lhadj says in a making-of companion video (below). “We really wanted to make something that was a little more adult in the thematic choices and show that animation could be a medium to tell any sort of story.”
