Yesterday, Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich shared many photos of his Oscar experience, tweeting from inside the Kodak Theatre and then from the Governers Ball following the Academy Awards. Today, Pixar Animation Studios held a huge party in honor of Toy Story 3‘s win for Best Animated Feature. Lee continued the barrage of pictures by sharing what is arguably the greatest of them all:
The photo is a great one not only for the reason that a huge crowd of Pixar employees is gathered to toast Toy Story 3 and Lee Unkrich, but also for the amount of emotional weight this moment likely carried. Unkrich worked on the film for over four years and many of those at Pixar were also working on developing the film for years. All that time and it all comes down to this one moment, where they are standing shoulder to shoulder with the people they shared so much with during a difficult and exciting process.
If you can sense some sadness in the tone of this post, you would be correct. Writing and covering Toy Story 3 for the past year has been such a joy for those of us at The Pixar Times that it is difficult to say goodbye. Sure, it is not a real goodbye as the film will live on forever in Blu-ray discs and in our hearts, but it is an emotional experience nonetheless. If film fans can feel this way, imagine what is going through the minds of the 400+ employees who worked on the film – think of what bringing an Academy Award home means to Lee Unkrich. They poured their time, their devotion, and their hearts into every aspect of the film and it all comes down to this one moment.
Cheers to Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich, and everybody at Pixar who had absolutely anything with bringing us another amazing film that will be treasured for generations.
“Thanks, guys.”
