We’ve already known that Pixar’s upcoming short film, Piper, was inspired by the director, Alan Barillaro observing sandpiper birds quickly scurrying back and forth from the incoming and receding waves. But, in a new article from USA Today, we get a glimpse into some additional details from the adorable six-minute short film.
“This is a story about conquering and overcoming your personal fears — in this case, the water,” says Barillaro. “This is a tale of how to grow up in a world that seems so large and intimidating with the courage to get past those fears.”
Barillaro took the deep dive and fleshed out the six-minute tale of Piper being prompted to look for clams buried in the sand by her mother (no bird handouts here). She gets knocked down by waves but overcomes the setbacks. Chalk it up to hunger-inspired fortitude.
The article also provides some fantastic insights into Alan working with guitarist, Adrian Belew. Not only did Belew compose the score, but he also recorded some of the foley for the film as well — from recording his squeaking shoes to make bird noises, to recording his own grumbling stomach to supplement one particularly humorous scene.
Be sure to check out the entire USA Today article for additional details and insights from the film.
Additionally, we were lucky enough to have spoken with Barillaro the other day regarding the film and we’ve very excited to pass along our entire interview soon.
UPDATED: Be sure to listen to our interview with Alan as he shared many behind-the-scenes details about Piper.
Because we dove deep into the short film, we are going to wait until after June 17 to release the interview (as part of our podcast) to avoid giving away too many spoilers. We had a wonderful discussion diving into the characters, story, reusing of existing character rigs, Alan’s animation on the project, as well as some additional insights into Belew’s unique recording techniques (hint – it involves water).
Piper will release alongside Finding Dory in theaters, June 17. Don’t forget, you can also check out a double-feature of Finding Nemo and Finding Dory in theaters on June 16 as part of the Dory After Dark presentation.
