For most of you, Pixar's Day & Night is known merely as the clever short film that preceded the award-winning studio's Oscar frontrunner Toy Story 3. Yet, Day & Night is a brilliant film in its own right and, as well, an Oscar nominee for Best Animated Short Film.

Even within the confines of a six-minute short, Pixar manages to create a film that is both a remarkable technical achievement and an emotionally resonant piece of cinema. Day & Night is a nearly silent short film in which two delightful beings, think a cross between Casper and Ziggy, representing day & night travel a mini-journey of discovering each other's strengths and weaknesses, light and shadows.

Blending 2-D and 3-D animation, even in silence children are sure to understand and appreciate the the film's simple message about learning to trust your own beauty and appreciate the beauty of others. The film's most poignant scenes are those in which day & night become aware of and surrender to how their beauty complements one another.

Director Teddy Newton combines the usual visual wonder of Pixar with images that are filled with humor, heart, innocence and wonder. Not only was Day & Night a perfect opening film for Toy Story 3, it is a marvelous and moving stand-alone film from the creative minds at Pixar.