You know, I’ve been hammering pretty hard on John Lasseter & Ed Catmull lately. Faithfully reporting on virtually every misstep that these two have made as they move through the Mouse House.
Which – I think – is giving JHM readers the wrong impression about how I actually feel about these guys. A lot of people who read this site seem to think that I’m gunning for Ed & John. That I’m actually pulling for Team Pixar to fail.
Nothing could be further from the truth, folks. Yes, I think that Disney really over-paid for Pixar. And – yes – I do believe that there are going to be some significant culture clashes as well as some badly hurt feelings as the management of the younger animation studio tries to remake the older studio in its own image.
But – that said – I still would really like to see Ed Catmull & John Lasseter ultimately succeed here. To have Pixar Animation Studios continue to make great movies. More importantly, to have Disney Feature Animation come out of its funk and get back to making great movies again.
How can I prove that I really want Ed & John to succeed. Here. Let me share with you a transcript of one of the more optimistic, hopeful speeches I’ve heard in the past 10 years.
These are the remarks that John Lasseter made last month as he stood on stage at Arrowhead Pond. As the new Chief Creative Officer of Disney Feature Animation addressed Disney shareholders for the very first time.
As you read this transcript, notice how passionate John is as he talks about the real connection that he feels toward the Walt Disney Company. More importantly, notice Lasseter’s enthusiasm as he talks about the future.
Better yet, let’s back up here a bit. And let Disney’s new CEO introduce WDFA’s new Chief Creative Officer. Take it away, Bob!
BOB IGER: Here to tell you about the exciting future in animation at Disney is a man who has a great love & passion for the art and also a great love & passion for the Walt Disney Company. Ladies & gentlemen, John Lasseter.
(John enters to huge applause from audience as “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story” plays underneath)
JOHN LASSETER: Thank you. Thank you. (Applause continues) Oh, stop! (Applause finally subsides) For the Disney stockholders meeting, my wife said that “You’ve gotta dress up, John.” So I wore black tennis shoes and I put a jacket on. Look at it, baby. This is as dressed as I get.
Anyway … I can’t tell you how exciting it is to be here. Not here at the Pond. But to be here at Disney.
As you know … Maybe you don’t know … I was born in Whittier, California about a half hour from here. All I ever wanted to be was an animator. All I ever wanted to do was work for Walt Disney.
You know, when you really love cartoons but you’re in high school and you’re supposed to be cool and you would run home … This was before the Disney Channel, before video cassettes … And you’d need to run home for 4:30, “Bugs & his Buddies” on KTTV, Channel 11, to catch it even in high school. That was me.
And then when I was in high school and read “The Art of Animation” by Bob Thomas and it dawned on me: People make money doing cartoons? Then that’s what I want to be.
Then I went to Cal Arts. In fact, I got a scholarship through the Disney Foundation. And while I was there, I worked as a ride operator at Disneyland on the Jungle Cruise.
My favorite joke is – remember the natives that are on the pole and the rhino is there? And you’d come up and “Oh, there they are. It’s the famous Hantas tribe. They’ve been lost for a long time. And look! The rhino is trying to poke a Hantas.” Number 1 joke.
Copyright Walt Disney Productions
Anyway, I worked at Disney after I graduated from Cal Arts in 1979. And then I saw something that I felt was amazing. It was the very first bit of 3D computer animation ever done. And I knew that Walt would have loved this. Walt always tried to get more dimension into his animation. And I thought that “This is amazing.”
So I followed my dream to work with who I think is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known in my life: Ed Catmull. To Lucasfilm’s computer division. And in 1986, Steve Jobs bought us from Lucasfilm and we formed Pixar.
And for the first 10 years, we lost a lot of Steve’s money. A lot of Steve’s money. But he believed in us. He believed in what we were doing.
Pixar is people. An amazing group of people that Ed & Steve & I have been fortunate enough to lead for all these years. And all of us believe in one simple thing: Quality is a great business plan. Period.
We always believed, no matter what we did – be it a feature film or a DVD, a lunchbox, a t-shirt – if we make it the best quality it can be … Where an animated film can entertain someone from the moment that the lights dim in the theater to the moment that they turn back on. From every moment, you’re deeply entertained.
