Pixar's Dumpling Short Film Bao Is Online, Sorry You'll Be Crying 8 Minutes From Now

Jan. 22 update: Bao was nominated Tuesday morning for an Oscar in the Best Animated Short Film category. The predictions tracker GoldDerby has Bao as an 82/25 favorite to take home the Academy Award.

Sadly, YouTube has taken down the free version of the video, but you can still purchase the short film for $1.99.


Original Dec. 21 post: In March, we heard Pixar would be coming out with a short film called Bao, about an elderly Chinese woman with empty nest syndrome who gets one last chance at motherhood with a giggly dumpling boy. And immediately, your very Chinese Takeout editor began sobbing incessantly, because leave it to Pixar [sniff] to know how to make this grown-ass man [sniff] experience this unfamiliar feeling [sniff] called empathy.

I never saw the short film (it was shown in theaters before The Incredibles 2), but this week, Disney-Pixar uploaded Bao onto YouTube, and I watched it for the first time.

Oh Jesus [sniff]. Talk amongst yourself.

I can't. I just can't.

The char siu bao snack. The tai chi with CN Tower in the distance (I grew up in Toronto). The old Chinese lady wearing the visor. The recalcitrance of Chinese teenagers struggling to fit in a Western culture. The hurt of the parents. Bringing the white girlfriend back to meet his parents. The family bonding via making dumplings.

It's too much.

Recommended