The Creator of ‘Bao’ on That Twist: ‘Part of Me Wanted to Shock Audiences’

Pixar has delved into Indian culture with “Sanjay’s Super Team” and Latino culture with “Coco.” In “Bao,” the eight-minute short that precedes “Incredibles 2,” the animation giant is taking a bite of Chinese culture in a way that may have you rethinking your love of dumplings.

Bao, a perfectly formed dumpling, is one of the central characters. Fashioned by a home cook making a meal, Bao sprouts a tiny body under his big head. Instead of popping Bao into her mouth, the cook becomes his mother, cradling him in her hands and never wanting to let him go even as he starts to feel stifled by her love.

Domee Shi, 28, who conceived and directed “Bao,” said the inspiration came from three places in her life, the first being her own experience growing up in a Chinese family that emigrated to Toronto (where the short is set) in 1991, when she was 2.

With overprotective parents, “I was like this little dumpling bao,” she said in an interview from Greece, where she was vacationing.

The second inspiration was food.

“Dumplings are a huge staple in Chinese culture,” she said. “You make dumplings with your family at the holidays, Chinese New Year. It’s the perfect metaphor for a family-associated food.”

And third, she said she wanted to put a modern twist on a fairy tale because she liked the way those stories deal with dark and light themes.

Which brings us to the darkest moment in her animated story (beware — there are spoilers ahead). As Bao grows, his mother keeps him close. She tries to separate him from other children to protect him. If his small head gets dented, she gives him a spoonful of dumpling filler and remolds him. But, as children will, Bao agitates for freedom. Soon he brings home a girl sporting an engagement ring and packs his bags. That is the last straw for Mom, and she eats him! The moment has elicited gasps from viewers, and in one recent New York showing one woman let out a yelp.

“Part of me just wanted to shock audiences and do something unexpected,” Shi said. But, she continued, “It was the logical conclusion between possessive person and delicious little dumpling.”

The mother is trying to prevent her son from leaving, Shi said. It’s “a sudden act of emotion that she immediately regrets.”

Shi said she did wonder if it was too dark for youngsters, but she was impressed by a comment from a 9-year-old girl who saw the short at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

“She said, ‘After I watched it I turned to my mom and said you better not eat me after I go off to college.’ She got it!”

“Bao” has “connected with so many people,” Shi said, “and not just Asian-Americans. Non-Asian people, too, say, ‘That’s my mom!'”

The film has a satisfying ending you will not find here. And Shi’s story is also going well. At Pixar she is developing a feature, she said. It is not related to “Bao,” but she said she had put a lot of herself in it.

And she hopes “Bao” will continue to inspire audiences.

“If they are Asian I hope they enjoy a bit seeing themselves on screen,” she said. “If not, I hope they learn about Chinese culture and community and are more curious about Chinese food, Chinatown. I hope they call their moms and take them out to lunch.”