Introduction
Float, a short animated film from 2019, was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and it became available on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. The film was created as a part of the SparkShorts initiative Pixar undertook, which allows filmmakers to create personal and innovative stories with fewer resources and a faster timeline. Bobby Rubio, who wrote and directed the film, told a deeply emotional story in Float that revolves around the themes of parenthood, acceptance, and societal pressure to conform.
Despite being a little above seven minutes long, the film employs animation and minimalist dialogue to tell a compelling story. At its core, Float encompasses a father’s relationship with his son who has the extraordinary ability to defy gravity and float. The father, at first, is spellbound by this magical quality and enjoys his son’s enchanting abilities while playing with him in the front yard. The son’s floating is portrayed as something whimsical, wondrous, and full of innocence.
Neighbors and spectators slowly pay more attention to the boy’s levitating and their expression transforms from gentle curiosity into discomfort. Noticing their scorn and imagining how others might shun him, in the father’s eyes, the boy’s gift becomes a curse that needs to be concealed, rather than treasured. His solution to this challenge is to confine his son—as well as his son’s potential—by “bulling” him grounded shackled him’s to his backpack that contains boulders, unable to be taken outdoors. The care-free family interactions morph into a mix of anxiety and shame.
After some time, the father brings his son to a playground so that he can socialize “normally” with other children his age. Unfortunately for him, the boy starts levitating again, this time grabbing everyone’s attention. Out of control, overrun with self-inflicted stress, and blindly sensitive to how the public will perceive him, the father screams at his son to For God’s sake, just be normal,” which act nicht nur mit Gewalt im Munde – it was the only sentence uttered in the whole movie. This is one of the emotional peak moments from the short.
Following a brief period of separation where the father chases after the son who appears to float away, the father now understands the anguish he has inflicted. The film concludes with a father lovingly and gently embracing his son’s special traits as they return to the playground. This time, he lets his son float which signifies choosing love and acceptance instead of fear and rigidity.
Cast & Crew
Director and Writer: Bobby Rubio
As a Pixar storyboard artist for many years, Bobby Rubio wrote and directed Float, drawing from personal experiences as a father of an autistic child. His intent was to craft a personal narrative about love’s complexities, the obstacles of societal expectations, and embracing a child’s individuality. Rubio, who is of Filipino descent, also incorporated cultural elements that deepen the narrative as one of the most underrepresented in Pixar’s catalog, including Filipino-American protagonists, a representation that has seldom been seen in Pixar films.
Music: Barney Jones
The score is understated yet highly poignant. As in most films, music is used to underscore the father-son relationship and the emotional contours of the narrative. Barney Jones’ composition does this with subtle strings and piano which replaces what would otherwise be dialogue.
Animation and Visual Style
Despite being a short film, Float is bounded by the Pixar brand of animation, which is known to be of the highest quality. The animation style is a bit more stylized than in Pixar features, possessing softer outlines and a sort of storybook quality. Both stylistic choices support the film’s fantastical nature while ensuring it is rooted in emotion. Since most of the film is silent, body language, facial expressions, and environmental storytelling become the tells that relay crucial pieces of information.
Themes and Symbolism
Fatherhood and the fear of societal judgement
The theme that stands out most, perhaps alongside the character’s internal conflict, in Float, is the intense battle parents have to face when their children dare to defy socially accepted norms. The father’s journey encapsulates the unsaid burden placed on parents to bring up children who “check the boxes.” His initial joy shifts to fear—not the kind we expect of a child’s potential—rather how each of us perceives it. He tries to conform and avoid the perilous gaze of judgmental eyes while safeguarding his son’s individuality.
Acceptance and Unconditional Love
The father’s turning point in accepting his son’s differences is a very strong metaphor for acceptance. In a world where people are forced to conform, Float advocates for love devoid of conditions. The metaphor of floating serves as a stand in for any different trait, ability, or identity a person possesses, be it neurodiversity, culture, or simply individuality.
Cultural Representation
Rubio’s intentional and strategic choice to include Filipino-American characters enhanced the depth of the story. In animation, most Western studios lack representation for Asians and Pacific Islanders. Float does not focus on ethnicity but rather pushes against this mold. It normalizes Asian-American parent and identity narratives, which deepens the significance of the short film.
Reception and IMDb Rating
Float has an outstanding IMDb rating of 7.5/10, which demonstrates the film’s popularity among critics and watchers. The film received a lot of praise for emotional depth considering it’s a short film. People appreciated the fact that the film conveyed complex narratives through visuals, almost no dialogue, and emotions.
Bobby Rubio’s personal touch was noted in Float and noted as an empathetic story, a metaphor that goes beyond the parents of kids with disabilities or societal ‘others’, capturing a plethora of audiences. Many people’s experiences shaped the story into an archetype that offered relief and affirmation in the context of their parenting and childhood memories.
In praise of Float, the animation critics celebrated the venture into unconventional storytelling as well as for representation in the film. Within the broader context of Pixar’s features, Float as part of the SparkShorts program highlighted the potential for Pixar’s storytelling to become more personal, inclusive and innovative within the documentary filmmaking paradigm outside feature-length films.
Final Takeaway
Float stands out equally as a short film and for its emotional depth for its unparalleled ability to digitally illustrate the themes love, acceptance, and the hardship of parenting a child with differences. The film reaches out to everyone who has suffered the pain of being an outsider themselves, or unconditional affection for someone who struggles to find acceptance.
Bobby Rubio’s guidance and commentary provide the film with depth and emotional resonance, while the animation artistry of Pixar guarantees that every frame, however minute, is infused with storytelling value. Even though it lasts only a few minutes, Float is memorable and leaves an impression on the audience long after the credits roll.
Among the ever-expanding collection of Pixar’s experimental SparkShorts, Float is remarkable for its emotional depth as well as its stunning artistic imagery and social themes of celebrating differences, encouraging empathy, and calling for unconditional love without terms—illustrated in the film by stones tethered to a backpack.
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