Good day, everyone!!
General Note: Initially, I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I should create a new thread entirely for this particular topic, or to simply place it in the existing “If you got a tour of Pixar…” thread. However, I finally decided to simply create a separate thread for this, due to the fact that there are images involved – I wouldn’t want to clutter up the other thread with numerous photographs.
Additionally, and in regards to the photographs that shall be posted, I shall not post up every image that I took of the studio… yet. Pixar Animation Studios’ policies dictate that no images of the second floor of the studio should be taken, and, although I did my best to adhere to this law, some of the photographs I took of the first floor show a portion (or portions) of the second floor. This breach of the law was purely accidental on my part, and I refuse to post up these images publicly for the sake of the studio. Until they are cropped to adhere to Pixar Animation Studios’ rules and regulations, they shall not be posted. (Exceptions include the images of the life-size models of the Pixar characters on the second floor, these being the Finding Nemo and The Incredibles models.)
Thank you very much, and happy reading!
Prior to the eleventh of February, 2010, I was invited by my good friend Chris (locally known as ffdude1906 here on Pixar Planet) to accompany him on a tour of Pixar Animation Studios. Naturally, I took up the offer, and embarked on an adventure I won’t soon forget.
After a two hour train ride on February 10th, followed swiftly by an eight hour bus ride, I arrived in Emeryville bright and early in the morning on February 11th, and took to exploring the city immediately. I had never visited Emeryville before, much less San Francisco, and I quickly fell in love with what it had to offer, namely the scenery. (The environment was similar to, but much richer than, L.A., in my opinion.) My main objective was to find the Pixar gates… and a Starbucks. Oddly enough, after two hours of searching, I found the Pixar gates first:
I had a pretty sentimental smile on my face when I saw this. Heheh.
Not long afterward, I journeyed through the city a little more and found… no Starbucks. I think I was traveling in the wrong direction. “Well,” I thought, “Nevermind. I’ll just take a detour towards this iHop here…”
Wouldn’t ya’ know it, Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera, and another gentleman whom I didn’t recognize arrived for a bite at the exact same stop when I was about half an hour into my meal! I wasn’t quite sure it was them at first, as there was a glass wall/divide separating them from me, but Pete Docter’s voice is pretty distinguishable, and once I heard them talking about Pixar, movies, and Bob Peterson, the answer became pretty obvious.
I kept on eating, and drawing in my sketchbook occasionally, albeit absentmindedly, while I listened to Mr. Docter and his companions engage in deep conversation. I couldn’t understand everything they were saying, though, so after a while I devoted most of my attention to my pancakes and sketchbook again. At one point, one of the waiters came up, saw my Russell drawings, and asked if I worked at Pixar. Pretty flattering! I said that I didn’t work there yet, but I would one day. Ha-ha.
I purposely left at the same time Mr. Docter did so as I could walk past him and say, “Good morning, Mr. Docter!” He said, “Hi” back and chuckled as he did so. Right as they were all leaving, Chris and his dad came into the same store and came face-to-face with them. Perfect timing! Chris was pretty psyched. Heheh.
After lounging around at iHop a bit more, Chris, his dad, and I made our way to Pixar. I must admit that it’s a pretty awesome place, and the people who work there are some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. Several employees at Pixar (whom Chris knows) gave us a tour, all three of whom were very amiable! You could tell that they have a blast working there.
Below are several of the pictures I took, along with descriptions…
The giant Luxo lamp and Luxo ball.
Chris standing next to the Luxo replicas.
Several photographs showcasing the outside of Pixar Animation Studios, including their grassy “atrium”.
The main entryway is most impressive.
Pixar loves displaying their accomplishments in many formats, huge stand-up posters included. I loved all of the Up-related stuff lying around, and Chris did, too.
Even the main desk at the entrance is coated with memorabilia.
The Pixar Studio Store has a lot to offer, including t-shirts, toys, and books.
The bottom floor of Pixar carries about it a pristine air, while still showing off its fun side. This here is the game room.
The Pixar mail room. I wonder how many fan letters they receive daily?
And, of course, one can’t forget the impressive cereal display…
It’s Bruce the shark! Perhaps Chris shouldn’t stand so close…
The Incredibles!
Chris and his dad standing and posing in front of the Parr family. Looks like they’re having fun!
I have more photographs, but I’m going to wait to post them up until I’ve either cropped some of them or asked permission of the people who gave us the tour if I might post them up.
