The story of Piper

One of my favourite stories is a short animated film by Disney Pixar called Piper. While Canadian director Alan Barillaro visited beaches in the San Francisco Bay area, he was inspired by the feeding sandpipers’ behaviours. Through his observations, he created the short story where a young, bright-eyed sandpiper is motivated by her mother to start hunting for food and the rest of the flock in the sandy seashore. However, the tiny bird faces adversity as he catches himself being swept away in a wave and is becomes terrorized by the experience. As it watches the waves continue to crash down along the shoreline in fear, it becomes hungry. Ultimately, the young sandpiper conquers its fear, approaching the ocean. With some encouragement from nearby hermit crabs, the sandpiper buries itself in the sand to discover a better and easier way of collecting food under the waves. The story concludes with the little sandpiper’s excitement in collecting an abundance of food that it shares with others.

Although this story is relatively short and lacks any dialogue, it still stuck with me. I believe it was the simplicity that allowed me to interpret the symbolism and connect it to my own life. It appears easy to solve at first, but you have to look past the explicit meaning presented and look deep into the story’s purpose. One of my favourite parts of the story is when the audience is introduced to the sandpiper’s challenges in being swept away by the waves. It perfectly describes that feeling of something destructive looming over you, which can be scary and unsettling. I can personally relate to this in my own life as I am faced with unforeseen challenges. Thus the film is so memorable because I connect to the little sandpiper without any similarities, yet we still have the same feelings when we up against a new challenge. The story doesn’t leave a ton of room for interpretation outside of the visual, which is why I respect it more. It can get such a strong message across with just its visuals and no need for more details or dialogue to complicate the message. Therefore, when you only focus on the story’s visuals, it helps me engage more, and I can follow the storytelling pattern of the problems that build-up to the climax.

In summary, throughout this particular story, it is easy to recognize Pixar’s many storytelling principles, such as the once upon a time, one day, because of that, until finally, framework. Another narrative technique, Pixar storyboard artists Emma Coats highlights how the audience admires the character for trying more than for their successes. Relative to this story, the audience is captivated by the young sandpiper’s perseverance in overcoming its fear of the crashing waves and learning new skills that benefit the whole flock. This short film ultimately won an Oscar in 2017 for Best Animation because of the exceptional graphics that appeal to the audience’s interest, it has a story line with deep meaning, that emotionally captivates and inspires the audience.

After watching this short film, I always find myself in a positive spirit and inspired to conquer my fears and any new challenges that I may experience in my everyday life.

-Payton Homeak