Toy Story is the film that made Pixar a household name. The studio had worked on projects for years before the film was released, with most of its work concentrated on creating shorts and commercials. It has been quite some time since the film was available to watch on the big screen, but you will have another chance soon as a marathon of all four films will play the night before the film’s official release date. [Read more…]
The Pixar Perspective on The Pixar Moment in ‘Toy Story 2’
The moment when Pixar caused a cultural shift in mainstream animated cinema wasn’t, as you would expect, with the release of their first film, Toy Story. That film inspired a shift in the animation industry, but the way in which general audiences’ response to animated films changed occurs roughly halfway through Toy Story 2. This film and Monsters, Inc. both represent the old and new in Pixar, a slight blend of honest and often-unexpected emotion along with clever and witty gags aimed at the pop-culture-literate members of the audience. Both, like A Bug’s Life, featured outtakes during the credits, a commentary on the prevalence of painfully similar blooper reels in live-action films; and both have a powerful moment that inspires the adults in the audience to tear up and reach for a tissue.
The Pixar Perspective on ‘Toy Story OF TERROR!’
Nearly 20 years after their first feature film, Pixar Animation Studios finally crossed over from the big screen to the small one last week with their inaugural television special, Toy Story of TERROR! Most Pixar devotees, if not all, know that before there was Toy Story or even characters like Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody being storyboarded, there was A Tin Toy Christmas. Pixar originally wanted to expand upon its Oscar-winning 1988 short film Tin Toy by situating the title character in a holiday setting, before they decided (partly thanks to Disney’s urging) to ditch the training wheels of television and jump right into making feature films. Now, after decades of critical and commercial success, they chose to move back into television for real, bringing along Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang in the process. [Read more…]
The Pixar Perspective on Adaptations
Pixar Animation Studios is the exemplar of originality in Hollywood. This is what we remind ourselves when we get frustrated that they’ve announced a sequel to Finding Nemo or a prequel to Monsters, Inc. If those sequels turn out to be more like Toy Story 2 instead of Cars 2, then good for all of us. But when we think of Pixar, we think original. They may pay homage to animated and live-action films from across the globe, of course; however, what the animators and filmmakers in Emeryville, California do has always been based on original ideas. Today, after considering a recently unearthed report, it’s time to ponder the opposite: what if Pixar did traffic in adaptations of preexisting material?
The Pixar Perspective on Honoring Walt Disney’s Animated Legacy
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.
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…]
