COM 207.3: Blog # 5: The Pixar Story



Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pixar_Story



Woody: WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Buzz: Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet! I alone have information that reveals this weapon's only weakness. And *you*, my friend, are responsible for delaying my rendezvous with Star Command!
Woody: [pauses and looks incredulous] YOU! ARE! A! TOYYYYY! You aren't the real Buzz Lightyear! You're - you're an action figure!
[holds hand up to eyes indicating something small]
Woody: You are a child's play thing!
Buzz: You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.
[waves in military fashion]
Buzz: Farewell.
[starts to walk away]
Woody: Oh, yeah? Well, good riddance, ya loony!

Image from http://www.madisonavenuejournal.com/

Watching The Pixar Story has transported me back to a time when everything else in my eyes were simple and easily enjoyable and yet, it also reminded me that things weren't always as what it seemed to be when I was young.

When Pixar launched their first feature film Toy Story in 1995, I was just an elementary kid in Grade 5. That time, I didn't even bother whether Pixar was in partnership with Walt Disney Studios or vice versa nor how the film was even made! All I cared about was after Disney's Aladdin (1994) and Pocahontas (1995), I'm seeing real-life looking characters with funny antics and throwing comedic dialogues that made me laugh and happy as I leave the cinema.

But now as a grown-up, the things that I have seen, heard, learned and experienced all throughout the years made me realize that life and the things around me are complexed, mostly-structured and following a process or order.

The Pixar Story documentary opens with a spinning zoetrope, the earliest of all animation tools, first bringing us back to the early history of animation and then informing us of how animation has progressed. It was followed by animation through black and white sketches (Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop) to being colored such as Disney's first animated feature-length film Snow White. Then moves forward to stop-motion (John Henry and the Inky-Poo) and proceeds to computer-animation in 2D and finally, in 3D (Toy Story, 1995).



Image from http://www.pixar.com/ homepage



In retrospect, more than Woody and Buzz, the real stars of the blockbuster Toy Story are a group of unlikely individuals who worked together and set a common goal to make a breakthrough in the film and animation industry. They are John Lasseter "the talented artist," Ed Catmull "the creative scientist," and Steve Jobs "the visionary entrepreneur." Together, they have achieved a phenomenon that has earned them a spot in cinema history.

This incredible breakthrough was a result of the amalgamation of Lasseter's experience as an animator, of Catmull's skill as a computer-scientist and Jobs' entrepreneurial vision as a businessman. Each of them excelled in their own fields and the intersection of their knowledge, expertise and hardwork resulted in Pixar becoming a successful company and organization in its own.

Image from http://www.bnet.com/

Drawing from the dialogue of Woody and Buzz above, Pixar has had a lot of struggle before it was able to stand on its own feet. Briefly, Pixar was the computer-graphics arm of George Lucas filmmaking operation which Lucas eventually cut loose. When Disney hired Pixar, management issues plagued their relationship. Pixar was being treated only as a tool of something bigger with a similar tone to Woody's  "YOU! ARE! A! TOYYYYYY!" Just like that and with no opportunity to venture out and grow.

On a personal note, I didn't even knew who were behind Pixar until I've seen The Pixar Story. I was surprised that Apple's Steve Jobs was part of it! Nevertheless, as what I've learned from Frans Johansson's The Medici Effect, "the intersection is the best place to generate an explosion of new breakthrough ideas." 

Furthermore, Johansson says "to be considered creative, it is not enough that an idea is new... it must also have some measure of relevance; it must be valuable." Earlier I mentioned that I enjoyed watching Toy Story because I saw real-life characters acting. Probably, it was because the material is new - it's CGI, it's 3D! Toy Story's relevance to the animation and film industries is no doubt its bragging rights as the first feature-length film to be created and rendered entirely using 3D graphics. The value of Toy Story and the rest of the computer-animated movies that followed has not only been limited to business but has expanded to a socio-cultural level.

Image from http://www.thoughtpantry.blogspot.com/

Take for example, Pixar claims that their movies impart moral lessons about friendship, love, respect and other virtues to its audience. Whether this is measurable or not, perhaps their films indeed made an impact to the viewers that may be attested by many people around the world.

Image from http://www.kaboodle.com/

During birthday parties or other events, what are the common themes these days? Aren't they under the sea theme aka Finding Nemo; superhero theme aka The Incredibles; Cars and so on? Truly, Pixar has been a household name and its films are being patronized in many ways.

Screenshot from http://www.pixar.com/

Lastly, the process of making the Pixar films is truly interesting. Watching The Pixar Story, I now have higher respect and appreciation to their creators. In Filipino, "hindi biro-biro." Since the creative process takes a lot of time from story pitching to summarizing the main idea of the story, to drawing storyboards, and applying voice after. Further editing and application of artistic details come next. The process continues with the digital/ 3-D modelling and polishing the sets/ background of the story. Then the shots are laid out, animated, shaded, and lighted. Rendering will follow and finally, the finishing touches. No wonder it sometimes takes years to produce one great 3-D animated film. But with the right mixture of people, attitude, tools, environment accompanied by good management and governed by a systematic policy with proper reward, acknowledgement and appreciation, no matter how hard the work is, the process will be enjoyable.

As Peter Debruge said on his 2007 online film review, The Pixar Story "above all else, a celebration of animation in all its forms. Iwerks naturally has a firm grasp of the medium's history and rightly sees Pixar as the catalyst for the recent resurgence of audience interest in animation." 

The Pixar Story (2007) is a Leslie Iwerks Productions; written, produced and directed by Leslie Iwerks; narrated by: Stacy Keach; music by: Jeff Beal; and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Running time: 87 minutes. Language: English.

With interviews from: Brad Bird, Loren Carpenter, Ed Catmull, Diane Disney Miller, Roy Disney, Michael Eisner, Bob Iger, Steve Jobs, Ollie Johnston, Glen Keane, John Lasseter, George Lucas, Alvy Ray Smith, Andrew Stanton, Frank Thomas.