Pixar's Toy Story (1995)

Pixar's Toy Story (1995) marks the first success of CG animation as a full feature length film. Its universal success laid the foundation for Pixar Studios to create many more successful CG animation films including the sequel Toy Story 2 (1999), The Incredibles (2004) and the most recent Up (2009).



Toy Story struck a chord with audiences as Woody, Buzz and all the characters were believable where their presence is strongly felt. The simple yet effective three act story structure allows for a very clear and satisfying resolution. Both the original and sequel are often cited as one of the best movies of all time, receiving a 100% 'Certified Fresh' award on Rotten Tomatoes and deemed a must-see by the British Film Institute as one of top 10 films to see by the age of 14.

While Toy Story marked a great step into the world of digital animation, John Lasseter (animator and Head of Pixar Studios) himself states that successful CG animation derives from the very same basic founding principles of all animation; from drawing and a fundamental understanding to traditional animation techniques, to film grammar with shot compositions and storytelling with a three act story structure.


John Lasseter Q&A Any advice for aspiring animation student?

Overall, Toy Story is one of the finest examples of CG animation to date leading to a revolution in the entertainment and animation industries respectfully, as computer animation became recognised as credible form of animation and a popular form of mainstream entertainment in feature films.

Pixar's Up - The Many Endings Of Muntz

As recommended by Richard, I just watched this fascinating snippet into the making of Pixar's Up, which talks about the resolution of Muntz, where several alternative endings felt as if Muntz's character stole the story/limelight from Carl making for an unsatisfying end. In the end, they essentially shaped Muntz story to support that of Carls' as the hierarchy of storytelling determines your main character's needs as central, and everything else must support this.



I found it particularly intriguing as it resembles a similar concern in my story for this project, where the initial ending of the snowman's demise perhaps stole the highlight of the story away from the central refrigerator. Now that the cantankerous refrigerator also meets a similar demise, this begins to focus the story on the main object of the fridge. Essentially, I have to be sure that the snowman's story supports the refrigerator's needs and not overpower it, as perhaps ultimately it is the Cantankerous Refrigerator's story.

Pixar Knick Knack (1986)

Just found a great retro Pixar short known as 'Knick Knack' (1986), also featuring a snowman character.



What strikes me most in relation to this project, is that the snowman's design remains neutral - being neither overly appealing or repelling. As such, our sympathies are detached and not so directly in favour of the snowman.

Thus, in this way perhaps a similar effect can be achieved with my own snowman design shifting its cuteness to a more neutral demeanour, which will allow the focus to remain on the main object of the cantankerous refrigerator.

The Lost World (1925) - Film Adaptation

Having read the book, I was intrigued to see some visual interpretations of the novel and thus watched the original silent film adaptation of The Lost World made in 1912.



I'm disappointed to say that the film really did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original story an injustice, taking liberties to add new characters and changing the story entirely in places (a Brontosaurus roaming the streets of London!!). Characters motivations and principles were changed entirely which I find simply wrong and disrespectful to the original novel. Squeezed into just 1 hour, it came to little surprise that the pacing was inconsistent lingering far too long or rushing through particular sequences. I guess I'm being a bit harsh on a silent film made in the early of the 20th century intended for a film audience, but I just found the book wonderful with great potential that I am bewildered as to how they could mess things up so awfully.



Being one of the first films to feature stop motion model animation, this became apparent with some tried and true iconic dinosaur designs. While it did not stand out for me in particular, it was admirable in some of the more complex animation sequences with dinosaurs jumping, biting and clawing at each other in ferocious combat.



Nevertheless, the environments were a little intriguing with layered foreground, midground and background elements composing a variety of shots. Dinosaurs would be present to also illustrate a further sense of scale and depth in a scene. The use of light was actually effective in certain scenes, where the breadth of a landscape would slowly be unveiled in a cast of light.





With their interpretation of the plateau in particular, I could not help but spot the similarities with Pixar's 'Up' location of Paradise Falls.





Its amazing to think that perhaps Pixar got their inspiration of the plateau from The Lost World. Come to think of it, the tropical bird Kevin could be reference to one of the huge great running birds that chased Professor Challenger, being similar in description 'far taller than a ostrich, with a vulture-like neck', as well as the whole notion of embarking on an adventure.


Overall, while I was disappointed in the film, I'm sort of glad to have watched it in gaining a better understanding of the source material and perhaps the limitations in translating a novel to the big screen. The environments were inspiring enough to spur some further ideas that I will no doubt try soon enough.

Pixar's Up

Saw Pixar’s Up today, a film following Mr Fredricksen and his adventure to fulfil a lifelong dream.



The film may begin with a sad touch, but develops into a fantastic tale that is thoroughly enjoyable with a dynamic set of interesting characters that you cannot help but fall in love with. The plot being fun and quirky, works surprisingly well that really gives a sense of depth to the characters as you understand each of their goals and motivations, later engaging with each other for a mixture of emotional highs and lows. I watched this in 3D which I don't think is essential, but really gave a nice touch to the animation as a whole with an improved sense of depth and sharper details.

There was also a new Pixar short before the film, with a wonderful little animation with the clouds creating new life. Its these little touches that really make Pixar that little bit special.

Watching this, it made me think of what actually makes comedy or something funny? To create humour in an animation is quite a task when I think of it, and something that we easily take for granted.



Overall, Pixar's Up is a fantastic film full of life and character that I declare a must-see animation film!