Pixar goes back to class with Monsters prequel

LOS ANGELES—Pixar sends its Monsters back to class this weekend with “Monsters University,” the first time the animation giant has made a prequel to a member of its stable of hit franchises.

Released Friday in the United States, the movie takes monster buddies Mike and Sulley back to their college days when they learned their scaring skills, displayed in the original 2001 blockbuster.

Pixar has made its share of sequels — think “Cars 2″ and “Toy Story” 2 and 3 — but the California-based studio’s 14th feature film is the first to go back in time, to show where the “Monsters Inc.” characters come from.

The first film presented a cast of monsters in a world where the city’s power was generated by children’s screams. An army of scary creatures went into toddlers’ bedrooms to make them wail as loudly as possible.

Sulley, who looks like a cross between a blue bear and a dinosaur, was one of the top scarers, supported by his faithful friend Mike, a small green ball-shaped cyclops with one enormous eye.

In “Monsters University,” we see how they met in college, where loud-mouthed dilettante Mike was already the campus monster chief, while shy, hard-working Sulley could only dream of joining the top scarers.

“We always knew that we wanted to tell the story of Mike wanting to become a scarer,” director Dan Scanlon told AFP.

“We knew that that was sort of the heart of the story, the idea of what do you do when you come up against a brick wall or you come up against a closed door. What becomes the issue is then just how do you tell that story.”

But Scanlon, making his first feature-length movie for Pixar, admitted that at first, he and the writers struggled to come up with a compelling story to drive the prequel emotionally.

“We were going down roads that seemed thin. Sometimes a story doesn’t have an engine behind, it is just kind of meandering around a setting. OK, we have college, but what are they doing in college?” he said.

But they struck upon the idea of a misfit group, the Oozma Kappa fraternity of “losers.”

“Once we included that group, the story came to life. Because it allowed Mike and Sulley to have someone to take care of,” said Scanlon.

“Having them taking care of the misfits or having to deal with this misfits group, it made them kind of a mom and dad that had to learn how to come together to take care of the kids.

“And that element really changed the story. That’s when we felt we’re on the right track.”

As with past films, including “Finding Nemo” (2003), “Ratatouille” (2007) or last year’s Oscar-winning “Brave,” the “Monsters” prequel combines spectacle and fun with serious themes for youngsters, such as accepting tough reality.

But it is also an ode to friendship, and how it can transcend differences and hurdles.

“Friendship is a big part of it… As you see when you meet Mike and Sulley, they are very different people than they are in the next film,” said Scanlon.

“What I like about the film is that it sort of shows you how your friends can help make you who you need to be, especially when you’re younger. They can not only help you find who you really are, not only help you find what things you’re actually good at, but also help make you a better person.”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Pixar Co-Founder Ralph Guggenheim Lauds Filipino Talent

MANILA, Philippines - Marking the maiden staging of the Film, Animation and Gaming Congress of the Department of Tourism on July 26 and 27 was the participation of acclaimed international film and animation professionals, among them Nickelodeon’s Eli Noyes, Cartoon Network Online creator Doug Barry and Pixar co-founder Ralph Guggenheim.

Guggenheim, who has served as the Vice President of Feature Animation for Pixar Studios and as lead producer for the 1997 animated hit “Toy Story,” and who has been executive producer for Electronic Arts, now runs Alligator Planet LLC. His current company is involved in projects that put him in business with various offshore production studios. While he is yet to work with a Filipino studio, he does know our rich history in the creative field.

“Philippines has a long history of animation that I know goes back at least… it’s 20 years that I’ve been involved in this sort of thing and I know that it goes further than that,” Guggenheim tells Bulletin Entertainment on the last day of the Congress. “And there’s a number of great studios that are here and a number of great young artists whose work we’ve seen over the last few days [that we’ve been in the country]. So we think there’s huge potential here.”

The Congress, with the theme “Made in the Philippines: From Storytelling to Storyselling,” coincided with the Cinemalaya Film Festival. It aimed to help filmmakers (producers/directors), original content creators, and various other people in Philippine Creative Industries to identify issues and challenges that face them, as well as the various opportunities open to them.

It had also planted the seed in the development of a globally competitive Creative Services in the country. In fact, according to a DTI press release, the Creative Services sector reported revenues in 2011 of about US$142 million for animation and US$7 million for game development. It employs almost 10,000 creative workers and support workers as well.

Of bigger and perhaps more worldwide opportunities for local artists, Guggenheim notes, “All of the studios that I know have started because a few artists came together and built something and it became larger and larger and they did better and better work as time went on. They weren’t all experts when they started but their expertise grew and their knowledge grew as they worked together. And it’s an industry where young talent is always appreciated and always desired, so there’s no question that this could happen.”

Perhaps his visit would become beneficial to both him and our local artists. “We always do a lot of projects with overseas companies and we’re always looking for a new, young talent and companies that are capable of creating stuff and that can work together with us in ah… projects. So yeah, we are always in search for that and we think the Philippines will be a great place to work.”

Guggenheim and some fellow speakers planned to wrap up their second day of the Congress on the 27th by staying a few more hours at the CCP. “I will see my first film at Cinemalaya this afternoon. We’ve been busy with the conference,” he smiles. “We love independent films and I’ve heard Cinemalaya has great filmmakers and great films so I’m ready to relax and enjoy some films.”

As advice to young creators, Guggenheim closes the interview by offering, “I was once so young [boy] who had an interest in animation, got together with some people I knew and liked, and things grew and changed and our company became successful. But we didn’t start with anything more than a dream and an idea of what we wanted to do.”

Indeed, big dreams come true not just in the make-believe world of movies and animation but, as Guggenheim proves, also in real life.

source: mb.com.ph