Leave it to Pixar to make us cry. After all, they just took home the <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/who-won-at-the-2019-oscars-all-of-the-academy-awards-winners-1.829917">Oscar for Best Animated Short Film</a> with <em>Bao</em>, and the animation film studio has been tugging on our heartstrings for decades, with heart-warming films such as <em>Toy Story, Up, </em>and <em>Inside Out </em>– to name a few. So it's no surprise that their newest short film, <em>Kitbull</em>, produced under its SparkShorts programme, has just gone viral. It's had 13 million views since its release a week ago. The nine-minute short tells of the unlikely friendship developed between an abused pitbull and a stray kitten. Fair warning, though: when you watch it, you may just find yourself shedding a tear or two (especially if you're an animal-lover). <strong>Click the video above to watch it. </strong> The film was directed by Rosana Sullivan, who has worked as a storyboard artist with Pixar Animation Studios. <em>Kitbull </em>is a bit different from other Pixar shorts as its created in 2D from hand-drawn animation. Sullivan explains the inspiration behind the short: “To be honest, it started from a cat video. I loved watching cat videos in times of stress,” she says in another video Pixar posted. “At first, I just wanted to draw something that made me feel good and was fun, but it evolved into something more personal to me eventually. “Growing up, I was always very sensitive and very shy, and had actually a lot of trouble making connections, making friendships. So I related to this kitten because it never really stepped outside of its comfort zone to be vulnerable and make a connection.” The SparkShorts programme helps develop new talent within Pixar and explores new ways of telling stories through animation. So far, they've released three shorts: <em>Purl</em>, <em>Smash and Grab</em> and <em>Kitbull</em>, and a new one will be released every week on their YouTube page. Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpVg7pgd-JzP-DWROTsaMY8IDWElHMycx">here to watch them all</a>. Plenty of fans have taken to social media to express their appreciation for Sullivan's work. In particular, a few Twitter users really loved the way she drew and shared their own renderings of the main characters: Others, however, just weren't ready for how they would feel after watching it: Well, at least we warned you first.
