Boundin' is a 2003 animated short film (five minutes) by Pixar, one of the Pixar Shorts. It was written and directed by Bud Luckey.
A sheep lives on a sheep ranch somewhere in the American West. He loves to dance, and his graceful dancing makes him popular with all the other animals. Unfortunately, one day the young sheep is taken away and shorn of all his wool. The young sheep, who is laughed at by all the other animals, loses his confidence and can no longer dance. That is, until a friendly jackalope gives the sheep a pep talk.
Boundin' received a December 2003 screening to qualify it for the Oscars, and it properly debuted in November 2004, when it played in theaters in front of The Incredibles. Bud Luckey, who made this short, provided the voice of Rick Dicker the relocation guy in The Incredibles.
Provides examples of:
- Blithe Spirit: The jackalope arrives on the ranch to teach the sheep to be happy and dance again.
- Disapproving Look: When the moles laugh at the sheep's nakedness, the jackalope gives them stink eye to make them shut up.
- Dude, Not Funny!: The jackalope stands up for the sheep against his insensitive friends who laugh at his predicament.
- Empathic Environment: It's dark and rainy when the humans shear the lamb, but it becomes sunny again when the jackalope shows up.
- Fearsome Critters of American Folklore: One of the main characters of the short is the most iconic of these critters, a jackalope.
- Gentle Giant: The jackalope is far larger than the sheep, and is very nice and friendly.
- Gray Rain of Depression: The formerly sunny scene turns instantly to black clouds and pouring rain as the rancher's hand enters the screen and snatches the sheep. The rain continues to pour as the newly and completely shorn sheep is tossed back onto its rock, and glumly contemplates its new reflection in a puddle of water. Then a literal beam of light from the sun heralds the arrival of the jackalope.
- Nameless Narrative: We just get species names.
- Narrator: Bud Luckey narrates the story. This is a rare example of a Pixar theatrical short that averts Silence Is Golden and/or Mime and Music-Only Cartoon; Lava is another.
- Nice Guy: The jackalope, when seeing a poor sheep crying, stops and gives him a pep talk out of pure kindness.
- Off-into-the-Distance Ending: The jackalope, having helped the little sheep, goes bounding away, as the moles follow.
- Rhymes on a Dime: The whole story is narrated as a rhyming poem.
- Time Skip: A time skip cuts from the newly confident sheep, bounding away in the summer sun, to winter and the sheep still bounding, having grown a new wool coat in the interim.
- Visual Pun: When the lamb begins bounding, the other animals bob up and down and calliope music is heard, making it resemble a merry-go-round.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: The jackalope helps the sheep restore his faith in himself.
