Boundin'

I hesitate to summarize Boundin' with the massive cliché that is Just Be Yourself, so I'll try to throw a little spin on it and say that it is more about being confident in who you are rather than your appearance. Clearly, since the short film starts with the story of a sheep that is so happy and content that it constantly bounces around singing, and thus doesn't give the impression of being insecure until suddenly it is Unceremoniously Plucked From Its World and sheared naked of its wool, it is more about self-confidence than just being yourself. On the other hand, maybe that's just two ways of saying the same thing.

At any rate, the movie received something of a lukewarm reception from viewers, who either loved it or hated it or wanted to love it but thought that the sheep wasn't cute enough or something. I appreciated the fact that Pixar was able to tell the story using such simple means. The entire film takes place on the same 10 square feet or so of setting, and there are only two characters (unless you count the little animals that laugh at or cheer the sheep, depending on his level of security).

I also liked that the movie did something original with the dialogue. Many of Pixar's charming short films are silent, and I really thought the singing worked great because it had such a good Dr. Seuss-like ring to it. The moral is simple, but the emotions created are real. We pretty much know where the plot is going, but we still sympathize with the sheep after it is originally shorn, because in truth it really does look ridiculous.

Where Pixar should be especially commended, however, is that later in the film the sheep is shorn again, plopped back down on its rock, but no longer looks ridiculous, simply because of the sheep's casual behavior. He doesn't look ridiculous because he no longer cares so much how he looks.

And if you think the sheep or the jackalope were just not cute enough, maybe you should write a whiny little song about it

I wish Bud Lucky could have directed a couple of more shorts, or even a feature film. Because I an utterly charmed by this short. It's cute. It's uplifting. It has some clever writing in keeping the meter and rhythming going. The western setting, the jackalope and the optimism all add up to a slice of Americana.

Luckey not only directed this sweet little animation, but he also wrote it, narrated the script, provided a voice for the jackalope and composed the music. Suffice to say, Boundin' was his spring into animation glory. A dancing sheep that remains popular with the other animals, one day becomes sheared. Now the laughing stock of the rock they reside on, the sheep loses all confidence. A benevolent jackalope then approaches and teaches the sheep to "bound" rather than dance, allowing him to restore his confidence and overcome his fear of shearing. A delightful message for younger viewers to adhere to, with a variety of musically tuned animals to enhance the accessible entertainment. The animation was excellent with a nice attention to detail for the environment, such as tumbleweeds blowing in the distance. The character models were well rounded and clearly differentiate each animal. The musical narration, whilst doing its best impersonation of Johnny Cash, was unfortunately forgettable and lost the buoyancy of its message. A more upbeat tune would've suited the narration, considering it's a story about "bounding". However the lyrics remain poignant and are simple enough for children to acknowledge. Still, another consistently slick short animation from Pixar that ranks among the upper echelon of their canon.

I don't think this is Pixar at their very best, like with Presto or Geri's Game, but it is a Pixar short film that I like very much. The narrative is very cute and engaging if not as snappily paced as One Man Band or Presto. However this doesn't matter so much because the animation as you'd always expect from Pixar is wonderful especially in the backgrounds, and musically it is one of Pixar's most satisfying, very melodic and memorable. I also loved the message, on which Boundin' is reliant, and felt it was presented in an uplifting way, and the characters have a certain likability to them. In conclusion, a very good short film, it is cute, short and sweet with wonderful animation and music and one of the better messages in any of their short films. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is about as a nice a message as I have ever seen presented in a cartoon, and it's presented in a beautiful manner. This is just plain fun to watch but even better to hear. The message is sung and the rhyming in the lyrics is just tremendous, really enjoyable.

In less than a handful minutes, we are shown and given a wonderful mini-sermon, if you will, on how to handle bad situations and life in general. There also is a plug for skin color making no difference in your attitude, either.

This might be the only cartoon I ever watched, and then replayed it a few minutes later. It was so good, I wanted to hear/see it again. There are some profound words of wisdom in this, sung in a catchy ditty.

The animated short is offered as one of the features in the DVD of "The Incredibles."