A review of the evening will be posted by the end of the week…
Very interesting, thanks.
A review of the evening will be posted by the end of the week…
Please do. Would love to hear how it went.
Wow, very interesting! I look forward to reading your review, ROBINICS95, and I hope you enjoy the evening.
Cool to see that Bayer Health Care (e. g. they make Aspirin) is a patron. One of their HQ’s is directly in front of my dormitory. 
Looking forward to read your review.
Robonic is one of the privileged few to be watching this movie right about… now. Oh, actually he’d be watching Presto.
I’m not obsessed! I just like to think in terms of what’s “live”.
~Sarah
Dang… I envy you greatly. Have fun! I’ll pass on th review though. I’m avoiding spoilers like he plauge.
Wait does this mean that if you go to this event, you go in Pixar Animations Studio and meet the people?
Before my recap of the evening, I do want to say that I will not be going into too many details on scenes or parts of the story from Presto or Wall-E for a couple of reasons. Besides my signature on a piece of paper that states that I cannot, there was also a personal request by a Pixar employee that I would like to respect. I will, however, express my overall impression of both films and the evening in general. Also, we were not allowed to bring electronics into the studios so this report will not include any pictures of the evening.
As some of you may know, the interior of the studios is decorated to reflect the film currently being promoted at the time. At a similar event last year, the halls were decorated with soon to be released merchandise, banners, prints, sketches, and models of Ratatouille, so of course at this event the studios were decorated with Wall-E, and a lot of him. Many of the large cardboard figures that we have seen displayed at the theatres were also placed throughout the atrium.
Immediately to the right of the front entrance was a Wall-E merchandise display of all the exciting new toys, bedding, books, games, RC robots, shoes, etc. soon to be released (if they haven’t been already). This stuff is going to make Disney*Pixar LOTS of money! So many little RC robots to enjoy that even I had hard time walking away from. These are sure to be a hot item for children of all ages.
Directly across from the merchandise is the front desk where they usually sell exclusive Pixar merchandise. I was disappointed to see that they were not selling anything this evening but it was probably for the best as I have spent plenty here in the past.
The silent auction was interesting and featured many different hand crafted bags, clothing, and jewelry from different countries around the globe. The Pixar related items featured an “Art of Wall-E” book and framed Wall-E prints, all of which were autographed by Andrew Stanton. The other hot item at the auction was a weeklong art course at the Pixar University.
After enjoying the delicious wine and hors d’oeuvres, my wife and I spent about 45 minutes wandering the halls of the studios admiring the concept art and modeling for both Wall-E and the Ward Kimball-esque Pixar short “Your Friend the Rat.” The art and design for Wall-E had gone through an amazing evolutionary process since its inception and it was incredible to witness years of creativity and imagination progress right before my eyes and in a matter of minutes. The time spent viewing the concept art was definitely a highlight of the evening.
It was just before 7:30 pm when we saw everyone begin to line up at the Pixar theatre doors. We began to make our way through security, who then gave us one last scan with the wand to check for any hidden electronics, and into the theatre to find our seats. The President of the Emeryville Education Fund, John Gooding, acknowledged a few key individuals and thanked Pixar for their continued support and contribution. John then introduced Randy Nelson, the Dean of Pixar University, to give us a brief introduction of what we were about to see.
The lights go down, the fiber optic “starry night effect” appears, and Presto begins its performance. While I was expecting Wall-E to be extremely unique in comparison to previous Pixar films, I was not expecting the same for Presto. Right from the starting line, this short had the same feel of not only the classic Disney shorts but also the comedic genius of a classic Chuck Jones cartoon. This short was hilariously funny and just really gave me that pleasant “Saturday Morning Cartoon” feeling that I remember so much as little kid. Well done, Pixar!
The pairing of these two films is perfect as they both represent a fresh and unique approach toward storytelling for Pixar. The beginning of Wall-E is a sure sign that this is not the Pixar of yesteryear but a new chapter in the life of a groundbreaking studio. The extremely personal and emotional bond with the main character is established right from the start of the film and just continues to grow from that point on. I couldn’t fight the extraordinarily high amount of charm that this little robot possessed and I will still catch myself smiling uncontrollably when I reflect on certain scenes.
What about Eve? Eve is a beautifully designed robot that any Apple fan would fall in love with. So its no wonder that Wall-E has generated such a strong attraction for her, so strong that he will stop at nothing to stand by her side forever. Which then leads me to the wow moments of the film.
It has been a while since any filmmaker has taken us into space, hasn’t it? Well, you haven’t been to space until you have traveled with Pixar. This film is a Sci-Fi geeks heaven. The entire look and feel of the film is so unique that I had to remind myself that this was a Disney*Pixar animated film. I have not seen anything this bold in quite some time and it was very refreshing to know that these films can still be created.
