Lou is the 2017 short film shown with Pixar’s Cars 3.
Directed by Dave Mullins, Lou centers on a lost-and-found box that protects children from a schoolyard bully. The title character is assembled from objects inside the box, including a red hoodie, a baseball, and other lost belongings. The short explores kindness, empathy, and the consequences of taking things that belong to other people.
Lou was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and accompanied Cars 3 in its theatrical release. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards, although it did not win. The award went to Dear Basketball.
Viewers sometimes confuse Lou with other Pixar shorts paired with feature films, such as Piper, which accompanied Finding Dory, or Bao, which accompanied Incredibles 2. Lou’s connection to Cars 3 is its 2017 theatrical presentation before the feature.