# How does Pixar manage to make nothing but outstanding movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536 "2008-06-28T02:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/1 "2008-06-28T02:34:07Z")
The reviews on “Wall-E” are in and the verdict from the critics is clear; it’s great. The reviews generally run the gamut from “really good” to “a staggering masterpeice,” and more are closer to the latter than the former. Pixar has now made nine feature films: Toy Story A Bug’s Life Toy Story II Monsters, Inc. Finding Nemo The Incredibles Cars Ratatouille WALL-E The WORST of the movies, probably “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars,” are very good movies. The best - Toy STory, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles - are great works of cinema, among the finest movies of their time. How the heck do they do it? I can’t think of any other studio, director, or writers who consistently turns out such high quality product. Is it something about Pixar’s leadership and organization? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/2 "2008-06-28T02:42:24Z")
Taking your premise at face value for the sake of discussion (personally, I wouldn’t state it such strong terms), I suspect a major factor is that–probably due to the specialization of the technology, among other things–Pixar is closer to being a traditional studio–like Golden Age Hollywood Studios–than any other modern “studio,” which are in fact simply distributors anymore, not actually studios. It’s something of a holistic (if that’s the right word; maybe not) factory, with most (if not all) of the myriad hands involved in such a stew all a part of the same organization. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/3 "2008-06-28T02:50:15Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Taking your premise at face value for the sake of discussion (personally, I wouldn’t state it such strong terms), I suspect a major factor is that–probably due to the specialization of the technology, among other things–Pixar is closer to being a traditional studio–like Golden Age Hollywood Studios–than any other modern “studio,” which are in fact simply distributors anymore, not actually studios. It’s something of a holistic (if that’s the right word; maybe not) factory, with most (if not all) of the myriad hands involved in such a stew all a part of the same organization. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure “holistic” is the right word, either, but your point is very clear. And it’s precisely what I was curious to know. That makes a lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/4 "2008-06-28T02:56:26Z")
I just saw Wall-E and I can confirm said awesomeness. I literally just returned from it. It’s a startling and heartwarming display of humanity by robots. With very little dialogue, which sharpens it’s impact, IMO. I wouldn’t call it “staggering”, but it’s very good and very well made. The opening animated sequence is balls-out funny, too. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/5 "2008-06-28T02:59:49Z")
Because, having a history of excellent work behind them, they have their pick of talented people. At SIGGRAPH, the annual computer graphics conference, everyone wants to work for Pixar. If you don’t get hired by them, you’ll accept an offer from somebody else - but Pixar is the pinnacle of the profession. They promote from within, so all their directors have learned the “Pixar way” - that the film has to work as a series of hand-drawn sketches being narrated by the director before a single computer is used. They make films for themselves, not what a focus group says they want. They cast for talented actors, rather than for marquee value - Holly Hunter and Craig T. Nelson are not box office draws, but they were perfect in “The Incredibles”. Their shorts function as a training ground to see if a potential feature director has the skills. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/6 "2008-06-28T03:00:46Z")
They have a work ethic that is the perfect balance. They modelled themselves a lot after Walt Disney’s perceived ethic when he started making the Disney Classics. John Lasseter was motivated by this after working at Disney as an animator in the early 80s and being very disappointed by what it had become, the complete opposite of what he had expected, and he vowed to never become that when he started to manage Pixar’s creative teams. Basically they have a lot of fun and freedom, but also are dedicated to making their work the best it can be. They’re open to story and character suggestions from all quarters, and they aren’t afraid to recognise mistakes and fix them, even very late in the game. For example, they basically scrapped two year’s work on _Ratatouille_ and started from scratch when they brought on Brad Bird to save the film as it was just not working. Though it turned out wonderfully, imagine how much better it may have been if they’d not had to do such a rush job to repair it. But also, they have been very lucky in that their core creative team, that have been there from the earliest days, are pretty much the best you could hope for. And pioneering a new art form along the way doesn’t hurt either. Certainly working at Pixar is not all rainbows and lollipops, but they have the right approach to storytelling, that works for this time, with this technology, and long may it continue. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/7 "2008-06-28T03:22:52Z")
