Domee Shi speaks to the media about how a casual side project propelled her into stardom and helped pave the way for women in the animation scene
There are some films that leave a special, enduring effect on viewers thanks to how well they were produced and made. One such show that many of us may recall is a particularly charming Pixar film that was released a couple of years back.
Bao told the story of a Chinese Canadian mother suffering from empty nest syndrome who makes a bao (steamed bun) that comes to life. The mother almost gets a second chance at motherhood before going on to eat the bao in a horrifyingly dark but deep ending.
Spotlighting the relationship between Asian parents and their children, the short would go on to be the catalyst that propelled director Domee Shi into stardom. Bao would also end up being the project that would give rise to the 2022 coming-of-age Pixar feature film Turning Red.
“I was still a storyboard artist when the idea for Bao came about. I came up with the story in my spare time and initially, I just wanted to make it a short film just for myself with my own tools,” Shi said at a roundtable interview in Singapore. The director was here for the Singapore Film Society’s Animation Nation festival and was conducting interviews and talks during her time here.
“I had all my drawings and stories and everything but at one point, I hit a creative wall and I decided to ask a few of my coworkers to get their feedback and help on Bao. One of the people I showed it to was Pete Doctor who is the chief creative officer of Pixar,” she continued. “The moment I showed it to him, he was so excited about it. He especially loved the ending where the mum eats the dumpling because he said he had never seen something like that and it was just so weird that it was good.”
With renewed confidence, Shi continued working on Bao. However, she emphasised it was still a side project. “At one point, Pixar did this internal open call for pitches for their next theatrical short film. So if you were an employee, you could sign up and pitch three ideas to a panel of executives, directors and producers,” Shi explained.
“I decided to sign up and I worked super hard and got a lot of feedback. But I think closer to the pitch date, someone suggested that the ending was too weird and dark and I got psyched out. So I decided to change the ending and I pitched that.”