Digesting All the Issues in Pixar’s Animated Short, Bao

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

Like probably many parents, I took my kids – son #1 and babygirl – to see the Incredibles 2 last week. FYI, babygirl thought the movie was scary, but son #1 and I loved it. But that’s not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about the short film Bao, that was shown before The Incredibles 2. It totally blew my mind and left both my kids weeping in their popcorn.

On the surface, Bao is a film about an older Chinese woman who becomes the mother of a dumpling who magically springs to life. The dumpling begins as a newborn baby and through the course of the film, we see him growing up and the woman taking care of him as if he were a real boy. SPOILER ALERT. I’M GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS IN THE REST OF THE FILM SO LOOK AWAY IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW.

The Breakdown of Bao

About three-quarters of the way into the film, as the dumpling boy becomes a teenager, we see his relationship with his doting mother begin to change. He’s pulling away and rejecting her, she tries to keep him close by cooking his favorite foods (FYI, you’ll definitely want to eat Chinese food after watching this movie.), but to no avail. He continues to assert his independence, eventually committing the worst sin of all, bringing a white woman home with intentions to leave his family and marry her! But before he can actually walk away, him mother…wait for it…EATS HIM! Remember, he is in fact, a dumpling. Mom was so mad she was like, “I’d rather eat you than have you walk out that door with that woman.” (Note, there is actually no dialogue in this whole film. I’m just filling in for what I think she was trying to say.) It was deep, dear readers, deep, painful and sad.

Turns out, the whole thing was only a dream and when the mother wakes up, we realize that “dumpling boy” was merely a stand-in for her real son, who had in fact, married a white woman and was presumably making a life for himself away from his parents. In the final scene, we see mom, son, dad and the white wife making dumplings together, laughing and getting along. And in a nod to ‘not judging a book by its cover,’ the son can’t quite make his dumplings look right, but his wife’s are perfect!

Let’s just pause for a minute and take all that in. Try to digest it all. Basically, in the eight short minutes of the movie Bao, we reckon with issues of Asian parenting styles, empty nest syndrome, negative feelings around interracial relationships, and the guilt a child feels for having the audacity to seek an independent life. It’s a lot to absorb and I’m still trying process it all. And I’m also wondering what made Pixar decide that this movie should be the opening number for The Incredibles 2.

Diversity on the Sly

On the one hand, I think it was brilliant to insert this story centering Asian characters on a film intended for a mainstream audience. My guess is that a large percentage of the people who paid to see The Incredibles 2 wouldn’t necessarily pay to see a film like Bao, so what a great way to diversify their movie content on the sly. Also, while to me Bao seemed like a uniquely Asian immigrant story, depending on who’s watching, it could simply be a story about family bonds and the difficulties of watching our children grow up, regardless of ethnic background.

On the other hand, I kind of feel like putting a film as deeply nuanced as Bao ahead of a superhero cartoon is like selling caviar at McDonald’s. If you ate your caviar with fries and chicken nuggets, you most certainly would lose out on the opportunity to truly savor those little fish eggs. Likewise, after all the boom, pow, crash of The Incredibles 2, Bao fades into the background of the movie going experience.

Breaking Barriers

Considering the fractured, increasingly hostile and racist world we live in, ultimately I think it’s a win when diversity is championed, even if it’s in a questionable framework. Also, Bao director, Domee Shi made history with Bao as Pixar’s first female short film director. So, there’s that, too. Another win for women and for women of color. And reportedly, Shi is set to helm a full-length animated feature for Pixar next. I can’t wait to see what that film is going to be like.

In the meantime, let’s keep talking about Bao because there is so much to unpack in that little film. Maybe we can talk over an order of dumplings? Did anyone else see it? What were your thoughts? I’m totally listening.

Peace!