Advice from Pixar and a Few Thoughts of my Own

Pixar story artist Emma Coats has tweeted a series of “story basics” over the past month and a half — guidelines that she learned from her more senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories. My thoughts are in parenthesis.

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A Bug’s Life & Revolution in the Middle East

I watched Pixar’s A Bug’s Life last night was struck by the similarities in the story to what is happening in Egypt and all around the Middle East. The film is powerful statement of “there are more of us than there are of them.”

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My Day at Pixar

I spent an amazing day at Pixar on Tuesday. I was doing a Character Map session with some of their writers, artists, directors and others. It’s easy to spot people coming to Pixar for the first time. They’re the ones, like me, walking around trying to soak in all the wonderful visuals in the building and snapping pictures like mad. Here are some of mine–

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The Magic of Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 is as powerful, heartfelt, thrilling and funny as any film deserving of a “Best Picture” nomination. It has my vote to take home the 2011 Oscar in that category. It touched me in a profoundly personal way.

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Idealism Wins at the Oscars

Pixar won the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Feature with Up. All seven Pixar films released since the creation of the category have been nominated. Five have taken home the Oscar: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Three of those five Oscar winners— Up, The Incredibles and Ratatouille— are Power of Idealism films.

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