First Look: Pixar Short 'Lou' To Play In Front Of 'Cars 3'

It's not like Pixar needs to try that hard to convince people to go and see their features, but it's always nice when they sweeten the deal with an accompanying short film. A few months ago we got our first little peek at Lou, the new six-minute short directed by Dave Mullins and Dana Murray. Today we're getting even closer with the mysterious monster of the title, who'll make his way to theaters ahead of Cars 3.

Feast your eyes on a Lou first look photo below, and get many more details about what exactly this movie is.

USA Today shared the first look at the Pixar short Lou.

As you can see, Lou is all about a lost-and-found box — or rather, an unseen monster who lives in said lost-and-found box. He takes the form of a bright red hoodie and has baseballs and buttons for eyes. But just because he's a monster doesn't mean he's a bad guy. In fact, Lou has him standing up to a playground bully named J.J. After seeing this kid taking his classmates' stuff and destroying their beloved toys, Lou comes up with a plan to push back.

Mullins, a Pixar vet who's making his directorial debut here, revealed that Lou was inspired by his own childhood experiences moving around from school to school. "You either feel invisible because you don't know the other kids or you're embarrassed and you want to be invisible. I thought it'd be really cool to have a character who could hide in plain sight," he said.

Although Lou is dismayed by J.J.'s behavior, Mullins points out that young bullies have their own problems. "They're usually just acting out because they're awkward or young and don't have their moral compass set. In a weird way, the bullies sometimes feel invisible, too," he said. "If you can find out what their motivations are, maybe you can solve some things." Pixar being Pixar, you can expect that means Lou's plot will involve helping J.J. instead of exacting bloody John Wick-style revenge.

Lou plays with Cars 3, which opens June 16.