Somewhere in the Arctic

Somewhere in the Arctic is one of the two student films made by Andrew Stanton; other being A Story. The short film was made at CalArts in and it was completed in 1986. This short film is featured in the Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 2 DVD.

Plot

The scene shows a polar bear running from some eskimos. Suddenly, he stops in his tracks. The eskimos in the distance see the polar bear and start to charge at him. Then the polar bear pulls out a radio from the ground, and he starts tuning the radio until it plays "My Girl" by The Temptations The music distracts the eskimos as the polar bear walks away. Realizing the trick, the eskimos yell and begin to chase the polar bear again.

Moments later, the polar bear comes into the scene and begins reading a book. As the eskimos  reach him, the bear tells them to be quiet and puts up a sign that says "LIBRARY." The eskimos read the sign, and understanding what the sign is saying, the eskimos then pull out books. With the eskimos distracted again, the polar bear walks away with the sign. Realizing that they have been fooled again, the eskimos begin yelling, and they begin chasing the polar bear yet again.

Suddenly, the bear skates across the screen, and offscreen, we hear a door opening and closing, and we hear descending stairs. We now see that the bear is sitting like he's at the theater. When the eskimos get confused over where the bear is, one of them spots the bear and he begins walking closer to the screen. When the bear waves at them, the eskimos then begin going down the same stairs the bear took. After running back and forth multiple times, the bear and the eskimos run back up the stairs.

We see the bear standing normal. but it turns out the eskimos have shrunk in size. Realizing how big the bear is, the eskimos run away in terror. Then the bear can be seen walking towards the mountain background, and hops behind it. Then it tunrs out the mountains is actually a car. The bear then puts on some goggles, and zips off.

Trivia

• This student film was made in the year Pixar Animation Studios was found.
• According to Andrew Stanton, he doesn't remember the inspiration for Somewhere in the Arctic.
• This short film was entered in a film festival, and it was next to one of John Lasseter's student films, and that is how the two of them met.
• This short film has absolutely no camera movement.
• At the end of the end credits, Andrew Stanton's middle initial is A, but according to his profile, he has no middle name.

Video

Andrew Stanton's CalArts Student Film, 'Somewhere in the Arctic'-0

"Somewhere in the Arctic" by Andrew Stanton