This is how you represent Autistic people in movies. In this story we can see how it can be difficult for a neurotypical person to interact with a non-verbal autistic girl. But as the short plays Marcus doesn't treat her as less instead he tries to communicate with her in means that make her comfortable. She's not infantilized she's not shown as a burden to people, she's not bullied. And best of all she's voiced by a non-verbal autistic woman with proper accommodations by the studio. I LOVE IT! Thank you Pixar for representing autism the right way.
16 Reviews
Good Message!
Dog-River25 April 2021
The visuals are flawless and the message is great. I think inclusivity is very important, but personally I think the way the boy was just thrown into that situation could have really went badly, I mean for her safety. Having known people with autism, there should've been someone with experience that accompanied them, at least the first time.
Love the details!
nadijaherdwina6 September 2020
Fantastically Heartwarming Short from Pixar
curbicon9 February 2020
I absolutely love the simplicity of it all. An autistic girl named Renee and a boy named Marcus, finding a way to understand one another. And all in all, it's a tale of patience and understanding. Not to mention how beautifully executed the whole thing was. One thing I would prefer happening is more insight on Renee's character as a whole. Overall this was a great short!
Very Interesting
adlaws-6694713 September 2021
It seems as though Disney is really showing us new ideas every year. I don't really have too many interactions with people with autism, but from what I can see from other reviews, it is depicted perfectly-especially with those who are non-verbal. I love the idea of inclusiveness and showing challenges that people with disabilities face. I hope that more people see this and at least have an understanding that no matter the difference, everyone can be involved.
Thank you Pixar
dankopperud19 February 2020
This is an absolutely amazing short.
My daughter is non-verbal autistic and shares most of the same traits as Renee, the autistic girl in Loop. The film-makers captured the challenges of having non-verbal autism nearly perfect. Brings tears to my eyes every time.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you Pixar. This will mean a lot to her when she's older.
Great to see inclusivity
DaphK1026 June 2021
Thank you Pixar for always doing so amazing things. Please bring more characters onwards and make them more relatable to different groups of people. I would like to see a movie focused on people with learning disabilities.
"Loop" is a Skillfully Illustrated Narrative about Building Bridges
tanyamanningyarde22 February 2020
"Loop" is a skillfully illustrated narrative about building bridges. Marcus and Renee, two teen campers at an urban canoe camp, are unexpectedly paired together. Together, they must figure out how to navigate a lake. That becomes a challenge when Renee, who is Autistic and non-verbal, and Marcus, who is neurotypical, need first to find common language and ground. Therein lies the daunting, tumultuous yet epiphanic journey that we as viewers are privy to share with them, as these two characters experiment with how to convey their thoughts, feelings, and needs in pursuit of developing a friendship, and later, facing an unforeseen crisis. "Loop" is a pioneering animated short film that takes a calculated and successful risk in exploring humanity and empathy through the lens of neurodiversity. It explores the connection evolving between two teens at different ends of social, neurological and cognitive spectrums, who learn how, beam by beam, to reach out and into another's world, and in so doing, build a bridge of friendship to cross again and again between their two worlds. Allegorically, "Loop" is a sentimental invitation to discover ways we too can assemble bridges between one another's words, regardless of predispositions, and explore new intersections together.
What is the loop?
MK_Movie_Reviews23 August 2021
A Beautiful Reminder to Connect to Different People
elicopperman20 May 2020
When it comes to films or shorts that tackle serious topics like autism, they'll usually treat the subject with not only the necessary care and attention needed for a subject matter like that, but they'll also go in a more positive direction to benefit those who either don't understand it or those who relate to it. In the case of the Pixar Spark Short Loop, it focuses on a chattery boy and a non-verbal girl on the spectrum who must learn to understand each other on their camp canoeing trip. Of all the shorts related to contrasting personalities that I have seen, none have hit quite as hard to me as this one.
The first key note of praise must be given to the autistic girl Renee, who is not only shown to communicate less through speech than gestures and vocal moans, but her iPhone also displays a nose feature that she uses to get around in the world. It's also great to note that her voice was a real girl on the spectrum, showing just how much detail the creators put into fleshing out Renee's persona. In contrast, Marcus is more of a casual chatterbox who is clearly unfamiliar with how people on the spectrum function, which makes his interactions with Renee conflicting yet fascinating. Even if the idea of putting a presumably "brighter" person in a situation with another one who acts differently has been done before, the ways Marcus and Renee have to communicate on their canoe help them grow as peers more so than just general tropes. We learn so much about what Renee likes and dislikes throughout the experience and even beyond her musical ringtone, whether it'd be the great outdoors, eye contact or especially loud jarring noises, much to the bewilderment of Marcus, let alone the viewers.
Director Erica Milsom stated that one of the reasons the short was animated as opposed to live-action was to present the theme of developmental disability through viewer persuasion. Animation has the power to explore unique possibilities that live-action can't even try to get to, and through this short, the filmmakers cleverly sprinkled notable details to prove said point. From the subtle lighting changes depending on the emotional changes Renee goes through, to the highly specific facial expressions, to even Renee's point of view looking more blurry and disoriented to indicate how she views the world differently from Marcus. Even the music does a good job in setting the mood of a scene without coming off as distracting, almost as if it writes the moment itself rather than coming off as some sort of after thought. If I do have to give any sort of criticism, it would have to be that the camp counselor could have been a little more explicit in his role. It's indicated that he understands Renee more than Marcus, so maybe one more scene with him might have given a bit more substance to Renee's arch.
