The Turtle and the Shark - A Samoan Legend

Among those interested in the recent short film "The Turtle and the Shark" is none other than Pixar Animation. The film, produced by Ryan J. Woodward of Spitfire Studios, is based on a Samoan legend about a man and a woman transformed by the gods into an eternal couple, forever to swim the seas side by side as shark and turtle.

The film came to the attention of Pixar because of the growing success of the BYU animation program (of which Woodward is an instructor) in Provo, Utah. It came to our attention because of our passion for both Polynesia and animation. We were initially very excited about this short film as we were familiar with the legend but were somewhat disappointed because it only told of part of the story. Then again, the film is only about a minute and a half. We'll just have to see if they continue the short to include more of the legend.

You can now view the entire short on the Spitfire Studios website. We'd love to see a full Pixar treatment of this or other Polynesian legend in the future. Overall the film is a nice classy presentation not be overlooked.