Cars & Monsters, Inc. were great visually, but I would not consider these films (as a whole) “outstanding”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/8 "2008-06-28T03:45:19Z")
I thought “Ratatouille” was a major disappointment. There was a lot to like, but it dragged in far too many places. I still agree with Rick’s overall sentiments. Pixar has yet to make a truly awful film. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/9 "2008-06-28T03:50:17Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Cars & Monsters, Inc. were great visually, but I would not consider these films (as a whole) “outstanding”. [/QUOTE] I thought Monsters was really innovative, and the voice-over cast of Goodman and Crystal were perfect. Meh. Maybe it’s because I have two young sons and we’ve burned the midnight oil watching it so many times. it’s one of my favorite Pixar flicks. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/10 "2008-06-28T03:51:50Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] **I thought “Ratatouille” was a major disappointment**. There was a lot to like, but it dragged in far too many places. I still agree with Rick’s overall sentiments. Pixar has yet to make a truly awful film. [/QUOTE] Wow, really? I thought Ratatouille was awesome, but I’ve worked in the fine dining industry for more years than I’d care to admit and my brother is a chef at an upscale country club, so maybe I’m utterly biased by the connection I made with that movie. It is also one of my favorite Pixar movies. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/11 "2008-06-28T03:58:39Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] The WORST of the movies, probably “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars,” are very good movies. The best - Toy STory, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles - are great works of cinema, among the finest movies of their time. [/QUOTE] You have got to be kidding me. The Incredibles was mindless fun, I’ll give it that, but Finding Nemo was just awful. Toy Story I’ve never seen, but I haven’t heard even its most ardent supporters call it a great work of cinema. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/12 "2008-06-28T04:03:49Z")
I think Toy Story was a great work of cinema. From a visual standpoint, it was groundbreaking - nobody had seen anything on that level before. It had a great story too, some very emotional moments, and I think it had wide-ranging appeal, both to kids and to adults. Because pretty much everyone played with toys at some point. As for the rest of Pixar’s movies, I think they suck lizard dick, but _Cars_ was far and away the absolute worst of the bunch. I do think that the Pixar animation style is inferior to the old traditional hand-drawn style, and I think Ralph Bakshi is worth 1,000 of Pixar’s best animators. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Jiminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jiminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jiminator)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/13 "2008-06-28T04:18:01Z")
They follow a pretty basic formula that simply can’t miss. The plots of the movie’s themselves are formulaic, but being that they can stretch the limits of the characters to no end, they have a virtually bottomless pit of stories to make. Add the A-List voices and it’s a piece of cake. The films are always fun no matter how old you are, and while I wouldn’t call many of them, if any, cinematic masterpieces, they have certainly redefined the animation genre, and done so with top quality works. I recently watched Cars with my 3 year old niece. It was the first time I’d seen it and maybe the 394,000th time for her, but I loved it. If you were, however, to break that story down, it’s pretty lame, and ultra forumulaic. But as a CGI film where the cars are alive, it was fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/14 "2008-06-28T04:24:58Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I think Toy Story was a great work of cinema. From a visual standpoint, it was groundbreaking - nobody had seen anything on that level before. It had a great story too, some very emotional moments, and I think it had wide-ranging appeal, both to kids and to adults. Because pretty much everyone played with toys at some point. As for the rest of Pixar’s movies, I think they suck lizard dick, but _Cars_ was far and away the absolute worst of the bunch. I do think that the Pixar animation style is inferior to the old traditional hand-drawn style, and I think Ralph Bakshi is worth 1,000 of Pixar’s best animators. But that’s just me. [/QUOTE] That’s interesting that you feel that way, because as our guest points out, ALL of the movies have a formulaic concept (mostly “bad guy” versus “good guy” of some configuration), not just _Toy Story_. Are you the kind of person that likes indie rock and instantly hates it once the band actually starts to sell records into the mainstream? Honest question. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/15 "2008-06-28T04:28:12Z")
Making kids movies with ginormo budgets tis easy maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/16 "2008-06-28T04:32:28Z")
