Director(s): John Lasseter
Date Released: 1987
Theatrically Released Alongside: Nothing
Well, that was sad.
Impressive for its time? Yes, but plot wise Red’s Dream would’ve been better off with a much less depressing tone. The short’s protagonist Red is the only unicycle at a bike shop, located all alone in the clearance corner (from the looks of it, Red’s been there a while). At night Red dreams of being in the circus, performing alongside an uncanny looking clown. Yet Red’s bliss turns to sadness as it awakes to reality; dejected, Red rolls back to the corner with its head hung low…and that’s it! The end, hope you feel miserable now.
The story is sad enough, but what tops it is the dark, gloomy and unsettling animation. The opening feels similar to a film noir with its rainy night and melancholy saxophone music (all that’s missing is Red talking about some dame it’ll never see again). The short gains more colorful objects during the dream sequence, but it’s hard to appreciate with the scene’s unsettling pitch-black background. The clown, as mentioned, is a creepy looking fellow whose head is far too big for those beady little eyes. Pixar’s acknowledged having great difficulty animating humans during their early stages, and Red’s Dream is a prime example to such admission (though the most notorious example would come in Pixar’s next short, Tin Toy)—turning a supposed happy dream sequence into a disturbing fever dream. There’s a reason Red’s Dream never appeared alongside a Pixar theatrical release, as it would likely ruin the viewer’s mood for the upcoming feature.