Yesterday as a long-awaited treat, I went to see ‘Toy Story 3′. A kids’ film that speaks to the child in all of us.
I have huge respect and admiration for the creativity that goes on at Pixar Animation. The first ‘Toy Story’ came out in 1995, when my son was just five years old. It’s amazing to think that fifteen years later, we all still wanted to see the new ‘Toy Story’ just as much as when he was a child…!
Pixar pioneered the idea of a ‘short’ before the main film and I’ve always loved those as much as the longer films they make. Capturing ideas and character in a few minutes takes a lot of skill and creativity. Making a lamp (the ‘i’ in ‘Pixar’) that you care about has to be something special! So I was just as eager to see the short as I was to see the film.
This time, the short was entitled ‘Day and Night’ and the official plot synopsis is given below:
“When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other’s unique qualities — and come to realise that each of them offers a different window onto the same world — the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.”
[Read more: http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/06/05/watch-this-making-of-video-for-pixars-short-day-night/#ixzz0uaVcORrq]
The synopsis can’t possibly capture the magic of those few minutes, watching the tensions and excitements of these two vastly different characters and having life revealed to you in the shape of two cute 2-D characters. Pixar’s skill is using the creative medium to unveil truth. Which of us has not looked at someone very different to us and not felt jealous of them, envying them those traits which are so different to us whilst also feeling suspicious and resentful of them, simply because they are different? Which of us has not envied someone else’s lifestyle, honestly believing that the grass is greener on the other side? Which of us has not, at some point, longed for change in our lives and yet been afraid to take the risk of doing something in a different way?
The simplicity of the genre cannot actually hide the significance of the message, and that’s the secret of Pixar. They have real truth to communicate. They do so in a style that makes us laugh, that awakens our curiosity, that sets fire to our imaginations… but their success lies in the fact that they are handling truth.
And I haven’t even begun to talk about ‘Toy Story 3’ yet!!