Presto (film)

Presto
Movie poster shows a man in a tuxedo holding a smiling rabbit in one of his hands, while the other is raised as if to present the rabbit to an audience. Text at the top of the image states "Pixar Presents A Magical Motion Picturette", followed by the film's title. Near the bottom of the image, is three circles, each containing scenes from the short film.
Directed byDoug Sweetland
Written byDoug Sweetland
Story byTed Mathot
Valerie LaPointe
Justin Wright
Produced byRichard Hollander[2]
StarringDoug Sweetland
Edited byKatherine Ringgold
Music byScot Stafford
Production
company
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[a]
Release dates
Running time
5:17
CountryUnited States

Presto is a 2008 American animated short film by Pixar, written and directed by veteran Pixar animator Doug Sweetland in his directorial debut. Its story was written by Ted Mathot, Valerie LaPointe, and Justin Wright. The short is about Presto, a magician who is trying to perform a show, but his rabbit, Alec, would not cooperate with him until he gets his carrot. It is a gag-filled homage to classic cartoons such as Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes, as well as the work of Tex Avery.

The original idea for the short was a magician who incorporated a rabbit into his act who suffered from stage fright. This was considered to be too long and complicated, and the idea was reworked. To design the theater featured in Presto, the filmmakers visited several opera houses and theaters for set design ideas. Problems arose when trying to animate the theater's audience of 2,500 patrons; this was deemed too expensive, and was solved by showing the back of the audience.

Presto premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 10, 2008, and was released in the United States on June 27, playing in theaters before WALL-E. It received positive reviews, with reviewers of WALL-E's home media release considering the short to be an enjoyable special feature (though it was not included with the subsequent Criterion 4K Blu-ray in 2022). The short film was nominated for an Annie Award and Academy Award. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2008.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AWN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ S. Cohen, David (September 19, 2008). "Drawn together at Pixar". Variety. Retrieved April 21, 2012.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).