‘Bao’ includes Chinese character, an adorable dumpling, and Pixar’s first female director of a short

Disney-Pixar’s newest animated short will be called BAO and at its center will be a Chinese-Canadian woman and an adorable bao come to life.

Directed by storyboard artist Domee Shi — Pixar’s first female director for an animated short — the short will feature elements that Shi drew from her background as a child of Chinese immigrants. Shi told Entertainment Weekly exclusively:

“Often times it felt like my mom would treat me like a precious little dumpling, wanting to make sure I was safe, that I didn’t go out late, all that stuff. I just wanted to create this magical, modern-day fairy tale, kind of like a Chinese Gingerbread Man story. The word ‘bao’ actually means two things in Chinese: Said one way, it means steamed bun. Said another, it means something precious. A treasure.”

BAO bursts into theaters ahead of THE INCREDIBLES 2 on June 15, 2018.