Sep 29, 2021

Watch the trailer for "Blush" on Apple TV+, Skydance Animation's first film

The first fruit of Apple's multi-year deal with Skydance Animation is here. After screenings at Tribeca and Annecy, Blush is launching on Apple TV+ on Friday.

The short film is written and directed by Joe Mateo, a 25-year Disney veteran. It tells the story of an astronaut who crash-lands on a small planet, only to be joined by a pink extraterrestrial who offers him salvation. Watch the trailer below:

The film is the directorial debut of Mateo, a veteran animator and storyboard artist. He co-wrote Meet the Robinsons and was head of story on Big Hero 6. Other credits include Bolt, Zootopia, Tangled, Raya and the Last Dragon, and the ABC holiday special Prep & Landing, on which he won an Emmy for storyboarding.

The project is very personal to Mateo, who lost his wife to cancer in 2017. Their relationship, and their common experience of moving from the Philippines to the U.S., informed the story.

Blush is also the first release from Skydance Animation, a division of David Ellison's Skydance Media, which is headed by John Lasseter. The former Pixar chief is executive producer on the film, and Heather Schmidt Feng Yanu, another Pixar alumna, is producer. Apple will also release the studio's first two features, Luck and Spellbound.

This is the second animated short to be released on Apple TV+. The first, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, qualified for the Oscars last year, but didn't make the shortlist. However, Apple TV+ scored a nomination in the feature animation category with its release of Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers.