Disney unveils first look at animated short Us Again playing in theaters in March

Walt Disney Animation is continuing a long-standing tradition, unveiling a new animated short film attached to the upcoming Raya and the Last Dragon.

The studio has released the first photo from the upcoming short film Us Again, which fans can see when Raya and the Last Dragon hits theaters on March 5, and will arrive on Disney Plus in June.

Big Hero 6’s head of animation Zach Parrish directs the short film, revealing to Entertainment Weekly how he was inspired to tell this story. 

Us Again will be Walt Disney Animation’s first theatrical short film in five years, since 2016’s Inner Workings, which was attached to Moana.

The short film follows an elderly couple named Art and Dot, who become young at heart for one magical night through dance.

Us Again is entirely told through dance, with no dialogue and composer Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel) delivering a ‘funk and soul-infused score.’

Parrish also collaborated with dancers Keone and Mari Madrid, who have worked with Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish and choreographed the dances for the film.

Parrish told EW that the short was inspired by his realization that he couldn’t play basketball as well in his mid-30s as he could in his youth.

‘It made me realize that if I spent all my time focused on what I thought I was missing, then I was going to miss the beauty in the present, and that really became the core idea,’ Parrish said.

He was also inspired by his two sets of grandparents, one set who traveled the country in their RV during their twilight year, and the other who just ‘watched life.’

Parrish wanted to combine the ideas of a fountain of youth and an elderly couple with the power of dance, which lead to him collaborating with Keone and Mari Madrid, after watching their viral video of them dancing as an older couple. 

‘Story is something that Keone and I are really drawn to in movement, and we love to do that without words all the time so that’s why this intersection was so perfect,” Mari said. ‘There’s something so magical, being able to bring that kind of relationship and make it physical and make it visual.’

Keone added, ‘The key for us was having as much context as possible because one little sound could influence us differently, one little move can make an impact later on in the piece.’

The six-minute short film is produced by Brad Simonsen (Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Rlaph Breaks the Internet) and executive produced by Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Raya and the Last Dragon will be available simultaneously in theaters and on Disney Plus with Premier Access ($29.99) starting March 5.