Last year, Pixar paired Cars up with the brilliant short film Maestro. It was a one-joke short that centered on a pair of rival one-man bands, competing for the coin of a young child who was looking to throw said coin into a fountain. It was a great short that got us all in the mood for the feature. This year, Pixar has a new short paired up with Ratatouille; this one is called Lifted, and I think I may like it more than Maestro, which I loved. This time, instead of the one-man bands, it centers on an alien abduction that doesn't go quite as planned.

The short opens in a darkened bedroom. There is a man lying sound asleep in bed; a blue glow fills the room and the man is levitated out of his bed and moved towards a nearby open window. All is going nice and smooth until the man bumps right into the wall next to the window. It's okay to start laughing now, I did. You may not be laughing at this description, but trust me, when you see it, you will laugh. Laughter is inevitable.

The scene cuts outside where a flying saucer is hovering over the house. Inside said saucer are two alien beings, a large one with a clipboard, and a smaller one in front of an enormous panel covered in switches that do not have a single label. As he hits different switches, the man down in the house hits a different wall. The small alien is becoming nervously frustrated as the larger one watches on.

In case you could not tell, this is Abduction 101, and things are not going so well. I have probably already given away too much, but this short is tears-in-your-eyes hilarious. It is a one-joke short, but the joke works so well and is so funny that it doesn't matter, it only needs that one joke to carry it through.

The animation is nice, a bit more basic than the features, but that has to be expected. It is still very smooth, crisp, and clear. There is no dialog — they are aliens after all. The short was scored by Michael Giacchino, a name to watch as he has done nice work for Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Mission Impossible III, and Lost. Gary Rydstrom, former sound designer for Skywalker Sound, made his directorial debut with this short, and I look forward to what he may do next.

So, basically, when you go to see the excellent Ratatouille, be sure you get there early enough to catch this short. It is definitely worth the extra time (plus you'll get a better seat). And remember: "Failure is an option."