The captivating journey and the charming relationship between Eve and Wall-E will help the film appeal to all ages and will drive this film toward an incredible amount of success both at the box office and in merchandising. Another great example of how the story is the true star and the medium in which it is told is simply the supporting role.
Thanks for the review, ROBONICS95!
Don’t go telling anyone, but there is a high possibility that I may be going to Pixar this Monday so I’ll post my thoughts here!
Wow…The evening sounded great. Thanks for telling us all about it, ROBONICS95. It must’ve been cool to see the concept art, too, especially before seeing the film itself so you could sort of track the process of how the film was developed.
I look forward to reading your review, TheIncredible!
Thanks to Robonics95 for the great report. I was there too, and I thought I’d share my story.
I first heard about the evening at Pixar here on Pixar Planet, and I knew I had to go. I’ve been a huge Pixar fan since Toy Story, and since then it’s been my dream to work at Pixar. Six years of university and 2 degrees later, plus a year of working in the film industry (developing software for a small VFX company) I figured now was as good a time as any to finally visit Pixar. I made the trip from Canada just for the evening’s event, and I’m really glad that I did!
I started the day off by heading out to Point Richmond to see the building that housed Pixar from 1990 to 2000. It’s at the end of the subway line and then about a 45 minute walk through a huge industrial area. The building is still there and looks unchanged from photos that I’ve seen, though it’s now owned by the State of California. I walked around a bit, in awe of the place where Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 were made. I even noticed a tree in the back that looked similar to the tree on ant island.
Then I headed to the nearby Hidden City Cafe, which was featured in the first Wall-E trailer. To my surprise, the table shown in the trailer was empty, so I obviously sat there. There were even a few Pixar items on a ledge above the table to mark the spot where several of their movies were conceived. After a great lunch, I headed to Emeryville.
My first stop in Emeryville was the local grocery store to get a drink (it was really hot out). If you know Safeway, you’ll know that their receipts have your name on it, and the cashiers are supposed to say “Thank you Mr. (your last name)”. I changed the name on my Safeway card a while ago, just for fun, and now they say “Thanks Mr. Incredible”, which is always good for a laugh. It was fun to do that just around the corner from Pixar, the cashier seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. On the way out I saw a sign for Toys R Us, so I thought I’d go look for Wall-E toys. Alas, it was only a Babies R Us. I got over it pretty quick when I remembered that I was just around the corner from the front gates of Pixar. Of course I had to get my picture taken there, but there’s really nothing to see other than the gates and a security desk. The rest of the block is surrounded by large hedges that you can’t see over or through, so I headed back to my hotel to drop off my camera.
On the way back I found the Disney Store at Union Square, which is closing. Everything was 40-60% off, but I could only find a small RC Lightning McQueen to purchase.
I got back to Pixar at 6pm just as the reception was starting. The first thing I noticed on the walk past the gate was a 15-foot tall Luxo statue paired with a statue of the yellow ball from the short film. Apparently these were just installed, and came from Australia. Then I went into the lobby, which was awesome! It was decorated for Wall-E, and there was a large display of Wall-E items in one corner. I tried out the penny press that I had seen in so many photos, and then wandered over to the silent auction. Most of the items seemed to be for local attractions, or otherwise not of interest to me (like women’s clothing). There were a few Pixar items though: a framed Wall-E poster signed by Andrew Stanton, Art of Wall-E book also signed by Andrew Stanton, the book from the Pixar exhibition at Moma signed by the curator and a week at Pixar University. All very tempting, but I didn’t end up with any of them.
While enjoying some delicious food from Cafe Luxo I noticed some guests were walking around on the second floor. Obviously I had to check it out. It turns out that’s where they display some of their concept art. I got to see items from My Friend the Rat, Finding Nemo and Wall-E. There were also some employees up there to answer questions, so I didn’t actually get to see much of the art. I’m in the market for a new job now, so it was great to be able to talk to people who obviously have “the right stuff” to work there. I think everyone on the board here will be happy to know that having a passion for Pixar films is one of the things they look for when hiring. Other qualifications also apply though, of course.
Since I promised not to give anything away, I’ll just say that I am going see Presto and Wall-E again on opening night.
Bah! You guys are just too lucky!! You’re making me want to work there again though I lack the magic to do so! x_x
Anyways, thank you both for sharing your experiences - I enjoyed reading them even though they made me jealous. 
Lovely reviews, ROBONICS95 and DavidWhite. Thanks for taking the time out to let us know what the showing at Pixar was like - the studio and movie sounded amazing. Both write-ups were really interesting, as well. I like how the Hidden City Cafe has a few nods to Pixar on their shelves. 
Wow, DavidWhite, you really took a Bay Area tour! I think I’m going to change my name to Mr. Incredible at Safeway now.