Sanjay's Super Team

On a typical day in a busy Indian neighborhood, a young boy grows restless as his father sits in quiet meditation. To cope, he slips into a vivid daydream where Hindu gods step forward as a fearless superhero team. In his mind these divine figures stride through sunlit streets and temple courtyards, answering a call to protect family, faith, and everyday fears. The imagined battles mix mythic power with the boy’s own kid logic, melding sacred symbols with bright action and humor. The result is a sharp, warm short that uses animation to show how tradition and imagination can coexist in a single, curious heart. The tone stays light and hopeful, never heavy handed, letting imagination do the heavy lifting.

Directed by Sanjay Patel, the short is a personal project drawn from his childhood and Indian heritage. It was released in 2015 as a Pixar animated short, voiced by Arun Rao, Brenton Schraff, Sunny Singh Attar, and Jaquelynn Herrera today.

Sanjay's Super Team earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film, a recognition that highlighted how animation can cross cultural lines. Its blend of myth, family life, and personal memory was praised for warmth and visual inventiveness, and for broadening the palette of animated storytelling.

The film stands out for introducing Hindu myth to mainstream animation and portraying the gods as approachable, action ready figures. It offers a doorway for cross cultural conversation about faith and family, inviting viewers to see tradition through a child's hopeful, inclusive lens for all ages.

Critics noted the short's crisp storytelling and warm visual style, praising its emotional honesty without sermonizing. The core themes revolve around imagination as a bridge between cultural heritage and daily life, and about a son learning to connect with his father through shared wonder. It invites classroom discussion.