Feast
Summary: This Disney Animation short has a clever dual plot woven together. At the forefront is a terrier puppy who is won over by a man through the judicious application of yummy french fries. This puppy grows up with this bachelor absolutely spoiled with a seemingly endless supply of junk food. There is pizza, spaghetti, burgers, and so much more. Then this happy pup is confronted by an absolutely horrific, unheard of situation - healthy food! Instead of people food, he is given dog food. He is dismayed and disgusted by this change in his life.
Meanwhile, we see glimpses of the dog’s owner. It’s just snippets and often blurred in the background with hints that leave the viewer to fill in the blanks as to what’s happening. The dog’s owner meets a lady and the food is a reflection of their relationship. Once she is in the picture, the man (and dog) become healthier, and once she’s gone… well, the junk food returns. The pup is then confronted with a true dilemma - wallow in the bliss of the junk food, or perhaps try to help his person.
Warnings: Nothing. Well, except the dog’s owner is shown wearing boxers at one point, but it’s meant to be more like pajamas and not done is a ‘weird’ way.
Opinion: This is incredibly cute and sweet (and short at about 6 minutes long). Children will really focus in on the dog’s situation, possibly to the point of missing out on what’s actually happening to the dog’s owner and why there is a change in food. The climax is clear enough that children will understand that the dog sacrificed his love of food for the love of his owner, which is the whole point of the story, so the fact that they may not make the connection between about the woman and the food is fine.
The visuals are lovely, and the dog so expressive and adorable. There’s no talking (at least not with understandable words), but the music and sound effects are great too.
My kids loved this short and asked for it repeatedly. Although not technically one of the Pixar shorts, it is similar and the one my children liked the most. Adults would enjoy it too, so I highly recommend this one.
Sequels/Remakes: None
Educational Value: 1 out of 3 stars. Nothing educational, just fun and great storytelling.
Cultural value: 1 out of 5 stars. Although we all loved this short, and it won an Academy Award, it is not impactful in a cultural sense. It is not well known and had no influence on other culturally important works.
Age rating: This is perfect for the youngest viewers. I placed this in my Age 4 category, as I don’t have anything lower than that, but it could easily be watched by younger audiences. At only 6 minutes (with credits), even the shortest attention span can sit through it.