That’s why we do what we do. We believe in that. That’s what I love to do. I love to entertain people thoroughly.
And so when Bob Iger came to the three of us and said that “We’re interested in acquiring you,” I was worried. Because we have built this incredibly wonderful culture at Pixar about creativity and quality. And everyone there – 850 of us – believe in that single thing.
And I was worried until I got to know Bob Iger. Ladies and gentlemen, you are led by a great man. He’s amazing. That’s why we’re here. That’s why Pixar joined up with Disney.
And that’s why Ed & I are so proud to lead Disney Feature Animation into the future. I promise you we will make films that will entertain you from the moment the light dim ‘til the moment they come up. I give you my word on that.
Photo courtesy of Google Images
And you know what we found at Disney Feature Animation is the most amazing group of talented artists that have been wanting to make amazing motion pictures for a long time and we are going to work with them and it is just going to be phenomenal. And I am so excited. We’re bringing back some amazing people that have left and we’re making Disney the place that you have to work at again.
And I get to help design theme park rides. I never understood why you wouldn’t start designing a ride when you’re coming up with an idea for an animated film. So when a film comes out, two months later, a ride can open.
You know, it’s just … We believe that you can make great stories with great characters that live beyond the boundaries of the film so that people want to be with those characters for the rest of their lives and experience it again and again and again. So I promise you – not only are we going to make great motion pictures – we are going to make theme park rides that as soon as you get off that ride you want to get back in that line no matter how long it is to ride that ride again. I promise you that …
So, I’m so excited … I get to direct movies too. And my new movie – which I’m very proud of – is “Cars.” I’ve worked on this movie since December of 1999, since I finished directing “Toy Story II.”
My father was the parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership in Whittier, CA. all my life. And I’ve loved cars. And my mother was a high school art teacher in Bell Gardens High School for 38 years. So this is a very personal story for me, ‘cause it puts my two loves together.
This is a very personal story for me. I worked non-stop directing “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story II.” And during that time, I actually had four of my five sons.
And towards the end of “Toy Story II,” my wife said “John” – she was very supportive of me and my career and Pixar – she said “One day, you’re going to wake up and your kids are going to have gone off to college and you will have missed it.”
I realized that she was right. I took the summer off that year. We bought an old used motor home. We put our feet in the Pacific Ocean. We turned and headed east. And we had two months, just the family. And it was amazing.
I changed. I came back and I said “That’s what I want that movie to be about. What I learned that summer.”
Photo courtesy of Google Images
And so this story is a very special one to me. It’s about a character called Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson. This unbelievable rookie race car in a world where there are no humans. Just cars are alive and — in this world — race cars are athletes.
And he’s driven to be the fastest, the quickest to get there. And on his way to the final race of the season, through his selfishness, he gets lost and stuck in an old Route 66 town. That the interstate – the modern world – has bypassed long ago.
And it’s inhabited by nothing but old cars from the 50s & 60s. The one commodity that they have a lot of is time. And he thinks that he’s stuck in hell. But he learns a lot about life.
There, he meets an old ’51 Hudson Hornet called Doc Hudson. He’s the town doctor and the town judge. They all have two jobs in this town. He’s voiced by Paul Newman. And he falls in love with a Porsche 911, voiced by Bonnie Hunt.
And he meets probably the most … The character that he could never possibly be friends with. You see, he only likes to hang out with new cars. It’s a beat-up, rusty tow truck named Mater. As he says: “It’s Mater. It’s like tamater without the ‘ta.’” And it’s voiced by probably the greatest living American actor today: Larry the Cable Guy.
I brought with me something special for just you. No one has seen this outside of Pixar. It’s a clip – it’s not a trailer – it’s a full clip from our movie.
In this scene, Lightning McQueen has been – they don’t know who he is – here’s this guy comes through town. He wreaks their main road. Their livelihood. And he’s sentenced …
Doc Hudson sentences him to community service. You’ve gotta fix what you broke before you can leave. So fixing the road, Lightning McQueen – being the prima donna – he has to pull this disgusting, smelly tar-covered rotating machine (Which they lovingly call Dusty) to fix the road. And he’s working really, really hard.
Mater – who’s hanging out with him the whole time because there’s this new person to talk to — is given the job to watch him so he doesn’t escape one evening. So instead of just watching him, Mater takes him to do his absolute favorite pastime.
