Watch 'Purl', Pixar's First Animated SparkShorts Film

Last month, we learned about Pixar's new SparkShorts program. The animation initiative aims to give up-and-coming storytellers the spotlight and allows them to experiment with new storytelling techniques and production workflows. And the first Pixar SparkShorts project has just debuted online for everyone to see.

Purl is directed by Kristen Lester and produced by Gillian Libbert-Duncan. It follows an enthusiastic ball of yarn named Purl who starts working at a fast-paced, high energy start-up called B.R.O. Capital. Needless to say, she doesn't exactly fit in. So how far is Purl willing to go in order to feel accepted? Watch the Pixar Short Purl to find out.

As you can see, even though this has the traditional Pixar Animation style, it's much more edgy and overt in the story it's trying to tell (including some saltier language than some Pixar fans might expect). Purl isn't just a ball of yarn trying to fit in at a company full of humans. She's a woman trying to feel comfortable and accepted in a male-dominated workplace, one where every picture on the Employee of the Month wall is a white dude with the same stupid smile on their face.

Purl is treated as an outcast. Her ideas aren't accepted by the group, and she's left out of the B.R.O. Capital meet-up at a nearby wing joint. So what does she do? She changes herself completely by flattening herself out and knitting a yarn suit so she looks and acts just like all the other men at the company. She loses everything unique about her personality and style.

Even though this may seem a little inappropriate for certain children based on a couple naughtier words used, the movie packs an important message about staying true to yourself, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. Because eventually, you'll be accepted for who you are rather than forced to be something you're not.

I hope this SparkShorts initiative sticks around for years to come. It's a great platform for animators and storytellers to do something a little outside of the box of what Pixar usually delivers on the big screen. That's a good thing, especially with the company facing big changes without John Lasseter around, not to mention the recent departure of director Lee Unkrich as well.

There are two more shorts in the SparkShorts initiative that will likely be released sometime soon, so stay tuned for those on February 11 and February 18. And there will be even more coming to Disney+ when that service launches this year.