Parents' Guide to

Short Circuit

By Ashley Moulton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Delightful animated shorts from emerging Disney talent.

Short Circuit Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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These shorts have superb storytelling with characters that pull at your heartstrings, and gorgeous animation and scoring to match. The full title of this show is Short Circuit: Experimental Films, but these animated shorts are less experimental and more like many of Disney/Pixar's other shorts. These films will appeal to kids and adults alike. Several of them are similar to Up in which grown-up themes might fly right over kids' heads, but the grown-ups will end up sobbing. Animation nerds will appreciate the design and animation techniques (which are somewhat experimental in some shorts), and kids will like the engaging characters and stories.

A bonus element is that before each animation plays, there's a mini-documentary that features the creator of the film and behind-the-scenes footage. It's inspiring to see people in animation careers and to learn more about the creative process. The footage shows a relative lack of gender and racial diversity in Disney Animation Studios' employees, which is the only bummer about this otherwise excellent series.

TV Details

  • Premiere date: January 24, 2020
  • Network: Disney+
  • Genre: Kids' Animation
  • TV rating: TV-PG
  • Last updated: February 27, 2022

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