PUBLISHED ON February 12, 2019 
BY John Bishop For a week, my kids have been talking about “Purl” and I didn’t give it a thought. I’ve been busy, vocationally.
But today, avocationally, I
In it, D23.com’s Zach Johnson introduced the short, Smash and Grab:
And Johnson reminded readers that Beth Deitchman introduced Purl last week:
[Recognition] Head slap. “Ahhhhh, Purl!”
Deitchman wrote:
Pixar Animation Studios has woven together an exciting new film program, SparkShorts, an experimental storytelling initiative that welcomes new creative voices at the studio to share their stories. The program’s first three shorts recently made their big-screen debut at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, and Purl launched on YouTube [Feb. 4].
Johnson added:
Pixar Animation Studios’ SparkShorts series continues today with a new entry from director Brian Larsen and producer David Lally. The short, part of an experimental storytelling initiative within the studio, tells the story of two robots who dream of leaving their demanding day jobs behind. Everything changes when Smash (the robot with the hammer arm) sees an opportunity to escape the engine room and lead Grab (the robot with the hands) to freedom. As Lally asks in a behind-the-scenes video, “When those two robots want to do something other than what they’re designed to do, how far are they willing to go to do that—especially for each other?”
So what’s next?
The YouTube premiere of Smash and Grab arrives a week after the debut of Purl, directed by Kristen Lester and produced by Gillian Libbert-Duncan. Both of these Pixar Animation Studios SparkShorts shorts recently made their big-screen debut at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, with Kitbull, from director Rosana Sullivan and producer Kathryn Hendrickson, hitting YouTube February 18… Other SparkShorts (Float, Loop, and Wind) will be available on Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service, set to launch in the U.S. later this year.
And before those come along, check out a behind-the-scenes look:
So, what do you think of the new “Sparkshorts” series?
Let us know in the comments below…
