Bao (2018) Online

Domee Shi, Pixar's first short film director ever, wanted to share this film as a strong message of all mothers and parents who spends time with their kids as they grow up to live in a better world out there. This short gave me tearful touch since I'm now in college and I understand how parents feel when their own children gone off to college or somewhere else for future career. Also, the passion of making dumplings was a remarkable example of how we see in our childhood with families being together.

I would give this short an A+

It's a metaphor. The woman (it's a WOMAN, smh) had a dream. Or maybe a hallucination, but they show her waking up, so I attributed it to a dream. I, too, gasped aloud when she ate the bao to keep him with her, but overall, I thought it was a clever and entertaining story, told entirely without words.

This short almost had me in tears, which RARELY happens. Every thing about it pulled on my emotions in just the right way. The music was incredibly conducive to the message. Here I was, waiting for a fun day of Incredibles, and then this short caught me off guard and had me rethinking my whole relationship with my mother. This short will make you cry, and make you think. A beautiful ending was the icing on the cake.

I would HIGHLY recommend taking just a few minutes out of your day to watch this short, you will not regret it.

This was a Pixar short shown before the studio's feature of Incredibles 2 in theatres. It seems to involve a Chinese adult dealing with "empty nest" syndrome as she makes a dumpling that resembles her offspring who grew apart from her as it grew up. Directed by Domee Shi, this was quite amusing and touching. So that's a recommendation of Bao.

Pixar and Disney really ought to merge with Kleenex ... they just know how to get you right in the feels! Being Asian and the mom of two boys this got me ... a very well done short showing what it's like when your child grows up and how hard it is to let go.

This is a proud moment for Asians. Bao is directed by Domee Shi, the first woman to direct a Pixar short centred around a Chinese Mom & son! This is a heartwarming story that sweetly reflects both hilarious and fundamental traditions ingrained in every Chinese person near and far.

On the surface it's a tear jerking prodigal son story which beautifully uses the beloved Chinese dumpling as a plot twisting metaphor. However, it also goes deeper into the problems immigrant families face when children grow up in North America and become westernized, they no longer share the same beliefs or value the traditions of their parents causing family clashes, and the son to run away.

Who is wrong and who is right? Are such clashes inevitible? That's why this little short is so brilliant, because in a few minutes The audience gets to gain pretty deep insights into Chinese food, habits, beliefs, dilemmas, and strict traditions dating back thousands of years such as filial piety. In a Bao skin, I'd say this is a fantastic short film that will make you fall in love with Chinese dumplings whether you've had them before or not. And Chinese moms.

Kudos to going with the Chinese name, Bao.

This is not only for kids and I see Domee Shi's heart. Parents see their kids as dumplings. You will need to explain it to your kids to make them understand the feeling behind our being parents. I loved it, I call my girl my little meatball, (polpetta) in italian. We see our kids as ours and forget that they need to be themselves to be happy, we would protect them for ever. It is wonderful to see this feeling expressed without words and in a way that speaks directly to the soul. We need to remember that our kids are a big part of our life and that it becomes vital to keep them in our lives regardless of our ideas that do not match with our love for them.

First, thank you Domee, for continuing the long tradition of breathtaking Pixar shorts. I cried. The last time I remember crying because of a movie was during Up

If you didn't grow up in an Asian/maybe immigrant environment, this will be hard to get, at least the way it's portrayed, but for those of us who grew up with this, it hits very deeply.

10/10. If you don't understand this, watch this with an Asian American friend of yours. There's also plenty of articles floating around on the internet as well explaining it.

"Bao" is a thoroughly strange short film....and describing its plot isn't exactly easy. It also is very touching and has a strong symbolic aspect to it...one that adults would probably appreciate much more than the kids who see it.

The story is set in Canada with Chinese-Canadians. The housewife is making yet another batch of pork buns when suddenly one of them comes to life!! It's like a tiny boy and she loves it and showers affection on the boy...and ultimately you learn that it's all a metaphor for change, acceptance and love.

