Bao Pixar Short
This 7-minute short animation follows the story of an elderly Chinese lady who finds her dumpling has come to life, she decides to nurture it through childhood, getting a chance to become a mother once again. This cinematic product follows the ‘Three Part Story‘ very clearly, with an obvious beginning, middle and end.
The clip follows a five-act structure:
The Exposition; A mother is making dumplings and living a very mundane life. One of them comes to life and she treats it like her own, raising it through childhood to adulthood.
Rising Action; The wants of the child and mother no longer align. This causes rising tension in the clip, as it creates problems between the characters relationship.
The Climax; The climax slowly builds as the dumpling child chooses his friends and girlfriend over his family. The most tense part being when the mothers frustration grows too much and she eats him. Still peaking with the reveal that the dumpling was a metaphor for her actual child all along, who had similarly left home.
Falling Action; During the decline in tension, we see the son return home to his mother with food as a peace offering.
Denouncement or Resolution; In a dramatic ending, the story resolves with an emotional re-connection between the characters. The final scene being the whole family – including the fiancée) making dumplings together. This is a clever nod to the beginning scene in which the mother makes the first dumpling that becomes alive.
This conclusion follows Freytags Triangle, with a direct link between the opening scene and the ending one. The whole clip has a very well-resolved feeling to it.
This Pixar Short doesn’t necessarily depict a Heroic Journey or the Structure of the Monomyth. This is perhaps because both protagonists would not fit the classic role of ‘hero’. The son’s story-arc has the potential to follow this narrative, with him leaving the home, finding himself and perhaps going through his own trials, then returning. Though the narration is portrayed through the mothers POV.
Another analysis is the visual distinctive vocabulary able to be used. As it is an animated movie the un-realistic storyline of a dumpling coming to life and then eaten is possible. Yet it still adheres to the same structural principles as a live-action movie.
The writer and director of Bao, Domee Shi, worked previously as a storyboard artist. So had good reference and knowledge on narrative creation. She spent a year working on the concept and story-art herself and used references from her own childhood for the world-building.
The composition of the visuals is very good throughout, notably using the ‘Rule of Thirds’ often. In this shot particularly it is very apparent, this is the title scene shot and therefore an important one. The blur on the background helps to accentuate the character, as does the positioning.
Here is an example of not using the rule of thirds as a stylistic choice. The characters in this shot are at the centre of the frame, it adds to the feeling of closeness that is meant to be portrayed.