Nona is a 2021 American animated short film written and directed by Louis Gonzales, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Starring Wilma Bonet as the title character, the short focuses on Nona who desires to watch her wrestling show, but is interrupted by an unexpected visit from her young granddaughter. The tenth short film in the SparkShorts series, the short was released on September 17, 2021, on Disney+.
Plot
Nona tunes in to her favorite television show, E.W.W. Smashdown Wrestling, a pastime she shared with her late husband. She suddenly hears a knock on the door and discovers her granddaughter Renee has been dropped off by her daughter. She tries to continue watching the show, but Renee gets in the way. and grandma gets upset.
Nona tries to distract Renee with crayons, Legos and her dog, but Renee keeps finding ways to get in Nona's way of watching television. Eventually, Renee catches what Nona is watching and tries to emulate what she sees by jumping from the stairs. Nona rushes up to catch her and accidentally knocks over the television, damaging it. Due to the lost connection Nona had to watching E.W.W. Smashdown Wrestling with her late husband, Nona breaks down in tears. Seeing how sad she is, Renee emulates a wrestler for her and they enter a fantasy sequence of the two of them wrestling against each other. Nona and Renee laugh together.
In a post-credits scene, Nona is on the couch with a sleeping dog and Renee on top of her as the latter's favorite show Kitty Kitty Dance Party plays. Nona tries to reach for the remote, but it falls to the floor, frustrating her.
Cast
Wilma Bonet as Nona
Devon Libran as Wrestling Announcer
Development
On July 21, 2021, it was reported that Louis Gonzales would write and direct a CGI animated short film titled Nona.[1][2] In September 2021, Gonzales described the short as "The story itself at its core is a grandmother and her grandchild bonding over wrestling".[3] Gonzales' own grandmother visited him during his childhood and talked passionately about wrestling.[3]
He also "found it exciting to be presenting a grandmother that is not like the grandmas we're used to seeing."[4] During the short's development, he discovered that his ideas were "pulling from [my] family. Like it was always my life –my people, my loves that kept coming back into the story, and kept feeding it".[4]
Music
Cristy Road Carrera composed the music for Nona. The score was released on September 17, 2021.[5]
Nona was released on September 17, 2021, as a Disney+ exclusive film.[1][6]
Reception
Bill Desowitz of IndieWire gave a positive review, saying Nona "leads to a satisfying compromise".[3] Jon Hofferman, writing for Animation World Network, also gave a positive review, saying the short "combines childhood memories, family life, and wild takedown action".[4]
See also
A Spark Story, a documentary focused on the production of Nona.[7]