One last thing to mention is that Milsom described Renee's voice actor Madison Bandy as being hard to understand if you were to first hear her speak, but that in turn was the film's main point. Even if you don't understand a person by their behavior or actions, it's best to at least start being friendly to them so you can benefit both them and yourself for a better tomorrow. As a healthy reminder to the world about getting along in spite of our differences, Loop just might stand the test of time for years to come in enlightening the world about how vital it is to treat every type of human being with respect and care, no matter how different they are.
The first key note of praise must be given to the autistic girl Renee, who is not only shown to communicate less through speech than gestures and vocal moans, but her iPhone also displays a nose feature that she uses to get around in the world. It's also great to note that her voice was a real girl on the spectrum, showing just how much detail the creators put into fleshing out Renee's persona. In contrast, Marcus is more of a casual chatterbox who is clearly unfamiliar with how people on the spectrum function, which makes his interactions with Renee conflicting yet fascinating. Even if the idea of putting a presumably "brighter" person in a situation with another one who acts differently has been done before, the ways Marcus and Renee have to communicate on their canoe help them grow as peers more so than just general tropes. We learn so much about what Renee likes and dislikes throughout the experience and even beyond her musical ringtone, whether it'd be the great outdoors, eye contact or especially loud jarring noises, much to the bewilderment of Marcus, let alone the viewers.
Director Erica Milsom stated that one of the reasons the short was animated as opposed to live-action was to present the theme of developmental disability through viewer persuasion. Animation has the power to explore unique possibilities that live-action can't even try to get to, and through this short, the filmmakers cleverly sprinkled notable details to prove said point. From the subtle lighting changes depending on the emotional changes Renee goes through, to the highly specific facial expressions, to even Renee's point of view looking more blurry and disoriented to indicate how she views the world differently from Marcus. Even the music does a good job in setting the mood of a scene without coming off as distracting, almost as if it writes the moment itself rather than coming off as some sort of after thought. If I do have to give any sort of criticism, it would have to be that the camp counselor could have been a little more explicit in his role. It's indicated that he understands Renee more than Marcus, so maybe one more scene with him might have given a bit more substance to Renee's arch.
One last thing to mention is that Milsom described Renee's voice actor Madison Bandy as being hard to understand if you were to first hear her speak, but that in turn was the film's main point. Even if you don't understand a person by their behavior or actions, it's best to at least start being friendly to them so you can benefit both them and yourself for a better tomorrow. As a healthy reminder to the world about getting along in spite of our differences, Loop just might stand the test of time for years to come in enlightening the world about how vital it is to treat every type of human being with respect and care, no matter how different they are.
Wonderfully made!
amahughes8 July 2020
Cute
chloebetts3 August 2021
Looking through your eyes
TheLittleSongbird18 February 2022
Absolutely love many of Pixar's short films, with the quality being remarkably consistent (might argue that the quality of their short films are more consistent than their feature ones). Pixar's work has always had a lot of depth and handled their fair share of mature subjects handled accessibly and intelligently, but their output has in general been deeper and more mature in recent years in a good way. Their short films in the past couple of years have certainly been true of this.
'Loop' to me deserves to be seen a lot more and deserves a much better rating here, it is an absolutely fantastic short film and one of their best in the past few years (2018-2020). It has a very brave subject matter and is one of the most relatable recent Pixar short films thematically in my view, being autistic myself with communication barriers. As one can guess, 'Loop' resonated with me emotionally which plays a very large part in its appeal.
The animation, as always for Pixar, is wonderful. The very rich colours are enough to make the eyes pop, the backgrounds are gorgeously detailed and far from simplistic and the characters are expressive and nuanced in face and movement. The music is never over-bearing or too low key, with the ability to uplift and move. "Renee's Place" and "Processing Time" are especially true to this.
What also struck me greatly about 'Loop' was the sincere way it was written and how it handled a relevant and not easy topic so tactfully and honestly, as well as with complexity. As well as the deeply touching story that was so easy to relate to and enough to make one feel empathy at a time where controversy and prejudicial judgement is high. As an autistic person, this connected with me so much emotionally.
Renee is a fantastic role model, a positive one and Pixar definitely did their homework on making her as authentic as possible. Am very big on relatability, which can be very important to me and Renee, Marcus (especially Renee, whose point of view 'Loop' is told from) and their complex bond definitely apply here. 'Loop' may seem simple but when thinking about it the content is quite complex for an animated short film.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10.
'Loop' to me deserves to be seen a lot more and deserves a much better rating here, it is an absolutely fantastic short film and one of their best in the past few years (2018-2020). It has a very brave subject matter and is one of the most relatable recent Pixar short films thematically in my view, being autistic myself with communication barriers. As one can guess, 'Loop' resonated with me emotionally which plays a very large part in its appeal.
The animation, as always for Pixar, is wonderful. The very rich colours are enough to make the eyes pop, the backgrounds are gorgeously detailed and far from simplistic and the characters are expressive and nuanced in face and movement. The music is never over-bearing or too low key, with the ability to uplift and move. "Renee's Place" and "Processing Time" are especially true to this.
What also struck me greatly about 'Loop' was the sincere way it was written and how it handled a relevant and not easy topic so tactfully and honestly, as well as with complexity. As well as the deeply touching story that was so easy to relate to and enough to make one feel empathy at a time where controversy and prejudicial judgement is high. As an autistic person, this connected with me so much emotionally.
Renee is a fantastic role model, a positive one and Pixar definitely did their homework on making her as authentic as possible. Am very big on relatability, which can be very important to me and Renee, Marcus (especially Renee, whose point of view 'Loop' is told from) and their complex bond definitely apply here. 'Loop' may seem simple but when thinking about it the content is quite complex for an animated short film.
Overall, brilliant. 10/10.
Wonderful!
danbaig8 June 2021
Beautiful Short
HabibieHakim12310 September 2020
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