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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider Short film on Pixar's first Filipino-American character hits 20-million views on YouTube

Short film on Pixar's first Filipino-American character hits 20-million views on YouTube

Published Mar 9, 2021 04:52 pm

Pixar Animation Studios' 2019 "Float" earned 20 million views just 10 days since it premiered on YouTube.

The short is historical for the Philippines as it's the first time that Pixar featured a Filipino-American animated character.

The story, distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, is about a father who discovers that his son has an unusual ability.

“To keep them both safe from judgement, Dad covers him and keeps him out of sight—but when his son’s ability becomes public, Dad must decide whether to run and hide or to accept his son as he is,” read the film’s synopsis in Pixar’s website.

It is written and directed by Filipino American Bobby Rubio.

He shared the story was inspired by his own experience after his son was diagnosed with autism.

Before his directorial debut, Rubio has been with Pixar since 2012 and was able to contribute to “Inside Out,” “Incredibles 2” and “Brave.”

"Pixar Animation Studios and the SparkShorts filmmakers of FLOAT are in solidarity with the Asian and Asian American communities against Anti-Asian hate in all its forms. We are proud of the onscreen representation in this short and have decided to make it widely available, in celebration of what stories that feature Asian characters can do to promote inclusion everywhere," the text on the description box read.

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