Fresh off the release of its latest feature film Soul, Pixar will be delivering another series of shorts to Disney+. Pixar Popcorn was first announced during Disney Investor Day 2020 back in December, but will officially premiere on the streaming service this month.
Pixar Popcorn is a "collection of mini shorts starring some of your favorite Pixar characters in all-new, bit size stories." So far, eight shorts have been announced, and the titles seem to heavily imply the Pixar film they're associated with. Two of them are related to Toy Story while another two are related to The Incredibles. There are also shorts related to Cars, Coco, Finding Dory, and the newly released Soul
- To Fitness and Beyond (Toy Story)
- Chores Day the Incredibles Way (The Incredibles)
- Dancing with the Cars (Cars)
- A Day of the Life of the Dead (Coco)
- Cookie Num Num (The Incredibles)
- Dory Finding (Finding Dory)
- Fluffy Stuff with Ducky and Bunny (Toy Story)
- Soul of the City (Soul)
Pixar Popcorn is set to premiere exclusively on Disney+ on January 22, 2021. It's unclear if Disney will release one episode per week or if all eight will drop at once.
Pixar Popcorn isn't the only series of shorts from the studio available on Disney+. SparkShorts, a series that consists of shorts created by Pixar's employees, can also be found on the streaming service. Unlike Pixar Popcorn, which is a series of shorts based on existing Pixar IP, SparkShorts originated as a program designed to encourage original storytelling and to "discover that creative spark" in the employees at Pixar.
SparkShorts seems to embrace new storytelling techniques while experimenting with new workflows and discovering new storytellers within the studio. While I'm sure Pixar Popcorn as some of that, it feels like much more of a straightforward production of shorts.