(Pixar Short) La Luna

Every time a new Disney/Pixar film coms out, I always think to myself. "What are the short films going to be like?" Since, "A Bug's Life," feature length Pixar films have presented short films (Pixar Shorts) before the actual film began. Some of the shorts like, Knick Knack and Luxo Jr. were the first films the PIxar team had made during the 80's. Other like Geri's Game, For the Birds, and many others were short films they were making the same time as the feature films.
The latest Pixar short, presented before the newest Pixar film, "Brave," is called "La Luna." La Luna has a very simple premiss to the story, yet a very larger then life scale and atmosphere in the form of a children's bed time story. The story of La Luna, revolves around three characters; a little boy (Bambino), his father (Papa), and his grandfather (Nonno). Papa and Nonno take Bambino along with them to the middle of the ocean, under a clear starry night, with the full moon beaming up in the night sky. At the opportune moment, Papa and Nonno have Bambino climb a latter long enough to physically reach the moon. Once Bambino reaches the moon, Papa and Nonno climb up with him along with the supplies they brought along with them, three brooms. Bambino discovers that the surface of the moon, is covered with small glowing stars made of glass.
The two relatives begin arguing over what kind of broom Bambino should use to sweep the different piles of stars. Should he use the wide push broom Papa gives him, or should he use the thin carlisle broom Nonno gives him. Amongst the two's dispute, Bambino discovers a giant glass star. Instead of sweeping it, Bambino cracks the star open with a hammer, thereby releasing  millions of tiny stars inside. Once the dispute is over between Papa and Nonno, the three of them continue gathering the tiny stars, with Bambino using a rake instead of either of the brooms they intended for him to use. After the job is finished, the three climb back down the latter and return to their boat to return home. But not until they marvel upon their work, which results in turing the full moon into a crescent moon.
While I was watching this, I noticed three things that made this short film stand out more then the others. First, that the film's writer/director, Enrico Casarosa, gave the film a timeless yet nostalgic style to it. The music, the characters, and the way the characters talk and behave to one another, reflect on the style of Italy, the way it was in the early 1900s. And yet, the story itself is treated with subtlety and simplicity, it makes it hard to determine exactly what time period this story is suppose to take place in.
The second, was the main theme of the story. The different generations of family, and the way the torch of said family is passed down. All families around the world can relate to this trait. No matter what kind of culture it is, the older generations of families pass the torch of certain responsibilities to the next generation, so that the cycle will continue on for future generations. This short is a very good character study for this particular theme as well as educating younger generations of families on what this trait means.
And third, was that not only was the theme about family generations, but I noticed a hidden subliminal message that was used before, in a silent film called, "Metropolis." The message in the end of both Metropolis and La Luna is, "the Mediator between head and hands is the heart." When we look at the differences between Papa and Nonno, particularly in the differences in brooms, we can see the different ways of how these two reach their goals. Papa and his push broom represent physical strength (Hands), using the muscles to get the job done quicker. Nonno and his carlisle broom represent cognitive strength (Head), using the the brain to get the job done neatly. When both head and hands collide in dispute to reach the same goal, the heart comes fourth to help balance the two. Bambino represents the heart between the two. I don't think Casarosa meant to add this message into his story, or was even aware of it's existence, but for those who have seen Metropolis, you can see the similarities between the two films.
To this day, La Luna is one of my favorite of the Pixar shorts, and even one of my favorite short films, in general. Filmgoers can look at La Luna in different film categories; Short Film, Foreign Film, and Family Film. If you are interested in any of the following categories, I would highly recommend giving La Luna a watch. It deals with the elements of family traditions, children's imagination, problem solving, and artistic imagery. I certainly hope to see more short films and feature films by Enrico Casarosa. This has been a bed time story well worth reading into.