100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios
#91. Sanjay’s Super Team
Medium
Animated Film Short
Release Date
November 25, 2015 (with The Good Dinosaur)
Credits
Director: Sanjay Patel
Writer: Sanjay Patel
The Reason It’s Great
Superheroes represent many things to many people. In various stories, they’ve ranged from being seen as an allegory for the powerful taking control of fate, to figures who are discriminated against by xenophobes.
Sanjay’s Super Team takes the superhero genre and uses it to bridge two worlds: a traditional Hindu upbringing and assimilation into modern American life. Director/writer Sanjay Patel, a child of Indian immigrants felt conflicted growing up. This conflict is what created this amazing animated short.
As a young boy, Sanjay, watches his favorite superhero cartoon, his father makes him perform his daily prayer. Sanjay, bored at the notion, would rather play with his action figure and watch his show. He’s soon transported to a large temple where three Hindu gods—Vishnu, Durga, and Hanuman—fight against the demon Ravana.
When the battle is finally won by the gods, Sanjay is returned to the real world. His father is saddened that he doesn’t enjoy partaking in his culture. However, his father gets a pleasant surprise when he sees that Sanjay has drawn the gods overlooking each superhero. A great film that has not only some beautiful animation and fun action, but a heartwarming theme.