(The tractor tipping sequence from “Cars” is then shown. As the lights come back up in the hall, John is again greeted with great applause)
JOHN LASSETER: Thanks you so much for having me here. I am so proud to be a part of this company again. And this guy’s a great guy. Thank you, Bob.
BOB IGER: John, hold on one second. I think you’re holding back. I think you’ve got a little bit more.
JOHN LASSETER: Oh, that’s right. I’ve got one more thing. How would you like to see what Pixar is doing next after “Cars”? This is the world premiere of the trailer for our new movie. I’d just like to show it to you.
(The “Ratatouille” teaser is then shown. It too is received with much enthusiasm from the crowd at Arrowhead Pond)
JOHN LASSETER: “Ratatouille” is our eighth motion picture at Pixar. It will come out in the Summer of 2007. It is creatively being led by Brad Bird, the director of “The Incredibles” from a story idea by Jan Pinkava and it is … We’re very, very excited about it. Trust me, you’ve never seen anything like this.
So, anyway, I’m so glad to be here. Thank you, Bob, for having me.
BOB IGER: Thanks, John.
(Lasseter exits stage to thunderous applause)
BOB IGER: Obviously from your reaction, you join in welcoming John and Ed Catmull, who’s also with us today, as well as the entire Pixar team to the Walt Disney Company. We’re incredibly optimistic about what the future holds ….
You see that? In his remarks to Disney’s shareholders, John Lasseter comes across as being this incredibly sincere guy. Sincerity with feet, if you will.
And given all the great nights at the movies that I’ve had over the past 10 years because of John & his team at Pixar (As Joel Siegel so amusingly put it in his introduction of Lasseter at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: “This man has shown me more good times in the dark than my ex-wife ever did”) … It’s hard not to pull for this guy. To wish he & Ed continued success.
But – that said – as a reporter, I’m not allowed to be a fan. I’m supposed to be a dispassionate observer. Which (in theory) allows me to be even-handed. To report on the good and the bad.
Which is why I’ve been somewhat disturbed of late to learn that Iger’s reportedly been telling reporters that Lasseter’s other job at Disney (I.E. Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering) will be largely ceremonial. That John’s No. 1 responsibility will be stoking the creative fires at both Pixar & Disney Feature Animation.
Well, I hope that someone’s told John that. Given the amount of time that Lasseter has allegedly been devoting to that new “Monsters, Inc.” attraction that’s supposed to be opening at WDW’s Magic Kingdom in 2007. The way I hear it, he’s been regularly meeting with Imagineers & animators as they all try & get a handle on this “Laugh Floor” show. Which – just like “Turtle Talk with Crush” at DCA & Epcot – will be another one of WDI’s “Living Creature Initiative” projects.
Given all the effort that Lasseter has supposedly been pouring into this new Disney theme park show … Well, that doesn’t sound as if John knows that his position at WDI is supposed to be largely ceremonial.
One wonders what else Iger hasn’t told Lasseter. Like … Is John aware that the Walt Disney Company has reportedly hired a New York-based headhunter to find a new CEO for WDI? I mean, given how buddy-buddy these two seemed in Anaheim last month, I’m going to assume that Bob has kept John in the loop on all this. But then again …
Oops … Let me guess: I’ve just upset all you die-hard Disney fans out there. All because this article suddenly took a sharp left turn. Going from being a rah-rah-rah let’s-all-be-upbeat-about-John-Lasseter-and-the-future-of-the-Walt-Disney-Company piece to yet another corporate expose.
See? This is what comes with having to be a dispassionate observer. You really do have to report on the good (I.E. John Lasseter is an incredibly talented, very passionate filmmaker. Who – if all the breaks actually go his way – will hopefully be able to lead WDFA back to greatness) and the bad (I.E. I’m not sure that all those years of making movies up in Port Richmond and Emeryville is going to serve John well while he’s in Hollywood. Given how cut-throat things can get in Tinseltown, Lasseter may be a little too touchy-feely & trusting for his own good. He may need to toughen up a bit, be less trusting in order to really succeed in his new position).
Here’s hoping that I’m wrong about all this. But what are your thoughts on this matter?