The animation, not surprisingly, is top-notch. It's from Pixar...and we've come to expect this sort of excellence from the company. The story is strong and characters wonderful and unique. Well worth seeing....and available as an extra on the DVD for "Incredibles 2"...the film with which it was shown in theaters.

'BAO': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Another Pixar computer-animated short film, which plays before 'INCREDIBLES 2' in theaters. This one tells the story of a lonely Chinese mother, who suffers from 'empty nest syndrome', and then finds a homemade dumpling, that she made, which comes to life and gives her another chance to be a mother. Of course what's fun at first also grows older, and grows away once again (just like a child). The short is a modern reimagining of the classic folktale 'The Gingerbread Man'. It's about 8-minutes long, and it was directed by Domee Shi (the first woman to direct a Pixar short). I found it to be charming and refreshingly odd. It's also (of course) beautifully animated, and the music (by Toby Chu) is equally beautiful as well. I didn't feel the emotion of it quite as much as a lot of other Pixar shorts though (or as much as it seemed like the filmmakers wanted me to). It is an enjoyable and well made little short film still though.

Pixar movies night has been our family tradition for many years. With our kids growing up, my wife once joked that she wants to "eat" our kids, so they will never leave us . "Bao" caught our hearts so deep and brought out many happy time with our kids live!

I commend this Pixar short that came before Incredibles 2 for being different and more ambitious than previous shorts. However, it never quite gelled with me.

Bao does have the most heartfelt ending of all Pixar shorts and some distinctive character designs, I'll give it that. But, the overall gimmick was too weird for me. (I don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen this yet. This is is one of those situations where less info. is definitely more.) It doesn't help that the ending takes a moment to figure out. And that's for adults. Children will probably be confused. There is one moment that I found disturbing and may frighten some kids. Although a lot of people in the theater laughed at that, so it probably depends on who's watching.

Wow. Just wow. When I went to watch Incredibles 2 at the theater with my cousin and other relatives, my cousin made a comment at the beginning of the short. What happens is that there is an overhead view of the woman making dumplings and there is flour everywhere. He commented that the woman, when she does that, looks EXACTLY like our grandmother when she cooks. And then, the waterworks began. I tried my best to hide it, but I just cried more and more especially after the dumpling wanted to gain independence. I probably wouldn't have cried as much if my grandmother wasn't suffering from multiple health problems, but still. It was a great short and I'd love to watch it again.

Bao is a very cute short animation. I honestly didn't realize the protagonist was a woman until I looked at a discussion on Reddit but that shouldn't stop your attachment to the characters of the story. It was a nice opener for Incredibles 2 and the ending was surprising. Definitely worth a few minutes of your time and it will pull on your heartstrings. Yes you may cry and laugh and Domee Shi did a great job making a fun short.

Very confusing and a bit disturbing showing this preceding a movie for (young) children. I mean; at the end she eats her own 'son'... ? Guess who's not having dumplings for a while...

And why is dad absent for the most part? Mom's losing it and he shows no support at all?

1. When she bit the dumpling and it started to cry.... I just lost my appetite to eating dumplings ever again. 2. How "he" treats his mom. It's just plain disrespectful, without any explanation why he acts in that manner. 3. When she ate her "son", to stop him leaving her. Just ew. And way to parent *smh*

At the last minute, we finally got to understand what was actually happening with her and her actual son. So it doesn't make any sense to me, why they had to tell the story with a dumpling.

I was seriously offended by this racist film, and being an asian does not grant you any immunity for being a racist. I truly wish that the artist, Shi, considered how general public from asian region would have felt watching it. I am so much disappointed at pixar's judgement... we just went to see a good old family movie and had to put up with this thing for 8 min

SPOILER: I've read many comments that claim your opinion of this short depends on one's cultural background (if you aren't Asian, they say, you won't get it). Well, I got it. So did my wife and 15-yr old daughter. It was SUPPOSED to be a "touching" tale of how hard it is when our children grow up and move on without us. What is ACTUALLY was is a horrifying display of near-cannibalism and child murder. My wife and I literally said "WTF" to each other at the pivotal moment; my daughter cried out "OMG, I can't believe that just happened," and, I kid you not, two different children started to cry (and why wouldn't they? It was horrific.)

