Sanjay's Super Team is a 2015 animated short by Pixar. It is one of the Pixar Shorts.
A young Indian boy named Sanjay lives in America with his father. Sanjay's father is an immigrant who meditates at a shrine to Vishnu in the home. Sanjay, a second-generation born in the United States, is Americanized and wants only to watch his favorite cartoon superhero show, Super Team. Sanjay's dad is irritated by his son's lack of interest in the Hindu religion while Sanjay is irritated when his father interrupts the TV to insists that his son join him in prayer.
One day his father confiscates Sanjay's "Super Team" action figure and insists that Sanjay pray at the shrine. Sanjay retrieves the toy, but accidentally extinguishes the flame in the shrine—and is transported to a magical world of Hindu gods and demons, finding out how similar Hinduism and superheroes are.
Written and directed by Sanjay Patel, who based the story on his own experiences as an Indian-American boy with an immigrant father. Played in theaters with Pixar feature The Good Dinosaur. Compare Bao, another Pixar short with similar themes.
Tropes:
- Art Shift: Done mostly in Pixar 3D style, but 2D is used for the Super Team show that Sanjay watches. And the fantasy sequence has Cel Shading.
- Based on a True Story: Starts with a title card announcing it was based on a "mostly" true story.
- Call-Back: The Hindu gods in Sanjay's fantasy unite to defeat the demon in a very similar manner to how the Super Team united to defeat the bad guy in the cartoon.
- Creator Cameo: Ends with still photos of Sanjay Patel and his father.
- Deadly Ringer: A Hindu god uses the sound emitted by a prayer bell to drive away a demon. This fails, but then Sanjay uses the prayer-candle holder as a bell, which succeeds.
- Expy: The Hindu gods take some inspirations from Captain America (Vishnu - blue), Iron Man (Durga - red), and the Hulk (Hanuman - green).
- For Doom the Bell Tolls: A Hindu god uses the sound emitted by a prayer bell to drive away a demon. This fails, but then Sanjay uses the prayer-candle holder as a bell, which succeeds.
- Mirror Character: It's a blink-and-you'll-miss moment, but when the heroes are trying to peacefully bind the monster with the power of serenity, pay close attention to Sanjay's face. When the monster reaches for its weapons, there's a slight trace of recognition, like he knows all too well what it's like to disregard something spiritual for something else you want.
Just like how he disregarded meditating with his father, just to reclaim his action figure earlier on. - Musical Assassin: Sanjay defeats the demon by ringing the prayer candle holder as a bell.
- Power Trio: Vishnu, Durga, and Hanuman are a team of three Hindu Gods that fight off the demon and makes Sanjay interested in his culture.
- Real-Person Epilogue: The short ends with photographs of director Sanjay Patel and his father, one from the past and one more recent.
- Saved by the Church Bell: A Hindu god uses the sound emitted by a prayer bell to drive away a demon. This fails, but then Sanjay uses the prayer-candle holder as a bell, which succeeds.
- Silence Is Golden: As with almost every other Pixar theatrical short, the story is told without any dialogue. (We do hear some dialogue from the Super Team show but it's irrelevant to the plot.)
