Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling
A recent NYT article is titled, “It Wasn’t a Wreck, Not Really.” The ‘it’ in question is the movie Cars 2 and the person declaring it wasn’t a ‘wreck’ is none other than Pixar co-founder and chief creative officer, head of Walt Disney Animation Studios, and co-writer and director of the movie John Lasseter.
That anyone should be associating the word “wreck” with Cars 2 is perhaps shocking, seeing as the movie has grossed $551M in B.O. receipts worldwide. Still the sequel made $50M less domestically than the original and the movie came in for some harsh reviews by critics who typically fawn over Pixar movies, garnering a 38% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, a 6.5 at IMDB, and a 57 at Metacritic. In fact, Cars 2 is the lowest rated Pixar movie ever.
In the NYT article, Lasseter defends the movie:
“I recognize my place in the Walt Disney Company, but my job, my focus, my deepest desire is to entertain people by making great movies, and we did that with ‘Cars 2.’”
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“I typically don’t read the reviews… I make movies for that little boy who loves the characters so much that he wants to pack his clothes in a Lightning McQueen suitcase.”
“I reached deep into myself and saw what this film was about, and I think it’s clear that audiences have responded. It’s is a very, very special film to me.”
The reference to the “Lightning McQueen suitcase” puts a spotlight on my primary concern with Cars: The nagging feeling that the franchise exists primarily to sell merchandise. Indeed Cars has generated — are you ready for this — $8 billion in global retails sales of related merchandise, averaging $2B annually.
In an event tied to Toy Fair, which opened here this weekend, Disney brought Cars 2 voice actors Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer to the stage to help unveil a line of more than 300 toys for the June 24 release.
Over 200 million die-cast cars tied to the franchise have sold to-date, the company said.
200 million die-cast cars! Not to mention the “Lightning McQueen suitcases.
So how does Pixar produce 12 movies, each a #1 B.O. hit, even one — Cars 2 — that does not succeed with critics, but still finds a huge audience worldwide?
That’s one of the questions I will explore in a brand new Screenwriting Master Class course I will be teaching in November called: Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling. In this 1-week online class, I will be laying out 7 principles evident in Pixar movies that reflect their aesthetic and commercial sensibilities, narrative dynamics you can use to enhance your own storytelling potential. The course runs from November 14–20. Enrollment is limited, so act now by going here.
For more of the NYT article, here.
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