Finding Dory short: Pixar unveils clip from upcoming mini animation Piper

Ahead of the US release of Finding Dory in just a few days time, Disney Pixar has released a brief clip of what animation fans can expect from its upcoming short, entitled Piper, scheduled to show before the eagerly-anticipated Finding Nemo sequel in cinemas worldwide.

Often the studio's shorts are full of heart and absolutely stunning visuals, and fortunately for fans, it looks as if its most recent one will be no exception.

While the 24-second preview doesn't give all that much away, viewers can catch their first proper glimpse of Piper herself, as she encounters the dampened beach for one of the first times and is encouraged to find her own food by her mother.

Watch her sweetly teeter excitedly to the flock of other sandpipers as they forage for worms and tasty treats, before she stares gleefully at the bubbles that pop on the sand in the video below...

With a six-minute running-time, Piper tells the story of a baby sandpiper who has to overcome a fear of water, with the help of her mother, in order to eat.

Talking about how he came up with the short's premise, animator-turned-director Alan Barillaro revealed that he noticed the behaviour of certain birds trying to find food on the beach whilst running along the shores in California. "It's always fun to show a world we're familiar with but from a different perspective," he previously told Entertainment Weekly. "We've all been to the beach, but have we ever viewed water from just an inch off the sand? That could be very fearful from a bird's perspective."

Finding Dory, which had its premiere last Wednesday (8 June) in Los Angeles, is scheduled to swim into US cinemas on 17 June. It will reach UK screens a little later on 29 July.

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