Depending on your age and attitude, it has become very difficult over the last month to not be cynical about the state of affairs at the Walt Disney Company. Though Disney appears to be, financially, as high as they’ve ever been, the company is cutting costs left and right, up to and including letting long-time employees go. Some of the more high-profile layoffs have targeted, inadvertently, one hopes, touchstones of many a Millennial child. Last year, people thrilled at the idea that Disney was now in league with the seminal video-game company LucasArts as part of buying Lucasfilm as a whole. A few weeks ago, those same people were depressed to hear that Disney shuttered the company for good, essentially outsourcing future video games. And now, Disney’s axed a number of their most venerated employees in the hand-drawn animation department, cementing the notion that hand-drawn animation is persona non grata at a company that built its reputation on that illustrative vision.
The Pixar Perspective on Humanity in Nonhuman Worlds
Consciously or not, we often look for the existence of the human in the art we consume. Sometimes, that presence is visible, and sometimes it’s just outside of the frame of the filmmaker’s camera or the words on the author’s page or inches away from the artist’s canvas. But we want and expect some form of humanity to be present in what we watch or read. In film, this manifests differently in live-action versus animation, the latter of which has been criticized for the “uncanny valley” effect, when human characters are rendered in such a way that’s off-putting, distracting for perhaps being too realistic, uncomfortably human. Pixar Animation Studios has not yet fallen into the uncanny valley, but it’s interesting to watch the evolution of their computer-animation technology from as far back as their pre-feature shorts up to Brave, in part because so much of their work is infused with the presence of humans even when none physically appear. Except for the films in the Cars franchise.
The Pixar Perspective on The Necessity of Trailers
Great movie trailers are something of a lost art. While we are overloaded with ads for every new big-budget movie these days, they’re getting more obnoxious, cacophonous, and ruinous. Depending on the movie, you can go onto its website or YouTube and see a handful of TV spots—most of which repurpose the same shots, action, and dialogue, but tweak them ever so slightly to stand out—as well as teaser trailers and full trailers that often lay out a movie’s entire plot. If they don’t, they’re almost certainly going to show you some of the most impressive bits of action or the funniest jokes. It feels as if we’ve been clucking our tongues at trailers that spoil the films they sell since the advent of the Internet. So why, exactly, should we watch trailers for movies we know we’re going to see? [Read more…]
The Pixar Perspective on Female Directors
Over the last two decades, Pixar Animation Studios has been able to top its competitors by reaching an almost unattainbly high level of quality. Pixar isn’t worried, it seems, with topping DreamWorks, but topping only what they’ve done in the past. Those rival studios—really, any studio making a family film, animated or not—are judged against whatever Pixar makes, but the Emeryville, California company raises the bar mostly so they can clear it before anyone else does. We may become rapidly disappointed at their output when they release something like Cars 2 after Toy Story 3, but it’s only because when Pixar delivers on a promise of brilliance, they do so in such unbelievable, ridiculous, unexpectedly moving ways. Their various consecutive runs of quality are unparalleled in the modern film industry, which they’ve worked hard to be separate from. Pixar works with Disney, fully ensconced in the culture of Hollywood, but being placed hundreds of miles north makes them feel totally separate, even now. And yet, there is one disturbing trait they share with the greater film industry, one that needs to be fixed soon: Pixar has a woman problem.
Al’s Steal of the Day: Get 50% Off Complete ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Cars’ Blu-ray/DVD Box Sets
Amazon currently has both the Toy Story Ultimate Toy Box Collection and Cars Director’s Edition Blu-ray/DVD box sets discounted by 50%. The Toy Story set is 10-discs and collects all films of the trilogy in Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy formats. The complete 11-disc Cars set holds the two feature films, along with Cars Toon: Mater’s Tall Tales. Additionally, the recent 8-disc Lion King Trilogy set is 50% off as well. This is the last day of the deal, so act fast! [Read more…]
Exclusive: Cars 2 Supervising Animators Shawn Krause and Dave Mullins Talk Pixar Animation (Part 1)
A few months ago, not only did I have the chance to talk to Cars 2 composer Michael Giacchino and story supervisor Nate Stanton – I was lucky to also be able to talk to the supervisors of the animation process on the film. Shawn Krause and Dave Mullins served as supervising animators for years before Cars 2 was released in theaters. I spoke with them about their job, how it is working together, and the intricacies of the animation process at Pixar. Read on to view Part 1 of the interview here! [Read more…]
Pixar Employee Sonoko Konishi Provides Cars 2 Voice
We have learned that the Cars 2 bathroom clip we shared with you earlier today (part of two clips we unveiled) features a voice of a Pixar employee. The voice of the pink car that functions as the on-screen toilet attendant is none other than Pixar character technical director Sonoko Konishi. She also had a voice role as the pink Japanese reporter car in the original Cars. That is a lot of pink for Konishi! Read on for a brief look at how she came to Pixar and just how many films she has worked on during her time at the studio. [Read more…]
Calling Artists For PixArt’s Cars 2 Countdown
Last year, we had a great time counting down to the Blu-ray and DVD release of Toy Story 3 on our PixArt page, as artists shared some fantastic artwork with us. Now, we are pleased to announce that we will be counting down to Cars 2‘s release on June 24. Who will be contributing art for the event? That is a great question! That is where we need your help. Read on for all the details on how you can contribute to this great countdown here. [Read more…]
Pixar Website Features New Cars 2 Image
Pixar’s website tends to receive an update or two with each new feature film release. With Cars 2 fast-approaching, the animation company is featuring a few random stills from the film with each reload of their official site. Two of the stills have been previously released by Disney, but there is a surprise still that we have not seen before, and Upcoming Pixar was the first to catch it:
©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Four New Cars 2 Stills
Today’s serious Cars 2 momentum continues, as Disney/Pixar has just released four brand new stills from the film, which Stitch Kingdom was the first to post. The fantastic new images showcase the action, heart, and charismatic personalities that we are sure to see in the new Pixar film.
Click to view them in a larger size, because they get much, much, much bigger.
©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
