Early Buzz: Disney’s Animated Short Film ‘Paperman’ Plus New High Resolution Concept Art
Sinceits earliest rumblings, we’ve been following a new project by Disney Animation Studios calledPaperman. It’s a short film directed byJohn Kahrsabout “a young man in NYC relying on his heart, imagination, a stack of papers—and a little luck—to win the girl of his dreams.” The short is scheduled to premiere in theaters withWreck-It Ralphthis November.
Papermanis now finishedand will reportedly debut in Los Angeles and France this month. Several new images have come on line, and the short also screened at Disney’s Pixar Studios, leading several employees there to tweet all about it. Check it out below.
To recap, here’s the basic plot description ofPaperman:
Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with “Paperman.” Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him. Created by a small, innovative team working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Paperman” pushes the animation medium in an exciting new direction.
You see a bit of that in these images fromStitch Kingdom, which are concept images:
This video doesn’t have footage, but it does offer some more info about the film:
Finally, here are a bunch of Pixar employee tweets aboutPaperman. Do remember, though, these people work for the company so take their over the moon reactions with a tiny grain of salt. They’re surely sincere, but likely wouldn’t have tweeted at all if they didn’t care for the movie.
The animation world is unprepared for how phenomenal Disney’s Paperman short is. The second golden age of animation is now.
— Catherine (@cathicks)August 24, 2025
Disney’s Paperman short was inspiring.You’ll be lifting your jaws off the ground at the end!
— Chris Chua (@ChrisChua007)August 17, 2025
Disney’s short#Papermanis going to blow audiences away! So good on so many levels. Great work and congratulations to @john_kahrs& crew!
— Paul A. (@chocoeleven)July 29, 2025
Attending#AnnecyAnimationFestival? Do everything you may to see John Kahr’s#PAPERMANlecture! It blows the medium wide open#gamechanger
— Matt Jones (@Jonezee99)June 04, 2025
.@cathickshear hear! I think Paperman is one of the most beautiful things (visually & story-wise) I’ve seen in a long time!
— Josh Anon (@joshanon)July 18, 2025
Just saw @John_Kahrs’s Paperman for the second and third times here at Pixar. INCREDIBLE. See it this fall with Wreck-it Ralph!
— David Condolora(@davidcondolora)July 25, 2025
WOW! Just saw “Paperman”, the new short from John Kahrs. I cried both times I saw it. Gorgeous, great music, a total home run. Watch for it!
— Craig Good (@clgood)June 04, 2025
Disney’s animated short Paperman is the most inspiring thing I’ve seen all year.
— Colin Levy (@effstops)June 07, 2025
— QHef Lord (@qhefyi2)June 27, 2025
Wow. Sure sounds likeWreck-It Ralphwill have a lot to live up to, huh? Also, when those Pixar people can actually tweet about something they work on, they sure do turn out en masse.
Oh, and then there’s this guy.
Just had the great pleasure of watching John Kahrs innovative & wonderful hand-drawn/CG mash up “PAPERMAN”.Annecy, you’re gonna love it.
— Brad Bird (@BradBirdA113)July 17, 2025
This is beyond exciting. It’ll screen at the Los Angeles Film Festival and Annecy in France this month.
