Posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2021 by Josh Spiegel
This week, Disney+ has an exciting new way to showcase young filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds. Their new short-film series
Launchpad goes live to the world on Friday, May 28, with six stories that offer diverse viewpoints on everything from Chinese to Jewish to Mexican cultures. We have a review of the series coming tomorrow, but there’s no better way to get a rundown of what each of these short films are about than by hearing from the filmmakers themselves.
/Film sat down virtually with these young artists recently to hear their stories, the messages they want to share, and how they learned on the job with Disney. Here is everything you need to know about
Let s Be Tigers, and
The Little Prince(ss). Much like the Pixar SparkShorts series, they want to tell us stories that we don t usually hear - from a diverse set of voices, about underrepresented people trying to be themselves. Most of them are about teens or kids - one of them is about a half human / half vampire, one of them is about a Mexican-American struggling to carry on her traditions, one of them is about a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet. This trailer features footage from all six shorts cut together. We love featuring short films on this site, and I m glad that Disney is highlighting them, as they re always a great way for filmmakers to showcase their talent without all the cost of making a full-length feature. Enjoy.
Disney+ has released trailers for all six of the short films in its promising new series
Launchpad, designed to showcase live-action short films from “a new generation of dynamic storytellers” and “diversify the types of stories that are being told and to give access to those who have historically not had it.” Which is a neat idea, and a great platform for rising filmmakers who need it.
A full trailer for season 1, which is themed around “Discover,” has already been released, but Disney+ shows its commitment to this series with a trailer for each short film in the season. Watch the