Pixar to feature first ever Filipino lead characters in animated short

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino-American Pixar Animation Studios story artist announced that he would create the first ever Filipino lead characters for a Pixar short film entitled “Float.”

Bobby Rubio, a Filipino-American born and raised in San Diego, California, made the announcement on his Twitter account, saying he would be the writer and the director of the animated short film.

"It's OFFICIAL! I can finally tell you I'm the #Writer / #Director of the #Pixar #SparkShort 'Float'! I'm so proud to be a part of this program and to be among these very talented people! And I have to give a shout-out to my wonderful and talented crew, Team Float!" he wrote.

It's OFFICIAL! I can finally tell you I'm the #Writer / #Director of the #Pixar #SparkShort "Float"!

I'm so proud to be a part of this program and to be among these very talented people! And I have to give a shout-out to my wonderful and talented crew, Team Float! https://t.co/08Q9FRVgRS

— Bobby Rubio (@Bobby_Rubio) January 10, 2019

"Those are #Filipino lead characters in my #Pixar #SparkShort! @Pixar's first all #CGI Filipino characters! So technically, the first #Pixnoys! I am proud to tell our stories. I know what it means to see our culture represented on screen! #RepresentationMatters," he wrote in another Twitter post.

YES @rachjuramirez those are #Filipino lead characters in my #Pixar #SparkShort! @Pixar’s first all #CGI Filipino characters! So technically, the first #Pixnoys! I am proud to tell our stories. I know what it means to see our culture represented on screen! #RepresentationMatters https://t.co/Xh3UKfKmRt

— Bobby Rubio (@Bobby_Rubio) January 13, 2019

"Float" will be part of Pixar's SparksShorts, an experimental storytelling initiative that welcomes new creative voices at the studio to share their stories.

Pixar has announced the February release dates of its other animated short stories on YouTube, but Bobby’s short film still has no release date.

"I am so grateful to tell our stories. I know what it means to be underrepresented and I hope that my #Pixar #SparkShort #FLOAT will inspire more #Filipino #American stories to come! I'm going to do my best to tell MORE!” Bobby wrote.

Apart from writing and directing animated short films, Bobby is also known for working on the hit animated movies "Up," "Tarzan" and "Treasure Planet."