If you want adventure, excitement, whimsy, and magic, you’ve come to the right place. Fetch is a fun and imaginative short from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Short Circuit program, which gives artists at the studio the opportunity to create and direct their first animated short. This one comes from the imagination of Mitch Counsell, a Technical Director who has worked on Zootopia, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Frozen 2.
A young girl is looking for her pet in a primordial forest, holding a throwing stick. As she moves deeper through the misty trees, we see that something large and menacing is following her. Is the beast friend or foe? You’ll have to see the short on Disney+ on January 24th to find out.
The Director was inspired by how fearless kids can sometimes be and the creature looks unlike anything you’ve seen on film before. Parents of younger viewers shouldn’t worry too much, there are brief moments where the short feels like it could get scary, but things quickly turn around.
The forest was inspired by the one in Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke, where trees feel giant and ancient, and roots are covered with moss. The setting makes you feel like anything could happen and magic is possible. It’s so beautiful that you’ll wish the short was longer.
Pet owners in particular will love Fetch, a story about the bond between a child and an animal of tremendous size and intimidation. It will make you long for the days where your childlike sense of wonder was uninhibited by the cynicism and practicality of adulthood.
I give Fetch 5 out of 5 lost helmets.