Boundin' (2003)

Boundin' (2003) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Pixar short about a happy-go-lucky sheep who dances his way across his Southern farm until one day his owners show up and shave his wool off. Being naked and embarrassed, he tries to avoid everyone until a jackalope shows up to teach him it doesn't matter what he looks like. I was really shocked at how entertaining this five-minute short was and how beautiful of a message it got across without being overly preachy. The message is hidden in a great musical number that has some very nice lyrics that come across very entertaining and one that you'll be tapping your foot to. The vocal works on all the little creatures is very good and mixes in quite well with the animation. The animation itself is very well done with some extremely nice images including the wonderful sequence where our sheep starts bouncing across various landscapes as his wool eventually grows back. Another nice spot was the actual look of the sheep naked. Very cute all around.

BOUNDIN' is a bright and colorful short by Pixar about a sheep that loves to jump and bounce. However, his bounce disappears the day he is shorn and the spring in his step is slow in returning. It is all told through narration that sounds rather reminiscent of Gene Sheppard (though it's Bud Luckey) and it seems to be aimed mostly towards the kids.I have seen BOUNDIN' a few times and I must say that it is enjoyable and well made--which you have come to expect from a Pixar film. However, it isn't among the best shorts by Pixar (despite a snappy narration) and didn't seem as groundbreaking or strange as HARVIE KRUMPET--which just had an odd little charm about it that made much more impact on me as a viewer. The bottom line is that the animation is top-notch, but the story itself rather limp. This probably is why although both films were nominated for the Best Animated Short Oscar, KRUMPET won--the story was simply more involving.

Boundin' tells a four minute tale of a young, puffy white lamb who wanders freely, is happy and dances through life until one day, he is shorn and shattered. Left out in the rain with nothing but his pink skin he mopes around until a Jackalope (whatever that is) bounces by to convince him that everything is OK.As narrated by the director Bud Luckey in a sort of 6/8 time country and western poem, this short is light, lilting, funny as can be and packs a wonderful message. It is not so much about tolerance as it is about being proud and comfortable about who you are. It is also likely the only animated short ever to use the word Heliotrope.If you have the Incredibles DVD then you have this short. We watch it every time we run through The Incredibles. ***1/2 out of ****.

My Children are in love with this short and so am I. My kids 2 & 4 try to do both the high steppin dance and the bound. They love the characters and gasp with an "oh no" when the truck rumbles up. Then they get sad with the sheep once he is sheared, only to cheer when the Jackalope arrives.I know of no other cartoon that had done all of that in less than 5 minutes for my kids. Finding out that Bud Luckey also did the Aligator King for Sesame Street just makes this short even sweeter.The nerd in me must also comment that the animation is amazing and beautiful.Now I can only hope that more shorts and cartoons will take on both the quality of this animation as well as the quality of stimulation for kids....and I love it too....I guess the kid in me just loves the song, the colors, the story, the characters and the voice.