SparkShorts debuts some of Pixar animation studio's most inventive projects. A collection of deceptively simple and engrossing shorts, each SparkShort shares the vision of a Pixar veteran with a level of creative freedom that's rare to find in mainstream animation. One of the most exciting animated Pixar shorts this year is "Twenty Something," a vibrant and fun animated look into the transformative period in a young person's life when they're not quite grown.
Ahead of the release of "Twenty Something" on the Disney+ streaming service, Pixar veteran Aphton Corbin spoke to members of the press, including CBR, about the origins of the short. She also delved into the challenges which came with bringing such a stylized and personal Pixar short to life -- despite the inevitable difficulties of working in animation during 2020.
The new SparkShorts entry, "Twenty Something," focuses on Gia, a young woman on her twenty-first birthday. Taken out to a night at the club by her sister, Gia finds herself feeling less like a confident and capable young woman and more like a group of children standing atop one another. This is personified by Gia appearing to herself (and the audience) as just that -- with variations of herself from the ages of 1, 10, and 16 all trying to work together and have a fun night out. It's a sharp and sweet short, with a clear and relatable point about growing up -- all grounded by the sleek and stylish designs of Corbin and her team.
The director and writer on the short, Corbin revealed the opportunity to create the short come after working on Toy Story 4 and Soul. "I was asked if I wanted to direct my very own SparkShort," Corbin said. "I did what many of you might have done -- I panicked. What were they thinking? I felt like I had been at the studio for such a short time. Were they choosing the right person? After hyperventilating for what felt like months, I decided to dig deeper into my imposter syndrome. So, I like to draw comics. Especially when I’m feeling insecure... This comic I actually did way back in 2018, after I was given the opportunity to direct a SparkShort, this same feeling crept back up again. Feeling like an adult one minute, feeling like two kids strapped in a trench coat. Something about this idea really clicked."
The original concept for the short pushed Gia into an office setting, but something about that element didn't click for Corbin. "Given my more introverted personality, the awkwardness of going out to the club felt so relatable and a better location to tell the story," she said. "So, I scrapped my boards, which was a hard thing to do. But, I realized was necessary. I started with this new location in mind and created this new image for the world and it finally felt right."
Making matters even tricker was working throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic -- especially for creators so defined by their history of collaboration with one another, such as at Pixar. Despite the conditions of the lockdown, Corbin was able to recruit a number of other impressive creatives at Pixar -- including Erik Langley as Producer and Amyra Rick as her editor, among many others. Noting that the team skipped plenty of haircuts but never work, Corbin's love for the final product -- and the sheer creative heart that has been placed in "Twenty Something" -- is apparent from her appreciation for everything her team was able to accomplish. "There's so much going on with these characters," Corbin said. "There's hair. There were numbers. There are little patterns. And so, we just did a huge amount of work detailing, getting those dialed in... I'm extremely thankful to have had a chance to work on this film. As you can see, it was a huge amount of work and it speaks to my amazing team."
To see the fruits of Corbin and her team's labor of love, check out "Twenty Something," now streaming on Disney+