Sanjay's Super Team

This is a touching story of intergenerational conflict, and how the modern world can leave tradition behind. It is smartly observed about father and sons. It is also very colorful and has a slight Bollywood vibe. But some of it is obscure and esoteric. I am unsure what the super team tracks within Hinduism or with another piece of media.

'SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A 7 minute Pixar animated short film; which accompanied 'THE GOOD DINOSAUR' in theaters. It tells the story of an Indian boy, who imagines the Hindu gods (his father has taught him to believe in), as mighty superheroes. It was directed by veteran animator, turned director, Sanjay Patel. Patel used his own childhood, growing up as an Indian immigrant (in 1980s San Bernardino), as inspiration for the short. I found the film to be amusing, slightly emotional and full of decent animation. It's also a great, thoughtful idea for a kids' cartoon short. It doesn't quite have that magical touch though; that Pixar's greats do. 'SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM' is definitely a well made short, but it's not spectacular.

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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.

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.

I grew up as a third culture kid in both India and the US.

This storyline really resonated with me. When I was a kid playing with my action figures, I'd envision scenarios where the heroes of Indian mythology like Hanuman, Bheema, and so on would team up with Batman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.

Sanjay has a culturally-syncretic experience like that in this short.

And that's what most people took away from this.

BUT THAT'S ONLY SURFACE LEVEL. IT'S SO MUCH MORE.

When I re-watched this I noticed there was so much interesting imagery.

On the side of the room over the television set was a map of America, where Sanjay finds his Western heroes. Over the small shrine on the other side is a map of India, where his Dad has his own heroes, his Gods.

The way the reflection of the lamp and flame on the floor looks like a bell represents the way light cuts through the darkness, the way sound cuts through the silence.

Speaking of the darkness, the shapeshifter initially takes on the form of a rakshasa, a demon that represents the worst of human self-destructive behaviors, but after the sound of the bell subdues it (created by smashing his idol, the action figure), the form looks human again, with palms together, meaning the darkness we must subdue is our own.

Another point about of light subduing the dark is at the end when Sanjay opens the blinds on the dark room, and also when his father and him meet in the middle.

Tangentially-- I was surprised Mychael Danna did the score, because I was most familiar with his work in Boondock Saints. But then I realized he also scored Monsoon Wedding and Life Of Pi, and then I was like "Oh, that makes sense."

P.S. The negative reviews here from bigots... shame on you. I think it's very telling about how small-minded you are, that you react to something foreign, that you don't understand, with so much fear, and no willingness or desire for knowledge or understanding. I'm an atheist, and even I understood the beautiful message in this film.