People were already getting anxious and frustrated by its slow pacing, zero dialog and uncomfortable tone. But once that event happened, the whole audience was gasping and muttering (and not in a good way, if there is such a thing). It was so disturbing that I couldn't even really enjoy the first 20 minutes of the movie I paid to see, and it is the only thing I have heard anyone talking about in reference to The Incredibles 2 (other than how awesome Jack-Jack is).

Perhaps it is simply a cultural misunderstanding. But if so, the gap is wide, and this should only be shown before the movie is Asian markets.

The above really is all you need to know, but I'm having a slow night, so what the hell. The theme's aren't terribly complex, it's empty nest syndrome and a strained mother/son relationship. In that sense it's actually pretty basic, and you know they're going for cheap tugs at impressionable heart strings. They do seem to be forgetting that this short is leading into a kid's movie, and the metaphor of eating her own food son to stop him from leaving her will no doubt be going over the heads of any child in attendance. It's not that it's a terribly deep metaphor, just a clumsy one.

I think a considerable fumble actually occurs in the fact that the short has an unhealthy message about relationships. I'm certain that any first generation Asian person can tell you some horror stories about their own over-protective or even abusive tiger mom. So, the idea that it's on these kids to apologize for not being a willing recipient of this unhealthy treatment seems unintentional, but it's still the core message of the story. (Again, not terribly deep, but clumsy")

Also, it irks me that the short is preceded by the cast of the Incredibles apologizing for the sequel taking so long to come out. Samuel L. Jackson ends that video with a "without further adieu..." and then they give us further adieu.

I guess the animation was nice. Not quite in the uncanny valley, but just on the left side of it. All in all, I would say, just use the start of the short as your last chance to get snacks or use the bathroom before the movie starts.

Eating her own son? I know what the director wants to tell but not by this. What a disgusting metaphor. Remember, this film is supposed to be seen by young audience who wants to watch Incredible 2 and imagine the shock kids had to take. As an adult, my first impression at the scene was a pure disgust.

Very odd. Food turns into a person and then is eaten by the Mom character. Made my 8 year old daughter cry and confused my 4 year old son. Too long as well. Disney needs to rethink these shorts and the reasoning behind showing these to a theater full of families with young children. Kids have already sat through 10-15 minutes of previews and before we get to a two hour movie, a 7+ minute short is added at the beginning of the movie when everyone is ready for the movie to start. Makes it almost impossible to actually sit through a movie with kids.

Complete garbage. How in the name of Zeus's B-Hole can anyone give this any positive reviews. You could FEEL the discomfort of every single person in theater cringing simultaneously. I was praying for the Theater Idiot to fire up their cell phone and START a loud phone call next to me, just so I didn't have to watch this nonsense. No entertaining value what-so-ever. Pixar should be ashamed of themselves.

Great animated short, this is Pixar at its best. I really enjoyed it, and so will you.

I'm a bit befuddled at the praise Bao has received. I guess I'm in the minority in thinking that Pixar's blatant emotional manipulation has gotten a bit old. I don't think Bao will resonate with the average movie goer or children, in fact after the infamous dumpling eating scene many children in the theatre seemed frightened and adults could be heard laughing at the shocking decision. Bao is sweet in theory and the animation is top notch, but as is it's one of the weakest of the Pixar shorts, and didn't match the light and fun tone of Incredibles 2.

This was one of my least favorite short films ever! In this a dumping is alive and grows up and then is eaten by his mother because he was leaving. It was extremely messed up. But in the end it turns out the dumpling represents her son and the make up. Really weird.