Pixar Shorts:
Partly Cloudy

The technical challenge for Partly Cloudy was creating the cloud people so that they clearly had the look of clouds, but retained their form. Gus is made up of 200,000 particles, which took about 70 hours to render just one frame with Gus in it. That took a lot of time, but the end result looks fantastic in this Pixar short, don't you think?

Partly Cloudy Plot

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One dark cloud is lower than the others and is by himself. His name is Gus and his specialty is creating the dangerous baby creatures.

Gus's partner is a loyal stork named Peck and he tries hard to deliver the difficult bundles. After getting butted by the cute baby ram, he looks up longingly at the other storks who get to deliver easy-going babies. But he leaves, dutifully carring the bundle of baby ram, who keeps butting him hard as he flies.

When Peck returns, he's more afraid of what he'll get next. Gus has already made his creation and it looks kinda cute, so Peck puts his wings around it affectionately. But when Gus zaps the shape to life, it turns into a porcupine with sharp quills!

Peck howls out and bounces the baby porcupine from wing to wing with lots and lots of quills poking him. Gus takes the baby and wraps it in the blanket bundle for delivery, but all the quills poke through like a spikey ball. Peck very carefully takes the bundle with his beak and flies off with it.

At sunset, Peck returns to Gus for the next delivery. Quills stick out all over his head and Gus pulls them out, stretching Peck's face out in a funny moment. Gus hugs his friend, feeling bad about how hurt he's gotten from delivering such dangerous babies.

He then proudly turns around to present Peck with his newest creation in the cloud form of a shark with an enormous mouth full of teeth. It scares Peck so much that he flies right off the cloud. He looks up at the fluffy pink cloud above him with his stork partner marching with glee at some new yellow ducklings.

Peck can't take it anymore as Gus looks at him with a sad and worried expression, offering the shark again. Peck rejects Gus and flies away to the pink clouds above. Gus's feelings are hurt and he throws a tantrum, turning himself into a thunderstorm. Then he cries and rain falls.

Gus's friend returns to him with a bundle given to him from a happy pink cloud. Inside the bundle is a football helmet and shoulder pads to protect himself from Gus's dangerous babies. Peck wasn't going to leave Gus after all!

So Peck asks Gus to bring it on, give me a baby to deliver, so Gus creates an electric eel that shocks Peck as it smiles up at him. And that's the end of this really cute Pixar short.