Disney’s “Versa” Short Film Sparks Emotional Reactions and Social Media Commentary

Walt Disney Animation’s emotional short film “Versa” has garnered significant attention after screening at the Animation Is Film Festival last weekend. Images from the film have since gone viral across social media platforms, with thousands of users sharing their reactions to the project’s poignant themes.

One particular image from the film—depicting a man and woman holding hands in a rosy-pink sky with a star illuminating the woman’s pregnant belly and additional stars glowing near their hearts—has become the focal point of online discussions.

According to Malcon Pierce, the film’s director and an accomplished Disney animator who previously worked on “Moana,” “Tangled,” and “Wreck-It Ralph,” the short follows a young couple as they experience a range of emotions from grief and loss to ultimate joy. Pierce describes it as an ethereal “cosmic dance of life.”

The film’s cosmic imagery is deliberate and deeply personal. Pierce revealed that “Versa” was inspired by his and his wife Keely’s journey through the devastating loss of their infant son, Cooper. The star motif originated from Cooper’s baby shower, which featured a celestial theme. Pierce’s mother-in-law gifted the couple a crystal star, which they placed on their kitchen window.

“Every morning we’d come downstairs, all these little rainbows would be spread around the house from the little star, and it became a way of remembering Cooper and keeping him close to us,” Pierce explained to Variety.

What makes “Versa” distinct is its storytelling approach—the narrative unfolds entirely through music and choreography, including an ice dance, with no dialogue. Composer Haim Mazar employed a 69-piece orchestra to create a score that evolves with the characters’ emotional journey, reportedly going through three iterations before achieving the perfect sound.

The film incorporates the Japanese art of Kintsugi—where broken pottery is repaired with gold—as a metaphor for healing after loss. Pierce drew inspiration from a book titled “Permission to Mourn,” which explores the concept that grief is not something to be “fixed” but rather a necessary process through which we maintain connections with those we’ve lost.

“I think a lot of times when we think about characters having this devastation in their life, there’s an idea that you heal from it, and when you heal, you’re fixed,” Pierce said. “What I’ve learned is that grief, those steps, are a way for you to have a relationship with grief and to be able to keep those that you’ve lost much closer.”

While the film itself has received praise for its emotional depth and artistic merit, the social media discourse has taken an unexpected turn. Many commenters have used images from “Versa” to satirically flip typical conservative criticisms of LGBTQ+ representation in children’s media.

Posts mocking outrage include comments like: “My 3-year-old granddaughter looked at me with her innocent eyes and said, ‘Grandma, is it normal for a woman to love a man?’ Disgusting…” and “Keep this disgusting heterosexual breeding propaganda away from children’s impressionable minds.”

These satirical comments mirror the language often used by conservative groups who have criticized Disney’s gradual inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters in films such as “Onward,” “Lightyear,” “Cruella,” and “Thor: Love and Thunder,” labeling such representation as “propaganda.”

“Versa” premiered in June at the Annecy Animation Festival in France before its recent screening at the Animation Is Film Festival. The short film represents not just an artistic achievement for Disney Animation, but also a deeply personal expression of grief, healing, and the enduring bonds of love that transcend loss.

For Pierce, who described Cooper as his “North Star” for both the project and his life, the film stands as a testament to how personal tragedy can be transformed into art that resonates with universal human experiences.