Walt Disney Animation’s emotional short film, Versa, screened at the Animation Is Film Festival last weekend.
Images of the short film have since gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), with thousands of users sharing their thoughts on the project.
One of the images depicts a man and a woman holding hands in a rosy-pink sky with a star illuminating the woman’s pregnant belly and two additional stars glowing near their hearts.
Disney’s short film Versa was recently screened at the Animation Is Film Festival, sparking emotional reactions
Image credits: Beatriz Troncoso / Unsplash
Image credits: malconpierce / Instagram
In contrast, another image shows the same couple against a dark sky, with only two faintly shining stars near their hearts.
According to animator Malcon Pierce, who also worked on Moana, the film follows a young couple who experience a range of emotions, from grief and loss to ultimate joy, as they embark on an ethereal “cosmic dance of life.”
Animator Malcon Pierce shared that Versa follows a couple’s “cosmic dance of life”
Image credits: malconpierce / Instagram
On social media, many commenters flipped the usual script, using the film to mock or criticize homophobic individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ representation in children’s films.
“My 3-year-old granddaughter looked at me with her innocent eyes and said, ‘Grandma, is it normal for a woman to love a man?’ Disgusting…” one person wrote on social media.
“Forcing my granddaughter to see this repulsive hetero propaganda; a kid shouldn’t be forced upon these views at such a young age.”
Image credits: malconpierce / Instagram
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“Woke trash ruining everything,” typed someone else.
“I hope this is a joke right because yes it is normal for women to love men,” another user chimed in, while someone else added, “As a hetero myself I am appalled to see my beliefs forced down your throat so blatantly.”
Along the same lines, a separate user asked to “keep this disgusting heterosexual breeding propaganda away from children’s impressionable minds.”
The short film explores the themes of love and loss
Image credits: malconpierce / keelytate / Instagram
Disney has gradually begun including LGTBQ+ characters in its movies, such as Onward, Lightyear, Cruella, and Thor: Love and Thunder, though representation is still limited. These inclusions have been met with criticism from conservative groups, who labeled them as “propaganda” aimed at young children.
Versa premiered in June at the Annecy Animation Festival in France.
As explained by Pierce, the story behind Versa was inspired by the loss of his and his wife Keely’s infant son, Cooper, and their journey through love, loss, grief, and healing.
Image credits: malconpierce / keelytate / Instagram
The cosmic theme was inspired by Cooper’s baby shower, which had a star theme. Pierce’s mother-in-law gifted the couple a crystal star, which they placed on their kitchen window.
“Every morning we’d come downstairs, all these little rainbows would be spread around the house from the little star, and it became a way of remembering Cooper and keeping him close to us,” the director and Disney animator shared, as per Variety.
The short film is set to music and dance, including an ice dance, with the characters’ emotions expressed through choreography, without dialogue.
Social media users flipped typical online outrage, calling the film “heterosexual propaganda”
Image credits: malconpierce / keelytate / Instagram
Image credits: malconpierce / Instagram
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Composer Haim Mazar used a 69-piece orchestra to create a score that evolves with the characters. Pierce explained that Mazar went through three versions before finally landing on the sounds that best conveyed the characters’ emotions.
Pierce was further inspired by a book given to him by Frozen II co-director Chris Buck, titled Permission to Mourn, which explores the idea that loss can split a person open and that mourning is a necessary process to remember those we’ve lost.
Malcon Pierce previously worked on Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and Moana
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Image credits: keelytate / Instagram
“I think a lot of times when we think about characters having this devastation in their life, there’s an idea that you heal from it, and when you heal, you’re fixed,” he said.
“I feel like what I’ve learned is that grief, those steps, are a way for you to have a relationship with grief and to be able to keep those that you’ve lost much closer.”
The short film was inspired by the loss of Pierce and his wife’s infant son, Cooper
Image credits: malconpierce / Instagram
Image credits: Disney
For a long time, the animator didn’t enter Cooper’s nursery to avoid facing the painful emotions of his loss. When he did, it “split him open,” but also gave him strength and helped him reconnect with his wife.
The film incorporates the Japanese art of Kintsugi, in which cracks in pottery are filled with gold, as a symbol of healing.
Pierce described his late son as his “North Star,” both for the project and for his life.
Social media users reacted to the Disney short film
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