Angus MacLane talks about the little story details that made a big difference with Pixar’s latest short, “Small Fry”

Jim Hill

13 years ago

When the development team that was working of Disney’s
“Beauty and the Beast” wanted to get the look of the Beast’s castle just right,
what did they do? These artists toured the Loire Valley in September of 1989,
visiting many of France’s famous chateaus.

And when the “Lion King” development team wanted to make
sure that they really captured the look & feel of the African savannah,
what did they do? They spent a week exploring Hell’s Gate National Park in
Kenya, sketching the flora and fauna.

Which brings us to Pixar veteran Angus MacLane. When John
Lasseter gave Angus the go-ahead to begin development of “Small Fry,” Pixar’s
latest “Toy Story Toon” (which reveals what happens to Buzz Lightyear when
Bonnie accidentally leaves this Space Ranger behind when she and her family are
visiting a local fast food franchise), what did MacLane do?

“I went to a lot of fast food restaurants in my old hometown, Portland,
Oregon,” Angus explained. “15 total, I think. My favorite was this closed-down
Burger King that had a carousel in its indoor play area. Which looked like it
might be fun to visit during the day but would also seem creepy if you got left
behind and locked inside after dark.

And given that MacLane has already directed one short for Pixar (i.e. 2008’s
“Burn-E,” which was included as bonus material on the Blu-ray & DVD
releases of “WALL-E.”), Angus already knows the value of getting the little
story details just right on these 7 minute-long animated films. Take – for
example – the discarded Fun Meal Toys that Buzz encounters while he’s trapped
inside of the Poultry Palace.

“The idea that I quickly wanted to get across here was that these were toys who had been left
behind for a reason. That the kids hadn’t found these playthings all that
appealing when they first opened that Fun Meal box,” MacLane continued. “So my
story editor Josh Cooley and I came up with the idea of toys that were based on
crossed genres. Two strong ideas that – when they came together – then made for
one funny but really awful sounding plaything. So using that as our jumping-off
point, Josh and I quickly came up with some really mishmashed, mismatched toys.
Things like a ninja clown, a deer that practices tae kwon do, a funky monk, a vampire who drives a train. All beautifully rendered in the
authentic Happy Meal style. But you can immediately see why a child wouldn’t want
to play with or keep a toy who looked like that.”

And for all you Disney trivia buffs out there: Keep a sharp
eye out for that American History action figure who makes a quick appearance in
“Small Fry” ‘s support group sequence. Doesn’t that bald eagle (who’s driving a
race car that’s shaped like the Declaration of Independence) look an awful lot
like Sam, the Audio-Animatronic MC of Disneyland‘s old “America Sings” show? And while we’re discussing projects from Disney’s past, please note
that one of the discarded Fun Meal toys who makes an appearance at this
after-hours AA-type meeting is none other than Condorman, the title character
of Walt Disney Productions’ 1981 release.

“Josh and I had the same sort of fun coming up with a back
story for Poultry Palace. Which we decided was this chain restaurant that
initially did make chicken well but then made the mistake of expanding its
menu,” Angus laughed. “So if you check out the behind-the-counter menu boards,
you’ll notice that the Poultry Palace sells iffy-sounding products like the
Chicken Shake and the Two Buck Cluck. We also tried to keep the medieval theme
of this fast food restaurant going with things like the Cauldron of Cola.”

Of course, given that “Small Fry” is a “Toy Story Toon”
(which is based on Pixar’s trio of top-grossing, much-beloved full-length
animated features) … Well, that meant that MacLane faced bigger challenges on
this project than coming up with authentic-looking-but-awful-sounding Fun Meal
toys as well as designing a funny-but-flawed fast food joint. Angus also had to
direct A-listers like Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack who provide the
voices for Woody, Buzz and Jessie respectively on this short.

“The only vocal directing that I’d done prior to this was
Michael Keaton. He and I worked together on those ‘Ken’s Dating Tips‘
interstitials that I’d done for the ‘Toy Story 3‘ Blu-ray and DVD. And while
Michael was absolutely great to work with – I got to vocal direct Batman! –
it’s one thing to go from directing a single actor who’s playing one character
in three 30-second-long pieces to then having to direct a dozen or more famous
actors who are all only available to you for a very short amount of time and
who you need these very specific line readings from,” MacLane said.

But Lee Unkrich (who had obviously worked with this group
before) gave Angus some great tips when it came to vocal directing Tom and Tim.
More to the point, MacLane was smart enough to know that you don’t fix what
ain’t broke.

“Take – for example – Teddy Newton. He did what was originally
supposed to be just a scratch track for the Fun Meal-sized version of Buzz. But
Teddy immediately got what Josh and I were trying to do with this character,
that this Buzz was totally obsessed with playtime. So he brought this great energy
& intensity to his vocal performance,” Angus continued. “And as soon as
John heard Teddy’s scratch track for Fun Meal-sized Buzz, he said that we had
to use that vocal performance in ‘Small Fry.’ “

Speaking of Mr. Lasseter, what does he think of the latest
“Toy Story Toon” ?

“Well, John’s always after us to find new ways to expand the
‘Toy Story’ universe. And up until now, we haven’t really done anything with
those 3 ½ inch-tall action figure-type toys from the 1980s. But now that we’ve
introduced these Fun Meal-sized toys, we can finally start folding these 3 ½
inch-tall action figure-type toys into the ‘Toy Story’ universe. And John
seemed pretty pleased with that idea,” MacLane stated.

And how does Angus feel about “Small Fry” ? As a 14 year
veteran of Pixar Animation Studios, MacLane seems very pleased with the way
that his latest project ultimately turned out.

“I feel like my career here at Pixar is on a nice
trajectory. With each new production, I’ve been able to add to my skill set.
This time around, for example, I got to learn how to vocal direct A-list
actors. Which is a weird but necessary skill in the field that I work in,”
Angus concluded. “I’m just happy that – with ‘Small Fry’ – I got to make the
film that I wanted to make. I mean, a Happy Meal support group is a very weird
story idea. But John supported that idea. Which is why I then got to make what
– for me, anyway – is a very personal movie. So I can’t complain.”

Well, here’s hoping that someday soon MacLane gets to swap
his multiple-visits-to-fast-food-joints for a leisurely research trip to the
Loire Valley. Where – one hopes – you can at least get a better quality
beverage to go with your order of “Small Fry.

Your thoughts?