The animated short “Blush” premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Blush is the first animated short film by SkyDance Animation Studios and Apple TV+, which have recently signed a multi-year partnership to deliver animated features and TV series. Apple TV+ is an online streaming service for original content by Apple. Apple TV+ has already reached over 100 countries and has won several awards for its outstanding content. “Blush” will be released on Apple TV+ but no release date has been announced yet.
SkyDance Animation is run by John Lasseter as Head of Animation and Holly Edwards as President. The animation studio is a division of David Ellison’s SkyDance Media. As the former chief creative officer of the two of the largest and most successful animation studios in the world, Disney and Pixar, Lasseter has delivered several blockbuster hits including “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “A Bug’s Life,” the “Toy Story” series, the “Cars” series, and more.
“Blush” follows the journey of an astronaut that crashes on a desolate planet after his spaceship gets knocked off course by an asteroid. The astronaut is also a horticulturist and tries to produce oxygen on the planet by harvesting a plant, but that doesn’t last long. As the oxygen runs out, the astronaut becomes desperate to find a way to survive the planet. In a lucky coincidence, the astronaut is soon joined by a female alien who also crash-lands on the planet. The two can help each other survive the planet even though they are not able to verbally communicate with each other. The astronaut and alien use their body language to communicate with each other. The short film is about hope, love, and the joy of building a new life.
The total duration of “Blush” is only 11 minutes. There is no dialogue in the movie, which explains why there is no cast for “Blush.” The short film is directed by Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Joe Mateo and is produced by Health Schmidt and executive produced by John Lasseter. “Blush” is inspired by the life of Mary Ann, wife of Joe Mateo. Mary Ann passed away in 2017 after a long battle with cancer. Mateo has been part of the animation industry for over three decades.
The partnership of Apple and SkyDance has a series of upcoming animated features and TV series including “Spellbound,” “Luck,” and “The Search for WondLa.” Several other projects by the Apple-SkyDance partnership are expected to be announced in the near future.
About John Lasseter
John Lasseter is one of the most influential and powerful figures in the contemporary animation industry. He is best known for his creative leadership in the success of Pixar and Disney. He is also a two-time Oscar winner for “Toy Story” and “Tin Toy.” Lasseter is widely recognized as the first animator to use computer graphics in animated features films. It was Lasseter’s unwavering persistence and vision that brought computer graphics to the animation industry. “Toy Story” was the first fully computer graphics animated feature film in history.
Lasseter currently works as the Creative Head of SkyDance Animation Studios. He joined SkyDance Studios in 2017. He is responsible for the creative direction and overall strategy for the company. Lasseter’s extensive experience in the animation industry is an invaluable asset for SkyDance Animation Studios, which is looking to develop and deliver several animated features and TV shows.