Out is an animated short by Pixar Animation Studios as part of their SparkShorts series for Disney+. It was written and directed by Steven Clay Hunter and is Pixar's first project to star a same-sex couple.
A gay man named Greg is preparing to move out of his small, conservative town to the city with his boyfriend Manuel and dog Jim when he gets an unexpected visit from his parents, to whom he has not yet come out. Manuel begrudgingly leaves at Greg's request, but before he does, he gives Greg a firm admonishment..."Tell them."
As Greg struggles to find courage, his dog's collar, which has been given magical powers by a magic cat and dog overlooking the house, wraps around his neck, switching his consciousness with Jim's. Greg, now in his dog's body, must now chase after his dog, who's now in his body, to switch them back, all while preventing his mother from finding out his secret.
Out contains examples of:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Seeing his dog without a care in the world, Greg wishes he had Jim's life. The magic collar then attaches itself to Greg and he and Jim switch bodies, and now he has to deal with his parents as a dog.
- Black Bead Eyes: All of the characters are designed with dot-eyes, gaining wrinkles around them when they go wide.
- Coax Them Out of the Closet: Greg makes his boyfriend Manuel leave his house before Greg's parents come over, as Greg's parents don't know he's gay. Manuel is upset and simply says to Greg, "Tell them." Greg is hesitant, and tries to hide all evidence that he's gay...then he's forced to switch bodies with his dog, seemingly as part of a cosmic scheme by a magic cat and dog watching him to get him to be honest with his family.
- Dogs Hate Squirrels: While in Greg's body, Jim chases after a squirrel.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: The magic collar causes Greg to switch bodies with his dog. Hilarity Ensues as he tries to switch them back while hiding his secret from his parents.
- Gayngst: Greg still hasn't told his parents that he's gay and wants to move as far away from them as possible as soon as possible so he doesn't have to deal with the responsibility of how they'd take it. Similarly, Manuel is annoyed at Greg having to constantly hide him from his parents and subtly tells him that he can't keep living like this. Thankfully, Greg's parents are completely accepting of them and Greg's Mom, at least, seems to have always been aware of Greg's sexuality.
- Gender-Blender Name: Jim, apparently; Greg's mom refers to the dog by name and as a "good girl" in the same breath.
- Mythology Gag: Jim's squeaky toy is Wheezy and Greg has a Luxo-style lamp (similar to the one on Pixar's Vanity Plate) on his nightstand.
- The Quiet One: Greg's father doesn't say a word for the entire short, as his wife talks enough for the both of them.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: In the beginning of the short, after a tender moment where Greg and Manuel look at a photo of their camping expedition, there's a knock at the door. Greg opens it to find his parents have made a surprise visit to help him pack. Cue Greg's scream as he slams the door and rushes to get Manuel out the back door unobserved.
- The Stinger: After the credits, we get a scene of Greg's parents driving home that night. It becomes apparent that they are listening to the house music that opened the short, with both of them coming in to sing "Whooo" at the same time and showing that they are a lot more progressive than Greg gave them credit for.
- Transparent Closet: Downplayed. Dog!Greg hears his mother say that, whoever Greg settles down with, she hopes that he makes him happy, implying that she always knew, but didn't want to say anything.
- Urine Trouble: Out of desperation, Dog!Greg pees on the floor to distract his mom from finding the photo of him and Manuel.
