Disney Launchpad review: ‘Let’s Be Tigers’ gives a new meaning to healing

3/5

What’s it about?

In the song "Do The Next Right Thing" from Frozen 2, Anna sings out her melancholy in a gut-wrenching tune. At the point when you lose somebody, you need to figure out how to continue and that is what Let’s Be Tigers is all about. Directed by Stefanie Abel Horowitz, this Disney Launchpad short film follows a young lady caring for a kid while handling her own distress.

Noah's fathers are heading out to have a great time and Avalon has come over to babysit. As the little child chants "Let’s Be Tigers" at his sitter, we discover that she's experiencing the loss of someone. Yet, when Noah requests her to make up a story, she does so only to end up healing through her imaginary story.

What’s hot?

With a heavier topic than most Disney-marked content, Let's Be Tigers has a couple of beguiling minutes, however, the overall theme of the movie remains solemn. It deals with a kid’s restricted comprehension of the permanence of death while simultaneously displaying significant assertions he can make about it. Told completely inside the bounds of Noah's home, the setting gives the watcher a feeling of claustrophobia, a parallel to what Avalon is going through.

In short, Let’s Be Tigers is heartfelt and honest. The innocence of children is often seen as naive but it is also the reason for their ability to understand emotions such as grief, without complicating them. Let's Be Tigers is a celebration of that innocence. It's about loss and moving on, but seen through a child's lens. The ability to accept one's sorrow is something a lot of adults struggle to do. This film teaches you just where you can begin.

What’s not?

I love that even when the story isn't about inclusion or culture, Disney still slips in gay parents and a minority protagonist. The representation in this Launchpad series on Disney+ is amazing. If you don't like it, just, try to accept it. For your own good.

Let's Be Tigers is the most somber of the shorts, as it deals with grief and healing. I like most viewers who have lost someone close to them, will find themselves relating to Avalon and her attempts to avoid her feelings. Death is not only hard to come to terms with but its complexities are hard to explain. Stefanie Abel Horowitz navigates by telling the story through the lens of a babysitter talking to a young child.

Verdict:

Let’s Be Tigers isn't what you'd anticipate it to be from the title, nor what you’d expect from a Disney original. With Disney Launchpad giving narrating freedoms to underrepresented movie producers, this specific short has a message about anguish and recuperation, one that was well expressed in Do The Next Right Thing. Like the tune, it's not very cheerful, however, there's an appeal to it that is undeniable.

Let’s Be Tigers is presently streaming on Disney+, as part of Disney Launchpad.