This story is hilariously, beautifully, far-fetchedly awesome and heart warming. See also the MeFi thread.
Pixar proves it’s one of those great companies that is run by unabashedly human people, and it’s no wonder why their work is so personal and touching. When you engage yourself with your customers and your audience on a level that reminds them you are the same, the experience is far greater than just using a product or just seeing a movie. Humanity is desperately missing in our age of megacorporations and big box stores.
People love robots, but they’ll love you if you’re human, too.
Grenoble
on 07 Jul 08So hilarious that you have Stanton’s contradictory statement further down the page of SvN. Which is it, signallers? Love the audience or screw the audience? Make up your minds!
Splashman
on 07 Jul 08I’ve got two young girls. Bambi 2 is the only Disney production of the last 25 years that has made it onto our DVD shelves. Disney under Eisner became experts at churning out instantly forgettable but eminently marketable garbage.
In contrast, we own every Pixar movie, and my wife and I appreciate them at least as much as the kids. Wall-E is a great film (though not my favorite), and we can’t wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray. For those who haven’t yet read it, James Lileks’ take on Wall-E is here.
One can only hope that Lasseter will (eventually) have a positive influence on Disney animated films. Sure haven’t seen it yet.
SH
on 07 Jul 08“Which is it, signallers?”
I think it’s too easy to say black or white. There’s a big difference between not reading a “marketing report” and watching a YouTube video of a customer and their reaction to your product and being moved by it. To say it’s not possible to do both is probably pretty inhuman.
Also it looks like your gotchya cap is slipping off. Better grab that before it falls. ;)
GeeIWonder
on 07 Jul 08@Splashman: No Paramount pictures? Wow!
GeeIWonder
on 07 Jul 08Or is it Touchstone?
Splashman
on 07 Jul 08@Gee: We own movies from other studios. I was simply comparing Disney to Pixar.
Splashman
on 07 Jul 08@Gee: Touchstone is Disney’s live-action studio. Not sure if we have any Touchstone, but I doubt it. Eisner’s influence ran deep.
eli
on 07 Jul 08Thanks for the post, Sarah. I loved Wall-E so much, and reading that story made me cry. I’ve loved Pixar since day one, and this is just one more reason to add to the pile!
David William Edwards
on 08 Jul 08Has anyone else noticed the similarity to “Wall-E” and the end of the classic sci-fi flick “Silent Running”?
Keith
on 08 Jul 08Do not forget that Eisner was responsible for the modern classic Disney movies as well. Everything from Little Mermaid to Lion King was his as well. Even though many people weren’t huge fans Mulan & Hercules as well…
Yes he churned out direct to video garbage and dismantled the group that did all that fantastic 2d animation as well as souring the Pixar relationship only to get owned by Jobs to get Pixar BACK with Disney, but he was quite visionary for Disney when he took over.
You seem to be forgetting the garbage that was Disney of the 1970s & for the better part of the 80s…Rescuers Down Under & Aristocats anyone?
guynameddave
on 08 Jul 08I really wanted to like Wall-E more. All the things you say about Pixar – yep. They’re great. It’s just that the human size of the story was, like Wall-E himself, mostly empty. Maybe taking like 3 decades to finish the project didn’t help.
Something that just came to mind, I don’t recall any of the robots playing with toy humans.
Hayden Steep
on 08 Jul 08The problem with touchy-feely humanity is that it often flies in the face of what is practical and efficient. Don’t get me wrong, I like Pixar movies, and I haven’t seen WALL-E yet, but in Cars there was this whole segment about the creation of an interstate causing the town of Radiator Springs to be bypassed. It was very touching. They made the point that people traveling on the interstate are missing the natural beauty of the land, etc. I couldn’t help but think about the enormous amount of time and fuel that is saved by that interstate. Saving fuel is good for the environment and isn’t that supposed to be important too?
Chris Saracino
on 08 Jul 08I think Pixar is one of those companies that is and will simply be a midas touch organization for many years. The humanity of their filmes….completely…is what appeals to audiences.
Brad
on 08 Jul 08@David William Edwards
Thanks for that title! I’ve had Silent Running on the tip of my tongue ever since I heard about the plotline of Wall-E.
Paul Souders
on 08 Jul 08@Hayden Steep:
I take your point that Pixar draws a two-dimensional view of human nature (see what I did there!) but your example could be better. Fuel usage rises geometrically with speed. The faster the cars go, the more fuel they use to travel the same distance. So yes, interstates save time but they don’t save fuel.
I think Pixar’s point in Cars was precisely that saving time (ie. efficiency) erodes humanity—when Owen Wilson is forced to slow down he finds his soul; and at the big climax he chooses to slow down (stop, actually), to demonstrate the effect.
David William Edwards
on 09 Jul 08...and “Cars” was 3D “Doc Hollywood”.
This discussion is closed.