What *IS* it with Pixar?

[Uncle Yuan]

I finally saw "Up" tonight, and man what a great movie.  It begs the question how Pixar goes about doing what it does.  They haven't made a bad film.  Ever.  Their work ranges from very good to excellent.  Is it their working environment, talent pool, directors?  How many companies would like to have a track record like Pixar?

[Renegade]

Steve Jobs bought the company 20 years ago and told Lasseter et all that they were to make the movies, not him. His hands off approach, letting the creatives be creative, helped to foster an environment where the staff was free to be more like the classic Disney studio of 70 years ago than the one from the past 30 years. There are other factors of course, but the creative environment where story is the most important part of the process, not marketability, commercialness, or a focus on manipulated audience appeal.

Also, most of the movies out of Pixar are ideas that have been gestating for years, even decades, not just something designed to cash in on a recent trend. Letting some ideas stew for a while before they take shape can help.

[GogglesPizanno]

It also helps that Pixar films treat the stories and the characters just as that. They dont make "kids" movies or "adult" movies. Everything in them is done to further the story and not try to fit the demographic or group that it most appeals to. The opening montage of 'Up' is a great example. Its very adult and sad (The screening I was at after the first 15 minutes, when it fades out one of the older men in the theater blurted out to his wife, "Well that was depressing!"), but really sets up the themes and character arcs that the movie goes through.... so by the end there is a really strong emotional connection for what happens. That has always been Pixars strength and the stength of their movies -- even the ones that don't work as well as others.

[Gremlin]

I disagree with the statement that Cars was "very good," but agreed, Pixar is absolutely phenomenal.

Shoot, now I want to watch Toy Story again.

[detourne_me]

Yeah, it's true, they are the disney of 60-70 years ago.
I hope they never change.
Finding Nemo is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

[thalaw2]

I thought Cars was so so and I hated Wall-E...but over all Pixar is doing good things.  It seems to me the quality of their movies is going down after the break with Disney.

[bredon7777]

Count me in with those who think "Cars" was just meh.

As for "Wall-E", its a great movie when it focuses on the robots, and becomes a heavy handed, preachy mess when they bring in the humans.

But yeah, 'Up" was amazing (best movie of the year, so far) and in general, Pixar hits far more often than it misses.

[docdelorean88]

Cars as a film itself, was made very well. There were many issues of how to make an anthropomorphic car. How do they grab things(They ended up using a pettle system, and they could have gone Putt Putt and made there antennas grab stuff)? What do they eat(Losers for breakfast)? Ho do they get around? Is there community like a normal one(buisnesses, shops, gas stations)?  What are they gonna do about a pit crew? How do they change a light bulb(Okay this one is never actually shown)? You get my point. They also have a few good easter eggs in there. Such as the fact that Dinoco is from Toy Story and it was red in that and blue in this. Or when Mac is driving past the rest stop on the way to cali, the "i" from Mr. Incredible's Classic Teil suit is on the sides of one of the trailers. I thought it was a good movie, a little rushed, but a good movie.

[TheMarvell]

all of Pixar's films have been high quality, but there are a few I consider only "pretty good" as opposed to "great". Cars, Ratatouille, and now Up are the 3 Pixar films I like the least. Cars just didn't live up to the films that came out before it. I thought Ratatouille was way overrated and I didn't like the goofiness of a rat controlling a human like a puppet via his hair. And I really enjoyed the emotional parts of Up and the comic relief of the dogs, but overall I felt like this one was definitely more for children.

My favorites are the Toy Story's, Monsters Inc, Incredibles, and Wall-E.

[RTTingle]

Pixar is phenomenal.  While they don't hit it out of the park all the time... they always score with me.

I had to complain to the manager about "Up" though.  Damn dusty theater... something got in my eye --- twice.

RTT

[Uncle Yuan]

Taste is always an issue.  While I think Cars lacked the essential pathos that is the hallmark of their best films, I do find it to be a fun film that I have rewatched several times.  Great soundtrack, too.

[Sevenforce]

The Pixar Offices

Wouldn't YOU be creative in offices like that?

[BlueBard]

Taste is always an issue.  While I think Cars lacked the essential pathos that is the hallmark of their best films, I do find it to be a fun film that I have rewatched several times.  Great soundtrack, too.

My boys loved the Cars movie, and even my wife liked it (until we bought it and she had to sit through it about ten million times).

I don't think Cars lacked heart at all.  The whole movie was about being forgotten or left behind.  It's also about rediscovering what's important, connections with other people.  Lightning was left behind by Mac.  Radiator Springs was left behind by progress.  Doc Hudson was left behind by the racing establishment.  Sally left behind her fast-lane life.  The King was nearly left behind after his crash.  I could elaborate, but watch it again for yourself.  It's an amazingly touching movie considering the characters are all cars.

[thalaw2]

But the pacing and dialogue sucked!  Also, some of the chracterizations just didn't jibe with me...I can't go into detail cuz I can't remember specific points.  But I don't want to watch it again to jog my memory.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I personally loved Cars.  The only one I'm not too fond of is the one about the ants. Even then, it was okay.

[Zippo]

Pixar is kind of like Valve, I suppose. They both understand what is really important about their medium, and are successful and focused enough on their craft (rather than trying to branch out into a million areas) that they can do exactly what they want, without too many pressures from CEOs and investors who know nothing about what makes of a good movie (or game).

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Part of it too is that the people at the tops aren't suits, they create the movies too.  It's basically a group of friends and talent who all work together.  They make the decisions and there's no one to stop them.  Of course, they aren't independent anymore, but there reputation and the money they have made pretty much guarantees their independence.  Disney just leaves them alone, gives them the development money they ask for and collect the profits.

Ah, ha, after looking it up, I now know what they had so much freedom.  Pixar wasn't founded as an animation studio, they were stated as a computer hardware manufacturer.

Yes, that's right, they sold computer systems designed for animation.  Problem is, they didn't sell too well, so they made some demonstration films.  The hardware still sold badly but the films were quite popular.  One of their few customers, Disney, liked them so much that they agreed to make three films, and the deal was enough to convince Steve Jobs to not close the company down.

Anyway, since making animated films was not their business, the suits didn't interfere.  By the time it became their business, they didn't dare interfere.

[herodad1]

my favorite is the INCREDIBLES hands down.its in my top 10 movies.definately one of the best superhero movies ever made.i can really relate to mr. incredible.