Day and Night Short

Before Toy Story 3 (which is really really great honestly) there is an amazing short that rivals the movie. I dunno, I cried, it was absolutely gorgeous. I can't find it online so you'll have to go watch Toy Story 3 and see it. It's hard to describe, Wikipedia does best:

"The short film covers the events that occur when Day meets Night. Being of two diametrically opposed personalities, they do not trust each other at first and get off on the wrong foot. They constantly try to outdo each other, with Day doing things like going to the beach where a lady in a bikini is sunbathing. Night whistles, then moves in so he can have her, but at night, she is gone. Later, Day shows off the Las Vegas Strip, but Night shows off the lights and fountain displays. A sunny field in the day becomes a firefly lightshow at night. Moonlit water at night becomes a bustling ocean with fishing boats and children splashing by day. Several other similar differences are shown likewise. But as they discover the positive aspects of each other's qualities, they bond and form a friendship — enabling both to grow as individuals. As the sun sets for (character) Day and rises for Night, they trade identities and part on good terms, Night with his beach lady, kids playing, and people walking around, and Day with his fireworks, lightning bugs, and Vegas Strip."

Bit hard to describe but it's wonderful and at the end there is a quote about the fear of the unknown attributed to Dr. Wayne Dyer in the 1970's, it's when I lost it. We live in a time right now where "fear of the unkown" leads to situations where gay couples can't get marriage licenses, treated as second class citizens in 2010. Where Mexican American citizens are forced to pull over in Arizona for no reason, where mosques are being protested by religious zealots who believe in a different ruler of the universe. It just really hit home, I hope you go see it!

The full text of the quote, from the film, is as follows:

Fear of the unknown.

They are afraid of new ideas.

They are loaded with prejudices, not based upon anything in reality, but based on… if something is new, I reject it immediately because it’s frightening to me. What they do instead is just stay with the familiar.

You know, to me, the most beautiful things in all the universe, are the most mysterious.


Day and Night on the Pixar Website