'Piper': Pixar’s cutest animation yet

The short film made its cinema debut being played before Finding Dory and now that it's available online, Piper is quickly becoming Pixar’s cutest animation yet.

Piper tells the story of a hungry sandpiper bird who is learning how to hunt for food with his mother. This, however, is easier said than done with the waves breaking on the shore. 

Like all good Pixar movies, this too has a happy ending thanks to a friendly hermit crab who teaches the bird the ocean isn’t so scary after all.

Directed Alan Barillaro (WALL-E and Brave) said Piper was developed as a test after he was inspired by sandpipers and crabs on the beach.

"I'll never forget being in [Andrew Stanton's] office and him handing me the script for Wall-E, and reading act one and seeing there's no dialogue," Barillaro told Vanity Fair. "Not that I'd compare this to Wall-E at all, but it gave me confidence to tackle something like Piper."