Stanton explained at the TED Conference on Tuesday that back in these scrappy days of 1993, as this group was putting together its ideas for its first movies, it saw itself swimming upstream against the dominant forces — and mindsets — of animated films. Remember — at this time popular animated movies included song-and-dance hits like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King and Aladdin. Successful fare to be sure, but Pixar looked at the competition and saw an opportunity to make animated movies that were different. They didn’t have to follow the mores the others felt. They could tell different kinds of stories in different way. So this “group of guys” drafted a set of “secret story guidelines,” as Stanton describes them, to help guide them internally against the prevailing winds in the animation world at the time. Their secret guidelines: -- No songs -- No “I want” moments -- No happy village -- No love story -- No villain Against the context of what worked at the time for animated movies, these were pretty subversive. Even in today’s Pixar-dominated landscape, they’re pretty stark and some may have bent over time. But still, these rules established a clear set of parameters for the company. With them, they plotted a countervailing course, one that led the company to its unparalleled run of success today.
Posted on: Fri, 02 May 2014 17:30:36 +0000
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