The Pixar short featuring a young alien trying to abduct a sleeping farmer is Lifted.
Lifted follows Stu, an inexperienced alien taking an abduction test aboard a spacecraft. Under the supervision of his examiner, Mr. B, Stu must use a huge panel of unlabeled switches to beam a sleeping farmer named Ernie out of his house.
Stu struggles with the controls, sending Ernie crashing into walls and bouncing around his bedroom without waking. Even after Stu finally maneuvers the farmer through a window, he accidentally disables the tractor beam. Mr. B repeatedly rescues the situation, but Stu’s final attempt to pilot the ship ends with Ernie’s house destroyed and the farmer left asleep on a pillar of earth.
Lifted was written and directed by Gary Rydstrom, making his Pixar directorial debut. The short was inspired by Rydstrom’s experience operating complicated sound equipment while being watched and evaluated. It premiered in 2006 and was released theatrically with Ratatouille in 2007. Its title is a pun on both alien abduction and Stu’s clumsy performance.