'BAO': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Another Pixar computer-animated short film, which plays before 'INCREDIBLES 2' in theaters. This one tells the story of a lonely Chinese mother, who suffers from 'empty nest syndrome', and then finds a homemade dumpling, that she made, which comes to life and gives her another chance to be a mother. Of course what's fun at first also grows older, and grows away once again (just like a child). The short is a modern reimagining of the classic folktale 'The Gingerbread Man'. It's about 8-minutes long, and it was directed by Domee Shi (the first woman to direct a Pixar short). I found it to be charming and refreshingly odd. It's also (of course) beautifully animated, and the music (by Toby Chu) is equally beautiful as well. I didn't feel the emotion of it quite as much as a lot of other Pixar shorts though (or as much as it seemed like the filmmakers wanted me to). It is an enjoyable and well made little short film still though.
