The "Truth" About Pixar

[lizardgirl]

I went to Brighton the other day with a few friends, and we ventured into a very interesting shop called Borders. They have hundreds of magazines there, so of course I wasn’t surprised to find a few Pixar-related articles. One article was particularly interesting, and was labelled ‘the “Truth” About Pixar’. I found it in a magazine predominantly about Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki’s works, and it looked very promising.

The thing is, the article was actually very negative about Pixar. The main outline was that, yes, Pixar have created some beautiful films, and they haven’t really gone wrong yet, but the downward trend indicated by Cars and possibly Ratatouille was, according to the article, due to Pixar being too rigid about its creative process.

This seemed a bit strange, since the image everyone generally has of Pixar is that it’s very open and creative, but the article went on to say things like that Lasseter is sort of the ‘big daddy’ of the place, and although there’s all these activity rooms and games for the Pixar employees to have fun with in their spare time, he’s always watching them and keeping an eye on them.

Another example is that Lasseter is well-known for his outrageous Hawaiin shirts, and several other Pixar employees also wear similar shirts, but they’re never as outrageous as though they’re paying respect to Lasseter and are afraid that they might anger them.

The article was pretty vague, sort of pointing out little things here and there, such as how ‘threatening’ the front gates of Pixar are, but I think what they were trying to imply is that Pixar is sort of too perfect and prim, and that’s why they’re starting to make little mistakes with their latest films.

I have to admit that Pixar has always seemed very…well, not plastic, but you get what I mean, but I’ve always put that down to the wealthy side of American culture, which does have that vibe of perfection around it. And I’ve never even visited Pixar or America, so I’m not really in a place to say anything about it, which is why I’m asking all of you- what do you think about what this article was trying to say? Sorry if I haven’t conveyed it very clearly, but the article itself was pretty strange and difficult to understand.

[Gasduude]

Hmm, that’s interesting.

Well, I’ve always believed in Pixar as the bestest animation studio ever, but when companies get large, they struggle to hold on to what made so great and unique when they are little. You see this within any industry - not just animation…

Pixar, in my opinion, has done a fantastic job of avoiding this tendency - with the value of story and a “directory driven” mindset - but I think as big as they are now, their going to develop a routine with each piece they turn out. And that’s probably what this article pointing out. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, just one that’s normal.

Thanks for the info, lizardgirl.

[Dash]

When you watch a Pixar film - you can instantly determine who the director is - Lasseter, Bird, Stanton, Docter, Eggleston, Lucky, Rydstrom, etc.

That kills your John Lasseter-Big Daddy theory right there.

[Sky]

Thanks for the article, lizardgirl. Nevertheless, it seems like whoever wrote that piece doesn’t have any real inside info, because they are criticising such odd things, such as the gates in front of Pixar (?!). So I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

@lizardgirl

The thing is, the article was actually very negative about Pixar. The main outline was that, yes, Pixar have created some beautiful films, and they haven’t really gone wrong yet, but the downward trend indicated by Cars and possibly Ratatouille was, according to the article, due to Pixar being too rigid about its creative process.

Well, yeah. Of course Pixar has to be rigid about its creative process. They need to make sure that everyone knows that they are not going to commit to a story until they have got it right. But this takes time and money. Pixar has to stand its ground, especially as the trend with other studios has been to rush the story, put it in the theatre, and then make lots of money.

@lizardgirl

This seemed a bit strange, since the image everyone generally has of Pixar is that it’s very open and creative, but the article went on to say things like that Lasseter is sort of the ‘big daddy’ of the place, and although there’s all these activity rooms and games for the Pixar employees to have fun with in their spare time, he’s always watching them and keeping an eye on them.

Heheheh. John “Big Brother” Lasseter is watching you. Because we all know that he has nothing better to do than to sit around spying on his employees.

@lizardgirl

Another example is that Lasseter is well-known for his outrageous Hawaiin shirts, and several other Pixar employees also wear similar shirts, but they’re never as outrageous as though they’re paying respect to Lasseter and are afraid that they might anger them.

LOL!

And as for the supposed “failure” of Cars, even though it wasn’t the best Pixar film, it was still a pretty good film of last year, and it sure beats anything that Dreamworks put out.

Ratatouille? A failure? In terms of box office, it could have been better, but the numbers are steadily creeping up, so I’m happy with that. On the other hand, the reviews have been nothing but stellar, with some even saying it should be nominated for best picture, so I think that speaks for itself.

In summary, the person who wrote that article is talking a big load of nonsense.

[lizardgirl]

I agree with all of the points you’ve all made- it did actually sound as though the

person who had written the article had never visited Pixar for themselves. I don’t know why they were even

trying to put Pixar down, since it was a Studio Ghibli magazine, and as far as I was aware, the two companies get

along really well.

[martini833]

Lizardgirl- You’re right!
I hear Pete Docter has connections with the studio, he was even supposed to direct Howl’s Moving Castle’s dub. I’m not a big anime fan but that’s a fact i DO know.

[Deidara]

-.-…I don’t get some people man.
I believe Pixar does a fantastic job with ALL of the movies they make. I havn’t seen any problem with any of them…-_-
And for John Lasseter? Yeah, he’s pretty awesome, we all know, lol. I don’t see a problem with him either…but that’s my opinion of course.

Whoever wrote that article, I do not like! XD;

Creativity is basiclly the main thing of Pixar, am I right people? -.-;
Grr…RAWR! >_o Stupid person.

[Aggie]

Well, people will always have their opinions, postive or negative. That’s okay. But seriously, Cars was the most creative Pixar film yet… no doubt. If you look at just the numbers, it’s a pointless observation.

[Dory_s_Defender]

@lizardgirl

I have to admit that Pixar has always seemed very…well, not plastic, but you get what I mean, but I’ve always put that down to the wealthy side of American culture, which does have that vibe of perfection around it. And I’ve never even visited Pixar or America, so I’m not really in a place to say anything about it, which is why I’m asking all of you- what do you think about what this article was trying to say? Sorry if I haven’t conveyed it very clearly, but the article itself was pretty strange and difficult to understand.

U.S. American culture?

For me, I would not say it is entirely of that. Even though this is usually an international type mistake of belief.
To be truthful about it, I see it more of a variable type culture thing and also something of the real world ways of life.

Then there is also that part of the culture of Pixar itself that has been formed on its own by the standards of all of its made productions.

[JesusFreak]

The author of that story should really get a life, or find a story that at least has some truth in it. Why not write a story on how awesome Pixar is?