This is Pixar firing on all cylinders in under 6 minutes. It's the short that played before Finding Dory, and honestly, some people liked it better than the feature.

No dialogue, just a baby sandpiper learning to overcome her fear of ocean waves with help from some hermit crabs who show her the magic of going underwater. The animation is so photorealistic you'll wonder if they just filmed actual birds, and the emotional arc is perfect—fear, failure, encouragement, breakthrough, joy.

It's genuinely enriching without being preachy, gorgeous without being overstimulating, and short enough that you can watch it three times in a row when your kid inevitably demands it. The brief scary wave moment is handled with such tenderness that even anxious kids typically handle it fine.

This is the kind of screen time you can feel unambiguously good about. Show it, talk about it, or just let it wash over them (pun intended). It's a tiny masterpiece.