‘Bao’: first look at new Disney-Pixar short film

With the pending release of Incredibles 2, Disney-Pixar (via EW) have given us a look at their new short film about a sentient dumpling. Yes, you read that right. Like many of their short films that have come before, it already looks like it will be an adorable heartbreak.

BAO, according to the source, “a Chinese-Canadian woman suffering from the depression of an empty nest, who gets a second shot at motherhood when one of her handmade dumplings comes alive.”

Staggeringly, given the 19 short films since 1984, BAO represents the first time that a woman has directed one of the Pixar gems. The daughter of a Chinese immigrant, Domee Shi commented on how personal the story was for her:

“Often times it felt like my mom would treat me like a precious little dumpling, wanting to make sure I was safe, that I didn’t go out late, all that stuff. I just wanted to create this magical, modern-day fairy tale, kind of like a Chinese Gingerbread Man story. The word ‘bao’ actually means two things in Chinese: Said one way, it means steamed bun. Said another, it means something precious. A treasure.”