Toon Tuesday : Was John Lasseter stung by that mean caricature of him that appears in “Bee Movie” ?

Jim Hill

17 years ago

Everybody knows about those “Hidden Mickeys” that Disney sometimes stashes in its motion pictures & theme park attractions. But have you ever heard about the “Hidden Lasseters” ?

Yep. As a tribute to the creative Grand Pooh-Bah of Pixar, the folks who work at this Emeryville-based animation studio have slipped John’s image into a few of their films & shorts. Take — for example — “Tin Toy” …

Did you ever notice that framed photograph that sits on the coffee table in the background of this Oscar-winning short? Well, were you to look closely at that image, you’d discover that it’s actually a picture that was taken of the young John Lasseter right after he won his “Best Boy Camper” award.

Then — of course — there’s “Toy Story” …

Where Lasseter’s own noggin provided the inspiration for what Buzz Lightyear’s head should look like.

But the above two “Hidden Lasseters” are basically affectionate tributes to John. Whereas the one that I’ll be talking about today — which was deliberately dropped into “Bee Movie” by DreamWorks Animation artists — is not.

Now please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that DreamWorks hasn’t previously thumbed its nose at Pixar. Those of you who saw “Flushed Away” will no doubt recall that moment in this Aardman film where Roddy — as he’s swirling down the sewer — suddenly finds himself with a goldfish in his lap.

Who — in true “Finding Nemo” fashion — then turns to this drowned rat and says: “Have you seen me Dad?”

This Nemo-inspired character then goes on to make several appearances in this 2006 Aardman film. Take — for example — the image capture below. Where — if you look past Roddy & the bobby in the foreground — you’ll see that this poor little goldfish seems headed for a grisly fate as the Blue Plate Special.

But then — by the end of “Flushed Away” — this “Nemo” -like character seems to have really charmed that fish-and-chips salesman. For that goldfish is now being kept as a pet.

So — as I said earlier — it’s not that DreamWorks Animation hasn’t ever included characters and/or individual gags that then pay tribute to particular Pixar films. But what’s different about “Bee Movie” …

… is that the in-joke in question doesn’t target a film. But — rather — an individual that works at Pixar. And — to be honest — this poke at John Lasseter is rather mean-spirited.

So what moment in “Bee Movie” am I talking about? The gag in question happens during the end of the film. When Barry B. Benson (i.e. the bee character that Jerry Seinfeld voices) and Vanessa Bloome (i.e. the human character that Renée Zellweger plays in this animated feature) are trying — all by themselves to land a jumbo jet full of flowers at JFK. But — of course (because this is a movie and you always need additional complications to help heighten the tension) — the cockpit controls have cut out and thick cloud cover prevent Vanessa & Barry from seeing the runway.

Things look pretty bleak at this moment in the movie. So thank goodness that hundreds of thousands of Barry’s bee friends now fly up and intercept this damaged aircraft.

As they take hold of the plane, Barry’s long dormant bee instinct kicks in. Which is why he then tells Vanessa to cut the engines …

… So that — by working together with all of the bees who are now clinging to this craft — Vanessa & Barry bring this damaged plane for a very insect-like landing at JFK. At one point literally hovering above a giant ” … black and yellow pulsating flower made of bees” that Barry’s friends have come together to create right there on the runway.

“So where does the mean John Lasseter-related joke come in?,” you ask. Well, you have to understand that it takes Barry & Vanessa several tries before they finally settle on the right flower on the right runway. So for a few moments there, their bee-powered plane hovers around a 747 that has some huge blossoms painted on its tail section.

Barry turns to Vanessa and says ” Not that flower. The other flower.” So Ms. Bloome now moves their plane over to the next large flower-covered object that she finds out on the runway.

But as the camera moves in for a close-up, we see that this isn’t a plane at all. But — as Barry puts it — “That’s a fat guy in a flowered shirt.”

Ah, but not just any fat guy in a flowered shirt. Given John Lasseter’s penchant for wearing loud Hawaiian shirts … Well, for that brief moment in “Bee Movie” when you can see this CG character in profile and you can then get a clear view of his glasses, those thin lips, the shape of the ear … It’s pretty darn obvious who this particular character was modeled after.

Yes, this character’s hairline is different. And yes, his hair is a different color than John’s. But I’m told that that was a deliberate choice on the “Bee Movie” production team’s part. So that — should this story ever leak out — DreamWorks Animation would at least then have some plausible deniability.

Which then begs the question: Why did DreamWorks Animation actually go out of its ways to take a cheap shot at John Lasseter in “Bee Movie” ? Well, according to what my sources at that studio have told me, it was Seinfeld himself who allegedly insisted that this gag be inserted into that film.

Why For? Well, as I understand it, Jerry & John supposedly had an awkward encounter at Vanity Fair’s 2006 Oscar party. Which reportedly came about because Seinfeld casually mentioned to Lasseter that he was working with DreamWorks Animation on “Bee Movie.”

From what I’ve been told, John supposedly used Jerry’s brief mention of his new insect-based project as an opportunity to bring up the “Antz” / “A Bug’s Life” episode. Where (it’s been alleged) Jeffrey Katzenberg “borrowed” the initial premise for Pixar’s second picture to use as inspiration for DreamWorks Animation’s first CG release.

This conversation then reportedly closed out with Lasseter telling Seinfeld to be careful around Katzenberg. Which was unfortunate. Given that this comic had already been working closely with Katzenberg for a number of years at that point to try & make “Bee Movie” a reality. Which is why Jerry now considers Jeffery to be a good close friend.

So what Lasseter allegedly intended as a helpful bit of advice, Seinfeld supposedly took as a rather insulting remark about a friend of his. Which is why — the very next time Jerry got together with the “Bee Movie” production team to discuss how that they could “plus” their animated feature — it was Seinfeld himself who reportedly suggested that they add that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it gag that deliberately twitted Lasseter. Which is where this “fat guy in a flowered shirt” gag allegedly came from.

But what you folks think ? Was that “Bee Movie” in-joke an unnecessary cheap shot on DreamWorks Animation’s part ? Or is John Lasseter’s personal appearance and/or wardrobe choices really now fair game for gags in today’s Hollywood ?

Your thoughts?