Lucas Film
The Pixar Story
They say a lot of businesses start out
in peoples' garages during economic downturns. Needless to say, the
back of my brain has been cooking lately with ideas for the next
big thing.
The most famous of the 70s garage success stories is hands down that of Steve Jobs and Apple Computer. Since plenty has already been written about the mercurial mastermind behind the iPhone (and every exciting computer development for the last decade), I'm gonna do my best to avoid adding to the rubble of Steve P. Jobs hero worship, but I will point out the fact that he also played a leading role in the history of yet another business and creative success story, one that basically started in George Lucas' garage (depending on how you want to look at it).
If a copy of Pixar's latest home video release, Wall•E, is sitting on your table, either the DVD or the Blu-ray, then you're good to go. If you don't have it yet, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. Got it? OK, good, now skip the movie and jump to the supplements. See the feature documentary The Pixar Story by Leslie Iwerks? That's what you want to watch first. For anyone who has ever aspired to work in the creative fields, only to find themselves seemingly shut out by the powers that be, this is the story you want to know more about. This 88 minute documentary covers the history of Pixar animation, from its time as a fledgling unit of George Lucas' Lucas Film Ltd. / Industrial Light and Magic, to its period as a refuge for animation apprentices banished by the flailing Walt Disney Animation Studios of the early 1980s, this film gives us an inside glimpse at the men behind the magic that's been lighting up movies screens since Thanksgiving weekend 1995 when John Lasseter and company finally fulfilled their dreams of releasing a feature length computer animated film, and most importantly, fulfilled their dream while giving us a film with heart.
In creative endeavors, there's a fine line between stubborn and principled, determined and bullheaded. The story of Pixar's beginnings and negotiated groundwork with Disney is a perfect example of how to get it just right, and how to stick to your guns for all the right reasons. After all, there must be something to be learned from the guys who brought us Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The incredibles, Ratatouille, and Wall•E
The most famous of the 70s garage success stories is hands down that of Steve Jobs and Apple Computer. Since plenty has already been written about the mercurial mastermind behind the iPhone (and every exciting computer development for the last decade), I'm gonna do my best to avoid adding to the rubble of Steve P. Jobs hero worship, but I will point out the fact that he also played a leading role in the history of yet another business and creative success story, one that basically started in George Lucas' garage (depending on how you want to look at it).
If a copy of Pixar's latest home video release, Wall•E, is sitting on your table, either the DVD or the Blu-ray, then you're good to go. If you don't have it yet, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. Got it? OK, good, now skip the movie and jump to the supplements. See the feature documentary The Pixar Story by Leslie Iwerks? That's what you want to watch first. For anyone who has ever aspired to work in the creative fields, only to find themselves seemingly shut out by the powers that be, this is the story you want to know more about. This 88 minute documentary covers the history of Pixar animation, from its time as a fledgling unit of George Lucas' Lucas Film Ltd. / Industrial Light and Magic, to its period as a refuge for animation apprentices banished by the flailing Walt Disney Animation Studios of the early 1980s, this film gives us an inside glimpse at the men behind the magic that's been lighting up movies screens since Thanksgiving weekend 1995 when John Lasseter and company finally fulfilled their dreams of releasing a feature length computer animated film, and most importantly, fulfilled their dream while giving us a film with heart.
In creative endeavors, there's a fine line between stubborn and principled, determined and bullheaded. The story of Pixar's beginnings and negotiated groundwork with Disney is a perfect example of how to get it just right, and how to stick to your guns for all the right reasons. After all, there must be something to be learned from the guys who brought us Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The incredibles, Ratatouille, and Wall•E