Before I say anything: Mike, Cat, and Lindsay: I know you said to keep our written experience of the tour loose and personal, but I have this… sticky habit of turning everything I write into a book, so, if I sound too formal here, or if I’ve revealed any information that I shouldn’t have, please let me know! 
The kind folks who gave Chris and I the tour included Mike Frederickson, Cat Hicks, and Lindsay VanderGalien. Cat and Lindsay are both animators, and Mike is a technical director. They showed us around the main atrium, the animation department, one of the screening rooms, the Luxo Cafe’, part of the second floor, and, of course, the Pixar Studio Store. Since each area is too awesome to leave behind without giving a detailed account of each, I’ll divide the experience into small sections here:
The Main Atrium - I love the look and feel of the main atrium at Pixar. It carries with it a pristine aura while still conveying a sense of fun at the same time. It’s clean and sturdy, yet comfortable; mature and decided, yet not detached from that child-like mentality which keeps the studio and its people so youthful.
The Screening Rooms - There are two rooms (one gray and one blue) on either side of the central theater where the animation department (and other members of the crew, I take it) will screen their progress for the director to analyze. It was insanely quiet in there, and the couches (which were everywhere) looked as comfortable as anything – definitely a good place to sleep if you can manage it!
The Luxo Cafe’ - It took us a while to find a table, but, heck, it was worth it! I love the food. A nice bowl of soup for two bucks! Not bad. For some reason, I was under the impression that the meals were more expensive there. Apparently not. Folks gotta eat, after all. I thought it was funny that we saw Bob Peterson, Peter Sohn, and John Lasseter while we sat there eating.
The Second Floor - One of my greatest wishes while I was at the studio was that I could take pictures of the second floor, because we weren’t allowed to. It was positively overflowing with sculptures, artwork (traditional and digital, life-sized and journal-sized), scale models, photographs, storyboards, and more, all of which were Up-related, naturally. They even had an entire wall devoted to Russell’s badges (including those that were discarded from the film, such as a “Sushi Eating” badge and a “Weapons” badge) and what each one stood for. I absolutely loved the place.
The second floor was also where the most questions were asked… and gratefully answered. Mike, Cat, and Lindsay told us lots of facts about their individual jobs and studio life that was equally interesting and intriguing. I wish I could have recorded our conversations.
The Animation Department - Of all the areas we explored, one of my favorites was the animation department. Imagine someone taking a warehouse, dumping it in the middle of nowhere, throwing a bunch of animators inside of it, and letting them run loose with their imagination. That’s their animation section. You could literally walk into one room and be in a western bar-like area… and cross the “street” to the next room and find yourself inside of a garden shed or a tiki hut. They had everything from random objects strewn all over the place (including some Chuck E. Cheese props, a William Shatner standee, and giant plush toys) to a little section dedicated to Glen McQueen… to the romantic Love Lounge, a small hole-in-the-wall room filled with comfy pillows, leopard skin seats, and soothing music. I’m telling you, the place was fantastic. We saw Angus MacLane working hard in his study (which was… filled to the brim with toys). We even got to talk to one of the animators there, and he showed us how he perfected a scene in Up! Way cool.
The Pixar Studio Store - It’s a shame that there’s only one of these stores in the world, because they’ve got stuff there that every Pixar fanatic would just kill to have. They’ve got shirts, watches, key chains, books, pencil cases… You name it. Ronnie del Carmen paid us a visit while we were in there. That would be the first time Chris met him and the… second time I met him. Very nice gentleman. He’s a sweetheart of a guy. Heck, everyone is nice at Pixar.
My favorite part of the tour? Using the bathrooms. I kid you not, I would work there just for those. Wood paneling. Pristine floors. Duel-flushers. You lift the handle up one way and it deposits liquid waste; you do the opposite and it deposits… well… you get the idea. That was the coolest bathroom I’ve ever been in. Bar nun. I’m workin’ there just for that…
All-in-all, we had an absolutely fantastic time at the studio, and I can’t thank Mike, Cat, and Lindsay enough for giving us the tour, and Chris for letting me tag along. My hat is off to Chris’ dad, too, for driving us around San Francisco. It was most appreciated, Sir!
Thanks, guys! You all are the best! 
In addition to the PIxar tour, Chris’ dad was kind enough to drive us around the city of San Francisco. I should have gotten more pictures, but here are the few that I did take:
If there is such a thing as having too much fun, then this was it.
Well, that’s all, folks! I hope that you enjoyed what I could give you of the tour. I wish that I could have taken you all with us! One of these days, when I work at Pixar, I’ll be able to.
– Mitch
I’m glad you both had an amazing time!
