Die kleine Lampe

Of all the short films that Pixar made prior to Toy Story, this one holds up the best today. It has a lot of the hallmarks of the company-the lamps' *character* come through the animation; it blends comedy with pathos. And the animation in itself feels alive and fluid, unlike say Andre and Wally B. I still get a chuckle out of the short every time I watch it.

Plot

A larger lamp watches while a smaller, younger lamp plays exuberantly with a ball but doesn't pick up the knack of correct handling.

Cast

Made by John Lasseter, the man behind Toy Story, A Bugs Life, Cars and countless other Pixar classics.

Verdict

I wasn't aware of Luxo Jr, but I'm very glad I watched this blink and you'll miss it short.

You see with zero spoilers I actually found myself saddened watching it as it touches upon a certain Toy Story-esque trope that turns me into a blubbering mess but thankfully it almost immediately lands on it's feet and it's positively adorable.

Considering it's so short it's hard not to consider this essential viewing for any Pixar fan.

Rants

I did have a rant but the site didn't like it and I got declined, so you don't get one in this review. Rasp.

Breakdown

Impressive visuals for 1986 Adorable on every level Gave me a momentary sad face.

"Luxo Jr." is Pixar's first short film, and shows why a lamp is used for Pixar's logo.

Like all the Pixar short films, "Luxo Jr." has no dialog, but music and funny sounds instead. The story is about a lamp named Luxo who is playing with a ball. Then, Luxo Jr. comes by and joins him.

Like many of the Pixar shorts, it is merely a cute experiment with animation, music, sounds and humor. This one succeeds in those departments.

I'm not sure if it's stop-motion animation or computer-animation, but the animation in "Luxo Jr." looks fairly impressive. The moments are also what gives the characters life and personalities.

The sounds are impressive as well. Each time the lamps do so much as turn, you hear a sound. You can also hear the "ding-a-ling-a-ling" sound that Luxo makes before every Pixar film.

The humor isn't quite hilarious, but I managed to chuckle twice during the film. The ending was funny.

Not so bad for a start.

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I find it amazing that a film which is a minute and a half long, with one fixed camera position, can have such a strong story and characters. And these characters don't even talk! It's all about the animation. I can almost see the delight on Luxo Junior's face (although he doesn't have a face) as he leaps after that giant ball at the end of the film. Likewise, I love Luxo Senior's surprised double take as he sees the ball come bouncing towards him, and then his exasperated head shake as his son passes him by. It was a good idea for Lasseter to start out with mechanical objects. He could start slow and work his way to working more with facial expression.

Very good, this short is undoubtedly my favorite short, the animation is very good, the story is very funny and the concept of a chair playing with a ball is very good. Highly recommend.