Red's Dream

Didn't anyone else notice the reference to the opening moments of Citizen Kane? (Rain, dark exterior, flashing neon reflected inside?) I agree with the other comments on this site, i.e. that this is an amazing piece of computer graphic animation given the technology available at the time. It is short, but within the four minutes manages to sketch a vignette of Red's existence. The clown (and his accompanying unoriginal circus music) are wooden -- especially the face -- the real expressiveness is left to Red himself, which he manages by wheel (body) and saddle (head) movements which clearly refer to Disney animal characters in the viewer's memory. Red also has the expressive jazzy music.

One of the Pixar shorts from the eighties, this one is directed and written by 'Mr. Pixar' (and director of the upcoming 'Cars' (of which the first teaser sucked heavily, but nevermind)) John Lasseter. It tells the story of the dream of a lonely unicycle, who desperately wants to be in the circus entertaining the people. The constant rain and sad jazzy music help to make this a moody one.

Nice short animation picture, but hard to judge on it's own. But knowing how shorts like this and Knick Knack would eventually turn into brilliant pictures like Toy Story and Finding Nemo (haven't watched The Incredibles yet), this sure was a good sign of even better things to come.

6/10.

'Red's Dream', at the time of writing, currently ranks as one of Pixar's lesser known efforts, something which I find quite ironic considering the subject matter of this endearing little short - a lonely and dejected unicycle has to deal with being the only item in a bicycle store restricted to the clearance corner. His only real coping mechanism is to sit there dreaming of better things, and the amazing stunts he could pull if only given a chance to prove his worth, in particular upstaging a rather clueless clown in the circus ring. It's more of a situation than a story, really, but it works very well, and you get a good feel of Red's sorrow and predicament as it goes. And I can't help but love it as much as any of the company's classic material - it's downbeat, there isn't a great deal to laugh at, and its overall sombreness will probably come as quite a shock to anyone raised solely on 'Knick Knack', 'For the Birds' and Pixar's other various laugh-out-loud contributions. But 'Red's Dream' manages to hold the viewer's attention through something a little more striking than just its potential comedy value. For all its fantastical personification, it succeeds in capturing a very real and very poignant aspect of human nature - that is, the desire for escapism from a bleak reality.

The reality in which our protagonist lives - as reflected in the colourlessness of the bicycle store - is cruel and harsh, and subjects him to constant negligence from those around him (not even the other bicycles seem to respond to him). But Red finds solace in his dream, however temporarily, and I know that everyone can identify with him on that one on at least some level, just as we can all see something of ourselves in both Woody and Buzz of the 'Toy Story' realm. Strange as it may sound, you really end up feeling for this poor little wheel, and when he envisions his colourful circus scene, and being loved by the audience, you really wish that it could come true and that he could stay there. But at the same time, you're left with the uneasy awareness that that's all it is - a dream, and nothing more - and that Red will have to face up to the real world sooner or later.

The 3D animation quality is nice enough - that clown does look pretty grotesque and chunky I'll admit, being Pixar's first real attempt at an organic character, and a telling sign of their current lack of expertise in this particular field, but then again, he IS a clown, so I don't think it really matters! Otherwise, the visuals are thumbs up, and Red himself is undeniably cute (it says, a lot don't you think, that you can end up getting attached to an animated unicycle with no organic features whatsoever?) On the whole, the general mood of the short did leave me feeling a little cold, but appropriately so, and it's definitely worthy of being a classic in the same league as 'Luxo Jr'.

Above all, Pixar are capable of making me actually care about such everyday inanimate objects as desk lamps, tin toys, miniature snowmen and unicycles - and that has got to be worth something.

Grade: A-

It was slightly creepy due to the animation style, but i really loved the plot and it was really sad :( i think it was really good for the time, and the way they made a unicycle emote >>>

The folks at Pixar do a wonderful job here. While this isn't their best short, it is definitely a fine one and the hero here is a surprising one: a little red bike, an inanimate Walter Mitty! I got caught up in this short. Pixar really should re-release their collection of their short films. The short work they do is all at least interesting and most of it is magnificent! Well worth hunting up and most highly recommended.