The animation industy as we know it originated with shorts. But as the studios shifted their efforts to features, the short-subject scene became the province of indies such as Pixar, Aardman and Blue Sky.  Today, Disney, Paramount and Fox are in business with those companies, and the big-studio animated short is back, reconceived as the proverbial carrot to test out new talent and keep creative types interested. 

Disney is proffering two contenders -- the computer-animated "Lifted" from its Pixar Studios, and "The Little Matchgirl," hand-animated in Disney's traditional style.

According to "Matchgirl" producer Don Hahn, Pixar's penchant for nurturing talent on shorts has become contagious. "Pixar's meritocracy has migrated to Disney, though ironically the old Disney culture was built on shorts. They're wonderful training grounds, and a 'cleansing sorbet' between feature films," he says.

The rest of this Variety article can be read here . 

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