Purl (2019)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  6 / 10

  Purl threads its way through a bland office addressing inclusivity issues. Tackling workplace diversity is an important issue, heck even the office I work in is male-centric. So Pixar's first film of their SparkShorts program is all about the toxic "bro" environment of the "B.R.O." company (so very subtle...), and for the most part feels as secure and glamorous as Purl's pink yarn. Purl herself, boasting an earnest personality, goes into her first day of work with the best of intentions. She soon realises that her male colleagues are not including her in anything, and so she naturally dresses up like them in order to act like them which consequently means she is finally included. I'm not overly satisfied about that method, I believe it gives off the wrong message. Whilst in the end everything is grand and the company hire more yarn balls to work for them, Purl should've stayed herself and not change her appearance or attitude just because her peers wouldn't accept her. Whilst she does learn this towards the end, it's not clear and its message starts to become blurred. For a Pixar short, it's rather risqué. Words like "prick" and "ass" (very tame for an office environment, trust me) are thrown around which doesn't exactly suit the studio's clean filmography. I found myself more shocked at the word "ass" coming from a Pixar film than I should've been. Still the animation is delightful, with a different style used for Purl in comparison to the humans and office backdrop. The voice acting was decent. Purl had plenty of personality and the office jokes were actually quite funny (I have a dry sense of humour). I just don't necessarily agree with the short's execution, despite its best intentions when depicting male stereotypes.

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