2 . The short film Piper, released by Pixar in 2016, won the 89th Academy Award for Best Animated Short film. Piper was written and directed by Alan Barillaro, previously working in the animation department. It’s a wonder that he had the fortune to win Oscar for his first film.
The short film follows a baby bird named Piper, as she learns and overcomes her fears of finding food at the seafront. Piper is encouraged to peck（啄）at the sand beach but gets wet through with water from a wave. Discouraged by the terrible wave, she hopes to get food from her mother but fails. After gathering up the courage again, she meets a hermit crab（寄居蟹）who shows her not to be scared of the ocean but to embrace it. Finally, she discovers the secret of the ocean and feeds herself even her family. It’s a story about facing challenges and not being discouraged by failure. Like Piper, we can always find solutions and come out stronger than ever before.
Somehow Pixar manages to fit all of these into a five-minute-long short film, without using any spoken language and entirely by animation. Movements and personified facial expressions are what drive this story in this film. Much like the nature documentary, the continuous pulling of the shallow focus adds the sense of realism. The clean and clear animation allows for even the slightest micro-expressions to be picked up by the audience. And the music is consistent with Piper’s emotions, making the audience feel the same way.
This film and lots of others by Pixar make us laugh and cry all the time. By fitting a simple story with simple characters, we are led through challenges to a satisfying conclusion for our characters. It’s one of the best short films in a long time.
1. What is the storyline of the short film?
| A．A mother instructs her child to find food. |
| B．A bird overcomes fears and grows independent。 |
| C．A bird family tries to adapt to life at the seafront. |
| D．A sand beach offers food to the birds living nearby. |
2. What techniques are used in the short film?
| A．Animation and music. | B．Sound and virtual scenes. |
| C．Movements and speeches. | D．Clear pictures and vivid lines. |
3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the short film?
| A．Indifferent. | B．Critical. | C．Favorable. | D．Negative. |
4. What is this text?
| A．A documentary. | B．A review. | C．A story. | D．An essay. |
