Disney’s Launchpad short: The Last of the Chupacabras Directed by Jessica Mendez Siqueiros
- 3 years ago
Disney’s Launchpad short Chupacabras
Chepa is a Mexican-American woman in Los Angeles who sells hot tamales from a push cart every day. That wouldn’t be so incredible if it weren’t for the fact that she’s the last of her kind in the city, now a frequent sight on a city tour where she pauses for photos and shocks everyone when she says “Buenos dias.” Retiring alone each night to her home, she summons a magical creature from her heritage who brings a little light into her world.
Melba Martinez gives a delightful performance as Chepa, who often needs to convey a lot to the audience without having anyone to talk to. The film really celebrates Mexican culture and heritage, with the character opening a box of puppets before summoning “Chup,” as she calls the creature, who is a large-scale puppet. Primarily using practical effects, there’s a handmade quality to The Last of the Chupacabras that makes it feel like it could’ve been made thirty years ago, like an instant classic.
The Disney Launchpad Shorts Incubator returns for Season II with exciting new changes!
For the first time ever, writers will be eligible to apply for the program as well as directors. This means you can apply as a writer, writer/director, a director with a script someone else wrote (so as a team), or as a director. You can only apply once in either of these categories. Check out the FAQ to learn how teams will be formed.
As narratively focus on the theme of “Connection,” a timely idea with unlimited interpretations, we will continue our mission to empower filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds with diverse perspectives, expose them to the studio system, and deliver up to six (6) original, live-action shorts for proposed initial exhibition on Disney+.
Chepa is a Mexican-American woman in Los Angeles who sells hot tamales from a push cart every day. That wouldn’t be so incredible if it weren’t for the fact that she’s the last of her kind in the city, now a frequent sight on a city tour where she pauses for photos and shocks everyone when she says “Buenos dias.” Retiring alone each night to her home, she summons a magical creature from her heritage who brings a little light into her world.
Melba Martinez gives a delightful performance as Chepa, who often needs to convey a lot to the audience without having anyone to talk to. The film really celebrates Mexican culture and heritage, with the character opening a box of puppets before summoning “Chup,” as she calls the creature, who is a large-scale puppet. Primarily using practical effects, there’s a handmade quality to The Last of the Chupacabras that makes it feel like it could’ve been made thirty years ago, like an instant classic.
The Disney Launchpad Shorts Incubator returns for Season II with exciting new changes!
For the first time ever, writers will be eligible to apply for the program as well as directors. This means you can apply as a writer, writer/director, a director with a script someone else wrote (so as a team), or as a director. You can only apply once in either of these categories. Check out the FAQ to learn how teams will be formed.
As narratively focus on the theme of “Connection,” a timely idea with unlimited interpretations, we will continue our mission to empower filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds with diverse perspectives, expose them to the studio system, and deliver up to six (6) original, live-action shorts for proposed initial exhibition on Disney+.