Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities--and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world-the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.
Pixar's 'Day & Night' is a visually inventive short that blends 2D and 3D animation in a genuinely novel way, with the two characters literally containing living landscapes within their silhouettes. The cinematography and technical craft are exceptional and distinctive. The plot is a simple but effective allegory about tolerance and perspective — charming but not complex. There is no traditional acting (it's a nearly dialogue-free short), so that category scores low by default. The ending, while heartwarming, resolves predictably with a mutual appreciation beat and a somewhat on-the-nose audio clip from Wayne Dyer that spells out the theme. Novelty is the standout — the hybrid animation technique and visual concept are genuinely one-of-a-kind.