JOHN LASSETER IN MILAN

TO CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF PIXAR

Just a little bit of…Pixar dust and away we fly to the world of childhood dreams, of light-heartedness and blithe. That is indeed the talent of John Lasseter, creator of Pixar. For the  intrinsic trait that has made the animation company like no other on earth is without doubt the use of technology, but used as a mere tool to emphasise powerful stories built around moving characters.

The 25th birthday of this fable entertainment has been celebrated at Teatro dal Verme in Milan. John Lasseter said to be delighted to celebrate this occasion in a country that has been of utter inspiration to his work, besides being part of the events in the calendar of Meet the Media Guru of Maria Grazia Mattei. But fans of the genius were even more delighted to attend his lecture on animation: after besieging the theatre hours in advance the crowd greeted John Lasseter with a boisterous ovation.

John retraced the crucial steps of his career. He always had a passion for drawing, even when he was supposed to be into sports and girls, he was strongly tied to toys and cartoons. His mother, an art teacher for over thirty years, passed on to him the fascination for the arts and pushed him to pursue his dreams of making a living out of his creativity. The first step was to enrol at the California Institute of the Arts to study animation. Lasseter showed his student film of the times: ‘Nitemare’ was a rough black and white sketched cartoon, with a very simple story, no speech, just music, a touch of his gentle humour and a bulk of emotional power.

Further on, John’s years at The Walt Disney Company have been essential to establish his technique which he took a step further at Lucasfilm which then became Pixar when Steve Jobs acquired it. The first short-film which was screened to the public was dense with simplicity and that touching sensitivity: 1986’s ‘Luxo JR.’ in just one minute and a half forecast Pixar’s overwhelming future films, thus becoming Pixar’s logo.

‘Knick-Knack’ followed in 1989, and through the mishaps of holiday souvenirs, existential themes are touched with an outstanding 3D animation. But the turning point of Pixar was definitely the release of its first feature film, ‘Toy Story’ in 1995. The preparation for the buddy picture required a thorough shopping session at Toys “R” Us with the company’s credit card, in order to get a culture on all the kinds of dolls on the market, the best job on earth one could imagine!

So what is the secret of Pixar’s magic? John Lasseter breaks it down to three crucial steps: first tell a compelling story, that keeps people on edge through unpredictable twists; second choose appealing characters, even the bad guys; and third put them all in a believable world even if it isn’t a reflection of reality.

The moment of story-pitching is crucial. Not all are aware that one of the most valuable team members of John Lasseter has been Joe Ranft, to whom Pixar has dedicated ‘Cars’ after he died in a tragic car accident in 2005. Without mentioning this sad event, as a simple tribute to his friend’s talent, John showed a clip of Joe pitching the Toy Story sequence of the Green Army Men through his sketches. This truly enthralling experience transmitted the collaborative spirit of Pixar’s animation building.

The driven team has kept an eye out for computer science evolutions also on the preparatory work. For instance drawn story-board gave way to digital techniques that were first used with ‘The Incredibles’, such devices allowed a dynamic pre-visualisation of the final outcome. But the three dimensions of Pixar characters don’t stop at the blunt visual aspect, they deeply depict their personality facets. Sometimes there are also autobiographical choices in the creation of characters. Woody, initially born as a ventriloquist then evolved to a pull-string doll. Lasseter was inspired by his childhood Casper pull-string doll which he would take to bed; his parents would figure he had fallen asleep when Casper stopped talking. Buzz’s white suit has touches of John’s favourite colour (light-green) combined with his wife’s (lilac). But beyond sentimental gushes, all animated characters are constructed to fit the role as Hopper, the villain of ‘A bug’s life’, with cloudy eyes and decorated wings that evoke motor-bikers’ or Edna Mode who encloses within a tiny bizarre woman the concentration of a self-made seamstress, an accomplished designer, and an extravagant pushy free-spirit. The fashion stylist of ‘The Incredibles’ has a house that mirrors completely who she is, as proof that the environment serves as an enrichment to the character portrayed, and has to be believable, no matter how fantastic it may be. Same goes with the setting of ‘Monsters Inc’, that brought to an in-depth study of Pittsburgh’s steel mills to recreate the industry town of the story, or the water world in ‘Finding Nemo’ that allowed the Lasseter family, fond of scuba-diving, to drag all the creative team under the sea.

Also colour and light are dealt with care, as the blues project gloom when Marlin returns to his anemone and sees that the barracuda has eaten his wife, Coral, and all their eggs, except for one. Chromatics change in the same seascape on Nemo’s first day at school, bright and vivid shades reflect his excitement and joy. Further study of the colour-scripts in ‘Ratatouille’, have required a detailed preparation through a Parisian trip; not to mention the use of dark tones in ‘Wall E’ showing the destruction left on earth in contrast with the only mirthful spot of the little robot’s house, just as the intense blue-eyes of his beloved Eve and the fulgid green-sprout embodying the prospects of new-life.

To conclude the evening John Lasseter, premiered ‘Small Fry’, a short-film that will be part of the ‘Toy Story Toons’ collection, a remarkable and amusing piece of animation up to the company’s standards.

Pixar is truly a studio of pioneers as it strives to show something familiar, pushing technology to unprecedented standards. Art challenges technology and technology inspires art. The company’s rallying call? “Be wrong as fast as you can.” This is the quickest way to get things straight and reach an outstanding result. John Lasseter himself has always had the habit of bringing home some early works and showing them to his wife and children to see where he lost their attention and at what point they we’re involved. One must always stay open to what news idea come in. Quoting Steve Jobs “don’t just do something, make it insanely great!”

The party for Pixar’s quarter of a century in Milan, isn’t over yet. Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea hosts an art exhibit from the 23rd of October until the 1st of February with drawings, paintings, installations, workshops and much more on the extraordinary Pixar stories, from the origins to today.

by Chiara Spagnoli

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