This Fil-Am Story Artist Sparks Happiness With Pixar's First Fil-Am Characters

Filipinos are on a roll globally. Catriona Gray was recently named Miss Universe while Darren Criss became the first Fil-Am to win a Golden Globe.

It looks like the same is happening in the world of animation. Fil-Am Bobby Rubio has written and directed a short animated film in Pixar’s project Spark Shorts (an experimental storytelling initiative that welcomes new creative voices at Pixar to share their stories), featuring Filipino-American characters. Several Pixar artists were given a budget and timeframe to tell their own stories of choice. Bobby is very proud and vocal about representing the Filipino community using the hashtags #Pixnoys and #RepresentationMatters in his Twitter and Instagram posts.

READ: Darren Criss Dedicates His 2019 Golden Globes Best Actor Award To His Filipino Mother

 

 

 

 

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Hey everybody, in case you missed it, I am the #Writer/#Director of the #Pixar #SparkShort “Float”. I am happy to introduce the two main characters who are #FilipinoAmerican! They are Pixar’s first #CGI #Filipino characters, so technically they are the first #Pixnoys! I’m so grateful for this opportunity to tell our stories and share them with the world! When I was growing up, I didn’t see much characters that looked like me on #television or #movies and I am thrilled that my children will have these guys and hopefully they are just the beginning and will inspire more #FilipinoAmerican stories to come! #RepresentationMatters You can watch the #SparkShorts intro, just follow the link on my IG bio! #ShareTheCulture #ChangeTheWorld

A post shared by Bobby Rubio (@bobbyrubio) on Jan 14, 2019 at 6:58pm PST

So what is the short film exactly about? According to Pixar's website, the movie is about a father who discovers that his son floats, making him different from other kids—"to keep them both safe from the judgement of the world, Dad hides, covers, and grounds him. But when his son’s ability becomes public, Dad must decide whether to run and hide or to accept his son as he is.”

 

 

 

 

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It's OFFICIAL! I can finally tell you I'm the Writer/Director of the Pixar SparkShort "Float"! I'm so proud to be a part of this program and to be among these very talented people! And I have to give a shout-out to my wonderful and talented crew, Team Float! I had Rock Stars on my team and I cannot wait for everyone to see our short! It's time to tell my stories! #FilipinoAmerican #Writer #Director #Pixar #SparkShorts

A post shared by Bobby Rubio (@bobbyrubio) on Jan 10, 2019 at 12:03pm PST

Bobby started drawing from a young age. His past work includes Tarzan and Treasure Planet from Walt Disney Feature Animation. He also worked on Up under Pixar Animation Studios. Aside from this, he is currently working on another project called Neighborhood Legend, which will feature a Filipina-American lead and will be set in San Diego, California.

Float will be launched at El Capitan Theater, California beginning January 18 and on YouTube in the coming weeks.

This year, we launched #SparkShorts, an experimental storytelling initiative that welcomes new creative voices at Pixar to share their stories. See the first three shorts at the @ElCapitanThtre beginning 1/18, followed by an exclusive launch on @YouTube in the weeks that follow! pic.twitter.com/9ssK5Sn1bn

— Disney•Pixar (@DisneyPixar) January 10, 2019

Photos from @bobbyrubio