Joy and Misery in the Pixar Script
Pixar scripts operate from heightened emotion. We identify with the characters because we understand how they feel.
Pete Docter: “’Toy Story we found, sorta by accident, because we didn’t know what we were doing, the idea of being replaced by somebody. Everybody has that fear, or encounters this jealousy at some point.”
The Incredibles centers on the mid-life crisis of its protagonist. It’s easy to relate to Bob Parr. Once a superhero, he is now stuck in a miserable desk job. He has a great family. But he is stuck in his own head, longing for the “good old days” of superhero excitement.
Using that kind of universally resonant emotional core as a base, Pixar films leap stories forward, backward, sideways and maintain dramatic order throughout.
By reverse-engineering Pixar script structures and identifying specific craft tools, it’s possible to expand our own storytelling skills and attempt to add some of the Pixar magic to our own writing tool boxes.
Here are a couple of scenes to think about.
The Incredibles uses detailed news reports (montage with commentator V.O.) twice to situate the protagonists in their world, to move story forward quickly. Montage or Series of Shots lets the writer describe a group of events quickly, without dialogue.
A scene of preparation can be just that. Moments where somebody is getting ready to do something. Character insight, a window into the emotions. NO CONFLICT. But it is still a scene.
In Toy Story, an announcement of a meeting is made. It is activity, not action, as the toys prepare their special inner and outer workings for the occasion.
Pixar films offer us an abundance of engaging scenes and moments and provide a template for scene-making. I hope you will join us in my upcoming class:
