Sanjay's Super Team Review: A fresh take on superheroes!

4/5

What’s it about?

Luminous, fluid and a work of pure art to watch. Rarely does a film arrive that depicts a culture without appropriating it, so wonderfully. Pixar’s first Indian-themed 7-minute short film ‘Sanjay's Super Team’ follows the story of Sanjay, a little boy who is a big fan of superheroes. Caught between his idolization of superhero characters and his father's religious traditions, Sanjay accidentally disturbs one of his father's rituals. He is transported to a cosmic temple where he must band together with a group of Hindu Gods to defeat an evil shapeshifter.

Directed by Pixar artist, Sanjay Patel is an entertaining and poignant watch. Patel has always been open about avoiding his parents' customs. Up until a 'Goa trance' rave made him get back to the all-too-familiar sounds of bells and chanting throughout the Bay Area.

It is a step forward for the studio - a story told from an Indian-American perspective that was so personal that the director wasn’t sure about going ahead with it. After a push from his father, he felt it was his duty to at least try what began as a cutesy drawing of cartoons in his notebook called "Little India".

What’s hot?

There never is a dialogue in Pixar shorts as they usually rely on imagery and placement much like this film. The deities drawn are shown as more androgynous figures to reflect the Hindu philosophy. Rich, dynamic characters are shown with both sensuality and grace. Apart from the deities, extra attention is paid to the metaphorical symbolism in the film. For example, in the opening shot, a beam of light separates Sanjay from his father.

Patel, who has worked at Pixar for over two decades with films like A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles as well as Monsters, Inc; was reluctant about taking up the director's role. The studio had to reach out along with the president of Pixar, Jim Morris asking him about his fears of directing the film. Eventually, when Patel agreed, the story was just an abstract of a boy ignoring his culture and in the end figuring out a balance. Patel was sure that the studio wouldn't go for his own story.

What’s not?

Nothing!

Growing up, Patel was the only Indian kid in his school and all the way till Pixar, that fact didn't change. Putting one's identity in the spotlight was not an easy task and facing rejection for it would've been even worse but Patel found himself the opportunity to tell the story as it is. Patel initially wanted to make the Super Team 'a very sort of Super Friends, an 80's cartoon thing, low budget and cheesy to play for laughs' but he was advised against it as it would undermine the audience's investment and make the boy seem ignorant. As necessary as it is that children be able to relate to superheroes, it's also important that audiences learn that media prominently featuring black and brown faces aren't just novelties. When we push for diversity in creative industries, we are asking for not just representation but a celebration of minority culture.

Verdict:

Pixar wanted to make sure that Sanjay's name was in the film title along with photos of the real Sanjay and his father at the end. The film details the experience of being a child of immigrants and about the specific tension that exists between an immigrant parent and their child growing up in another culture. The film took over three years for development and production, in the midst of which Patel who was solely devoted to the film, also became a father himself.

Shorts like these are a great opportunity to bring out new, fresher themes and discover a culture through art, one minute at a time.