An Appreciation for Pete Docter's 'Thank You' Before 'Inside Out' ~ Cinenus

The other day I went to see Pixar's Inside Out in theaters. I live in New York City and went to the big 42nd Street AMC Theatres, where I could catch a 2D showing at the right time. Before the movie began, after all of the previews but just before the short film, they included a message from the film's director, Pete Docter (seen above). I'm not sure if this message is included on all copies/prints of Inside Out, or just certain ones, or in certain places, but I assume it's probably playing everywhere. It's just a short "Thank you" message, pointing out that tons of people put a lot of work into making this movie, so thank you for coming out to theaters to see it. It was a very nice, genuine, humble message that took me by surprise and made me smile.

Over the years running this site I've come to know many animators and artists in the industry, including a number of friends at Pixar. I always wonder if the general public truly appreciates how much work so many different people put into making one animated movie (on average: 200 people over 4 years). Many different profiles and behind-the-scenes videos have covered this, but once you actually get to know these people, and see first hand how much they love their jobs, and how much they love putting the tiniest of details into their work so that it makes the entire movie shine, it's inspiring. And so, I was amazed and impressed that Disney allowed Pete Docter to include that message before Inside Out. It was inspiring to hear what he had to say.

It seemed like a way of him reminding everyone that hey, it actually makes a difference that you spent your money to come see this in the movie theater, and that all these people who worked on it say "thank you" for doing that. Thank you for being the audience, and thank you for enjoying their work. Thank you for actually coming to the movie theater to pay tribute to this art form. And don't forget there are hundreds of people who worked hard to bring this to you. That one character, with one voice, is actually the work of 10 or 20 or 50 different people, including the recording engineer who recorded that voice. And the entire movie, if it makes you cry, and makes you laugh, it's all because of the collaborative effort of every last person at Pixar.

Below is a video from The Verge showing a look inside Pixar Animation Studios and their process. This was originally made for Monsters University, and introduces some of the people who worked on the movie:

Thank you, Disney (and AMC), for allowing Pixar to include this video before Inside Out. (I hope it's playing everywhere!) Thank you, Pete Docter, for being so honest in your sentiments and so bold as to speak directly to the audience. And thank you everyone at Pixar for making such a wonderful movie. Inside Out is another gem from Pixar, another beautiful work of art that speaks so much about who we all are - passionate people, full of competing emotions, trying to make the best our circumstances. I'm glad Pixar can continue to make wonderful movies. It's a studio driven by passionate individuals and their work inspires so much happiness.

Cinenus

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Friday, 3 July 2015