Pixar’s Short Film ‘Float’ Features Disney’s first Filipino American Character
If you have yet to see SparkShorts on Disney+ you don’t know what your missing. The short films featured in this program are touching, groundbreaking and an absolute delight! With that in mind, we thought we’d share with you some of the awesome details of one of our favorites Float.
The director of the short Bobby Rubio made his directorial debut with Float, however, he has been working as a Pixar story artist since 2012. He contributed to Inside Out, Incredibles 2, and Brave. However, Float is extra special for Rubio primarily because it is breaking ground as the first Pixar work to feature a Filipino American animated character.
Float tells the story of a father who discovers that his young son differs from other kids in that he can float! Rather than subjecting his son to the judgements of other children, the father attempts to keep his son out of sight.
The inspiration from Float came from Rubio’s own son who was diagnosed with autism. When Rubio first learned about his son’s diagnosis he didn’t handle the news well. In a recent interview with Variety, Rubio explained, “My wife said I should tell the story through comic books, as that’s what I did on the side back then. The tagline was: A Father’s Journey with a Special Child.” That was as far as Rubio got, he said. “I wasn’t emotionally ready to tell the story,” he explained.
Fast forward to two years ago when Rubio was finally ready to tell the story of his son Alex and pitched it to Lindsay Collins- editor of the SparkShorts program who thought the project was ideal. However, the original storyboards for the film featured a Caucasian father until a coworker advised Rubio ‘Bobby, this is your story. The character should be Filipino American.’
Since its debut on Disney Plus, Float has allowed viewers to bring their own experiences and interpretations to the film. As a matter of fact, The SparkShorts program is opening the doors for more diverse projects at Pixar. It’s a great way that Pixar has been able to promote diversity and definitely worth checking out on the new Disney+ streaming service.
Check out the official trailer for SparkShorts here:
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