I appreciate that they don’t go for cheap laughs, but earn them through (what I’m guessing is) classic comedy principles. Every other feature animation film I’ve seen has yuk yuk pop culture references and/or self-referential yuk-yuk moments poking fun at the big-name voice talent they’ve brought in. Flicks like Madagascar and Shrek II/III won’t age well, I fear. (On preview: An Gadai, I think other studios look at Pixar and have just the same thought. And what they turn out is crap as a result.) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/17 "2008-06-28T04:33:36Z")
Well… I’m not of the opinion that “selling out” is a bad thing. I think bands bust their asses and when they’re eventually lucky enough to be rewarded for it financially, I think that’s a good thing. I’m happy for them. I don’t think that a band automatically sucks because it becomes mainstream. I think that a band sucks when it makes music that lacks heart. And I think that bands have a tendency to get lazy if they’ve had a big success with one album, and as they get more and more successful, their music can suffer because they’ve lost that heart, or are now too produced because the record company has a larger hand in their sound. When it comes to animated movies, basically I like a movie with a unique concept. What makes _Toy Story_ unique is the fact that it taps into a deep psychological phenomenon that exists among kids - that is, inanimate objects taking on a life of their own, through the child’s relationship with them. The idea that an older toy is more “faithful” and a newer toy can “take its place” and then the old toy can feel neglected. It’s one of those things that people never talk about, but is a big part of the life of a lot of kids. I like that they made a whole movie about that phenomenon. I don’t think the rest of Pixar’s movies have as interesting a concept. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/18 "2008-06-28T04:38:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Is it something about Pixar’s leadership and organization? This is where my vote goes. Pixar is led by people who have decided that making quality movies is their first principle. They figure that if the movie is good the audience will be there for it. Too many other filmmakers try to game the system. They figure that if they follow a formula that’s worked before or put a major star in the lead or add in huge special effects, then people will want to see it. Nope, the secret is to make good movies. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/19 "2008-06-28T04:43:34Z")
> [@](#): > > When it comes to animated movies, basically I like a movie with a unique concept. What makes Toy Story unique is the fact that it taps into a deep psychological phenomenon that exists among kids - that is, inanimate objects taking on a life of their own, through the child’s relationship with them. The idea that an older toy is more “faithful” and a newer toy can “take its place” and then the old toy can feel neglected. It’s one of those things that people never talk about, but is a big part of the life of a lot of kids. I like that they made a whole movie about that phenomenon. I don’t think the rest of Pixar’s movies have as interesting a concept. Another amazing thing about _Toy Story_ is that you had a sharp competition between two protagonists - and it wasn’t a typical “good guy vs bad guy” cliche. Buzz and Woody weren’t written as being right and wrong or good and bad. They were just shown as two characters with clashing viewpoints who each had to reconcile himself to the presense of the other. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536/20 "2008-06-28T04:56:49Z")
For people who talk about the Pixar films as formulaic: There was that one guy, a decade or two or something ago (shaky on the details), who sat down and studied every Russian fairy tale he could find. Went through thousands of them. Russia has a much richer tradition in typical story telling, and while we may have a good dozen of fairy tales every kid knows, in some parts of Russia there might be hundreds. And so at the end of it all, he found, I believe, 7 distinct characters in the thousands of stories. The reluctant hero, princess, etc. When it comes down to it, in the Western tradition there simply aren’t that many stories, on a base level. From cultural conditioning, we all expect a 3 act structure with predictable moments of conflict/resolution. If these moments are not met, our brains automatically become confused and slightly disoriented because what we expected wasn’t there. Likewise, almost every story falls neatly into some genre category: finding yourself, saving someone from something or someone, the reluctant hero who only saves the day out of a sense of moral obligation, etc. I think the issue with Pixar is that the stories are slightly more transparent, because they are made for kids, after all. So with a typical movie intended for adults, adults who already know the formula quite well and should typically be well versed in the 7 distinct character types, the writers and director can do more to obscure exactly what’s happening. But with pretty much every movie, if you really look at it, nothing innovative is happening with regards to the narrative. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-pixar-manage-to-make-nothing-but-outstanding-movies/454536.md?page=2)