“Blush” is the first animated short film by Apple TV and SkyDance Animation Studios, led by the legendary animation guru and former animation chief of Pixar, John Lasseter. “Blush” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021. Tribeca Film Festival takes place annually in New York City. “Blush” was produced by Heather Schmidt, with John Lasseter, Dana Goldberg, and David Ellison as the executive producers. The short film will be released to subscribers of Apple TV+.
The plot of “Blush” revolves around the journey of an astronaut through a desolate planet. The astronaut crashes on the planet after his spaceship suffers a collision with an asteroid. The astronaut is a horticulturist, allowing him to survive on the planet by harvesting food, but he doesn’t have any other skills or equipment to survive the planet’s environment. In a lucky coincidence, the astronaut discovers new life as another spaceship also crashes on the planet shortly after. From the newly crashed spaceship emerges a cute alien, and the romance begins. There is no cast for this short film as there are no spoken words; all the communication between the characters is done through body language.
The short film is directed by Emmy Award winner Joe Mateo, who has been part of the animation industry for three decades, including 25 years at Disney. His other directorial work includes Mulan, Tangled, Pocahontas, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia. “Blush” is inspired by the life of Mary Ann, the late wife of Joe Mateo. She passed away in 2017 after a long fight with breast cancer. According to Mateo, “Blush” offers the clarity required by the short film format. With a runtime of only 11 minutes, “Blush” has no unnecessary scenes that take the viewers away from the main plot. The story of “Blush” is about the personal journey of healing, hope, and the importance of love.
Apple has ventured into the animated content space with an expansive multi-year deal with SkyDance Animation Studios. Since its launch in late 2019, Apple TV+ has received more awards and recognition than other international streaming services. Apple Originals have received 345 nominations and 93 awards in just over a year.
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About John Lasseter
John Lasseter is an American animator widely recognized as the pioneer of using computer graphic technology in animated movies. He has been instrumental in the success of several projects from Disney and Pixar, including the development of the first fully computer-animated movie, Toy Story, and its sequels. A graduate of California Institute of the Arts, John has won two Academy Awards for Toy Story and Tin Toy. John’s illustrious career included the position of Chief Creative Officer for the two biggest names in the animation industry: Disney and Pixar. Successful movies by John Lasseter include Cars, Up, Inside Out, Cars2, and A Bug’s Life. Since January 2019, John has been leading the animation division of SkyDance Media, named as SkyDance Animation Studios.
About SkyDance Animation Studios
SkyDance Animation Studios is the animation wing for SkyDance Media, which is based out of Santa Monica. David Ellison founded SkyDance Media in 2006. The animation division was founded in 2017 when SkyDance Media acquired Ilion Studios and rebranded it as SkyDance Animation. The company is now run by John Lasseter as the Head of Animation and Holly Edwards as the President of SkyDance Animation. SkyDance Animation Studios has partnered with Paramount Animation and Apple TV to produce several projects, including Luck, Spellbound, The Search for WondLa, and the upcoming short film “Blush.”
