With their tale of Wall-E, love-lorn robot and his sad, sad eyes, Pixar have already set bottom lips across the world quivering this summer. That wasn't their only contribution to the history of animated film though and while everyone was getting teary-eyed and emotional over Wall-E, they also snuck out something very different indeed. Presto is a crude, violent slice of slapstick mayhem and proves they can provide us with belly laughs as well as soul-searching sentimentality. Alec Azam and Presto DiGiotagione might not have become household names like their metallic counterpart has, but their brief adventure is just as enjoyable and packs more laughs into its five minute run time than Wall-E managed in ninety minutes.
Pixar animation studio's Wascally Wabbit
A short film that plays before the robot janitor's trip into space, Presto tells the story of a hungry rabbit named Alec taking revenge on his neglectful owner, a famous Professional Magician. Forgetting to feed him before taking the stage, DiGiotagione attempts his most celebrated trick, namely reaching into one hat and pulling Alec out of another, only for the rabbit to turn the tables on him with all manner of mischief.
With the magician subjected to a variety of painful humiliations (including the funniest 'ladder to the groin' shot you will ever see), the laughs pile up thick and fast. Presto isn't as inventive as some of their past shorts, but is perhaps the most outrageously funny one that Pixar have created thus far. It recalls the old cartoon classics of Tex Avery and Warner Brothers with its rapid succession of slapstick gags, not to mention the fact that the lead character is highly reminiscent of a certain cartoon rabbit.
That's All Folks
Aside from the fact that there is no dialogue, this is the exact opposite of Wall-E. Where the sci-fi love story was epic in scope, emotionally engaging and deeply involving, this is smaller, faster and positively bursting at the seams with barely-contained energy. It goes without saying that the ankle-biters will love every second of this and it's a timely reminder of just how much fun cartoons were before the censors had decided we'd seen one frying pan to the skull too many. Pixar really are showing off now, releasing one of the most celebrated films of the year and leaving a whole generation of animators in the shade was rewarding enough, but this is the icing on the cake.
