Partysaurus Rex (2012)

Sometimes all you want from a short film is exactly what's on the tin: toys, chaos, and a good time. Partysaurus Rex delivers precisely that, and I mean that as a genuine compliment rather than faint praise. This Pixar short, attached to a re-release of Finding Nemo, gives Rex, the anxious little green dinosaur from the Toy Story gang, his moment in the spotlight. Quite literally in the spotlight, as it turns out, because the lad ends up headlining an underwater rave in the bathroom. And honestly? Good for him.

The setup is simple. Rex gets left behind during bath time, and what follows is a wonderfully daft sequence of events as the bathroom's resident bath toys discover that this dinosaur has an unexpected gift for getting the party started. The rubber ducks, the bubbles, the shower spray, it all comes together in a burst of colour and movement that shows Pixar's animators clearly had a blast letting their imaginations loose. The moment the bathroom transforms into a full-on aquatic disco is the kind of visual gag that makes you grin involuntarily. There's real craft in how they use the space, the light refracting through the water, the steam, the soap suds. It's a small canvas but they paint it vividly.

Now, let's be clear about what this is and what it isn't. There's no emotional gut-punch waiting around the corner. Nobody's processing grief or learning a hard lesson about growing up. The story is tissue-thin, and that's absolutely fine because that was never the point. This is playground energy, pure and simple. Loud, colourful, fast-moving, and completely unbothered with anything resembling depth. When I watched it with my kids, they were completely gone for it, laughing from start to finish. Rex finally getting his hero moment, the unlikely life of the party, landed perfectly with them. And watching their reaction made it land for me too.

Rex has always been one of the more underused members of the Toy Story ensemble. He's always been funny precisely because he's such a bundle of nerves, desperate to seem scary, hopelessly loveable instead. Giving him this short to himself was a smart move, and whoever came up with the idea of pairing his anxious personality with a party scenario deserves credit, because the contrast is where all the comedy lives. He doesn't suddenly become a different character; he just finds the right situation where his particular brand of enthusiasm actually works.

If I'm being honest, I can see how it might feel a bit slight for older viewers coming in without kids in tow. It clocks in at around seven minutes, and at that length there's no room to build anything beyond the one joke, which is essentially just: Rex throws a brilliant party. The joke works, but once is enough. It's not something I'd return to on my own of an evening, the way I might revisit a stronger Pixar short. But as family viewing, as a treat for younger kids who love the Toy Story world and want more of it, it absolutely earns its place. I could see it sitting comfortably alongside something like Trolls on a rainy afternoon playlist for the little ones.

Three stars. A small splash with big entertainment value, exactly as advertised. Not everything needs to be profound. Sometimes a dinosaur throwing a bath-time rave is enough, and Partysaurus Rex knows it.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2012  | Watched: 2025-09-25

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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