Sanjays Super Team

"Sanjay's Super Team" (United States, 7 min.) – Probably the most widely seen of these five Oscar nominees, this animated short played in American theaters as a featurette before showings of "The Good Dinosaur". It's about a young Indian boy who's watching his favorite superhero cartoon when his father turns off the TV and brings the boy over to join him in prayer to the Hindu gods. As his dad prays, Sanjay daydreams a story in which the Hindu gods are superheroes. The story is based on the childhood of the film's director, Pixar animator Sanjay Patel. The film is a creative, colorful and entertaining meditation on the generation gap between fathers and sons and how that gap might be bridged. "A-"

Sanjay's Super Team is a breath of fresh air, not only to Pixar animation, but to all of mainstream animation and certainly to anything generally coming from Disney. This short follows Sanjay, a little boy who is a big fan of superheroes, but not of practicing his religion much to the dismay of his traditional Hindu father. But as the tables turn, Sanjay is thrust into action and the short really takes off into beautifully wild and inspiring action. Through a series of different styles of animation, Sanjay's adventure goes from mundane to epic, bringing with it bright colors and intricate designs that command the screen.

This short is shiny, a true visual feast, but it also stands out for its story content. Sanjay's Super Team feels authentic because it is, as real life Sanjay Patel directed the short based on exaggerated experiences from his youth. It's lovely to see a culture and it's religion that is oft overlooked in American cinema get some attention. This is Pixar's first project, of all of their shorts and feature-length projects alike, featuring humans to be lead by a person of color protagonist, after all, so it's as important as it is fun, if not more. It's also nice to see Hinduism and it's Gods portrayed in such an encouraging and positively energetic way.

It has moments reminiscent of The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack, which is a completely good thing. If only Pixar had given us a new feature length action film of this caliber and laid those tired old dinosaur bones to rest.

I love this animated Disney/Pixar short called because I love the plot. This short film is about the director, Sanjay Patel's childhood and how he has a conflict between doing what he likes and his father's traditions.

I like this film because it has a nice message – "Traditions may seem boring at times until you take the time to learn about them." You can find ways to incorporate what you like and still keep your family traditions. You will see that it can be fun to do what your parents want to do with you.

I think many people will relate to this film. My favorite part of the film is when Sanjay imagines himself inside his Dad's cabinet where he is small and these heroes save him.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to ages 5 to 18. I think adults might like it as well. Some of these scenes might be intense for kids ages under the age of 4. I recommend this to people who like family and adventure shorts. This short will play prior to the new Disney/Pixar film, The Good Dinosaur which opens nationwide in November, 2015.

Reviewed by Ryan R., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

'Sanjay's Super Team' is not one Pixar's best short films, like 'Geri's Game', 'Presto', 'One Man Band', 'For the Birds', 'Jack-Jack Attack' and 'Knick Knack'.

There is however a preference to it over 'Lava' (which from personal opinion is also a little over-hated, though for reasons that are much more understandable than to this) and 'Mater and the Ghostlight', which gets my vote as Pixar's weakest short film, if it counts.

And none of those two to me are bad, just that they just lack the magic of Pixar's best efforts, which just goes to show how high in standards and regard Pixar's work is. 'Sanjay's Super Team' is also an example of a short that's superior to the feature film that follows it. 'The Good Dinosaur' is lesser Pixar, was a big disappointment after 'Inside Out' and is very problematic, mainly with the story, the unappealing character designs, some of the script and issues regarding target audience, but it does not deserve anywhere near the amount of hatred it's garnered with a lot of the reviews here indicating that it has no redeeming qualities (even with finding a fair few problems, this viewer did find a lot to admire).

Just as there is a lot to admire about 'Sanjay's Super Team'. Its only real fault is the story, which feels rather too slight even for the short running time and I didn't quite emotionally connect with it in the same way that was achieved with Pixar's best. The introduction to the magical world too also felt a tad random and jarring. Even then, it's a long way from disastrous in execution because there was a lot done to make it interesting.

While not perfect, 'Sanjay's Super Team' is a winner on many levels. And it is such a shame to see it get the amount of hatred it's garnered, with most not even acknowledging the good qualities. Those saying that it didn't click with them this viewer does not have an issue with, at least they said why and didn't come over as over- sensitive or ignorant. Which cannot be said for those decrying it for being too disturbing, compared to some animation seen (repeat: animation is aimed for the whole family, not just kids, so enough with the stereotype already) this is actually pretty tame, and any 'disturbing' content is much better handled than in 'The Good Dinosaur', at least it doesn't feel misplaced or gratuitous here, it's not overused and there always seemed to be a reason for why a certain idea or image was included. The 'religious propaganda' criticism seen on one of the message board threads seems pretty prejudiced and close-minded too. I am very understanding of people's opinions and have been known to get hot headed to anybody with too much of a superiority complex, but felt that somebody had to be said after something that was clearly well-intended and made with a lot of heart and passion and with no malicious intent gets this much dislike.

Especially great about 'Sanjay's Super Team' is the animation, which is spectacular and bursts with colour and imagination. Sanjay is very well modelled and his expressions whether excited or reluctant genuinely resonate and makes him likable and relatable. While the mix of traditional and CGI animation, providing the contrast between the real world and exciting cartoon world, is not completely unique for this short, as Pixar's 'Day and Night' did it as well, it's more imaginatively rendered here. What is unique here for Pixar is the use of low horizon lines with wider lenses and lower camera placement, which with the character designs of the Vishnu, Hanuman and Durga made for a sight to behold. The music is whimsical and understated as well as authentically scored, in no way feeling intrusive or inappropriate. There is no dialogue present, apart from in the cartoons watched by Sanjay, and this worked, seeing as it was still clear what was happening and what was meant to be conveyed. It also allowed the atmosphere evoked by the vibrant fantasy world Sanjay enters and the comparatively tedious real world with Hindu traditions being followed to resonate, which it certainly does. Execution-wise, the story in 'Sanjay's Super Team' may not be perfect, but there was still a huge amount to appreciate about it.

It (the story that is) was still warm-humoured, heart-warming, touching and felt very warm in nature, for a short film as personal as this (the most personal easily of Pixar's short films, even more so than 'La Luna', seeing as it is based on the director's own life) that is remarkable. It's never preachy and doesn't forget to entertain. The Father/Son relationship, one of the things that 'Sanjay's Super Team' is really about, is beautifully depicted, Sanjay and his situation are very easy to relate to and a lot of credit is due for introducing diversity and including non-Western culture in something mainstream, in a way that is not religious propaganda and certainly not indoctrination.

Overall, not Pixar's best short film or not quite among the best but still a winner and much better than it's been given credit for. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Sanjay is a typical Indian boy who is torn between his fictional superheroes and his family's tradition. Sanjay is your typical boy who wants to do what others do his age. He wants to play with his action figures rather than pray and honor with his family. The animation is quite first rate and high quality. Sanjay gets torn between reality and dreams. He soon learned the value of honoring his father and his family's tradition. I didn't realize that this was a short animated film before the actual feature film. I was a bit confused and uncertain about short animated films before the actual feature film presentation. I was with a school for a trip and still the film short was nice and award worthy. I wish the film director well. Sanjay Patel has quite a future in the animated film industry.