Yesterday, I watched the Pixar movie Cars from beginning to end---I'd had the DVD awhile, caught part of it on cable the other day, and watched it. I found myself emotionally moved by it, by the whole movie and by individual pieces in the movie. Sorrow, joy, and a lot in between.

This seems to happen with me and Pixar movies---WALL-E and Up had almost identical effects on me. I can't say any other set of recent movies, animated or otherwise, have had that same impact on me.

But it's happened enough now that I'm become intrigued by the effect---I'd like to know what, in particular, was setting me off, and if there was any similarity between the scenes and the movies in question.

And, in particular, I'd like to see if I could see if I could figure it out enough to bring some of it out in my writing. I'd like my stories to have emotional impact. If I could figure out what Pixar Animation is doing to me and how...

Please let us know what you learn. Even if it only helps you understand what works for you and why and how, it can be an example to others on how to learn that kind of stuff from books and movies and stories that work for them.

There's a Dreamworks movie out - How To Train Your Dragon, that we saw w/the kids recently and it's really excellent. This article was talking about why, and pointed out that Pixar movies are usually written by one or two people, whereas Dreamworks are often written by committee. They may turn out some cute stuff, but the life gets written out of the movies when it's done in a writers-room bolus as I imagine (like the writer's room of a sitcom where everyone's throwing out gags and lines.)

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Do you have kids, MAP? I've got two, and I wonder if that's why I emotionally connect with those two movies more than the others.

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Then there's an individual scene, late in the movie, when Doc Hudson takes over as crew chief and, in the course of a minute or so, everybody in the stadium realizes he's the legendary Hudson Hornet, three-time Piston Cup champion, not seen for over fifty years, and every eye at the racetrack turns to look and see and cheer. I found that particularly moving.

Also Pixar has a way of layering things on, from details about NASCAR and racing and Route 66 history and culture, down to self-referential inside jokes (check out the "Lightyear" tires and the Lightyear Blimp---great bit, that), that add up to make a greater whole.

I can't say my interest in things NASCAR, or my exploration (from afar, through books and such) of Route 66 life, contributed to this feeling---it's the story that drives it, and what I needed to know I could've picked up from the movie itself. Knowing what I know does enhance things, though. I do think that Pixar puts out stuff that, despite it all, is really for adults and not children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

If not, look up *the hero's journey* in wiki.

I believe they nail that formula every time.
Their main characters are usually underdogs. They usually need help to attain their goals and their companions have unflinching loyalty to them. When one or the other of the main characters has hit bottom, the other will lift them back up, often at a high cost to themselves.

Still, knowing all this, there is the "it" factor.
This is what we all seek...

This is what amazes me when I watch their movies. How do they manage to add "it" to every single film, seemingly on demand?

Axe

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Their main characters are usually underdogs. They usually need help to attain their goals and their companions have unflinching loyalty to them. When one or the other of the main characters has hit bottom, the other will lift them back up, often at a high cost to themselves.

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I'm thinking Cars turns that sideways---the lead character has no friends and those who become his friends stand in the way of his goal---and at the end his goals have changed.

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But that's away from the main thrust of why I got into this. I've think I've got three ideas for stories that might move me the way some of this did, if I do them right---but they're all in the "thinking about" stage, what I do before I write anything down.

Most importantly, they're just things the characters do---I haven't fitted them to a good background yet.

I believe Pixar movies are designed a little like a good joke - they hit you the hardest when they hit close to home. For me, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles have been my two favorites. In Nemo, a father has to learn the hard way to give his son room to grow, mature, and make his own mistakes. It is something I still struggle with. In The Incredibles, it is mainly about the struggle between a person's sense of responsibility to his family and to one's self (dealing with mid-life, being responsible, wishing for one's "glory days", and dealing with various family issues).

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This article was talking about why, and pointed out that Pixar movies are usually written by one or two people, whereas Dreamworks are often written by committee.

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People call it 'profound empathy' or 'connecting' - but I can't help think that if I didn't have the experience I wouldn't have that empathy - at least not as much. And without that empathy how much would really show up in my works? And I wonder how much secretly goes in with out me realizing. I noticed this when i read up on authors and filmmakers.

For ex, there is a pattern between a boy and his, usually single divorced, parent in most Steven Spielberg movies. and if you know about his childhood it makes perfect sense. I don't connect much with that - but I bet some really do.

That's why I think it's very specific moments in a story that catch people. It reflects a part of their life back at them.
Sometimes these moments are classic. In Finding Nemo, for ex, the scene of leaving his kid alone at the 'bus stop' is probably one of the hardest things for a parent to do, and easy for anyone to empathize with. I, as a non-parent, get it. But a parent who went through that probably had a deep profound connection to that moment. The movie understood what it feels like.

So I'd want to ask where in the movie Cars did it hit you hard? What was it in your life that made you connect?

This is why I think the only way to put such deep moments in a work is to blend your own experience in there. Most will get it. Some will be greatly moved. BUT I don't think it can be put in there very well unless you have been affected by it in the first place.

With a week-and-a-half of obsessive watching---among other things, I broke the plot down into a night-and-day-and-night chart to see how long Lightning McQueen was in Radiator Springs (roughly four days by my count)---it's hard to pick out any one thing now. The overall experience is, and remains, very moving.

I can certainly blend some of my experience into the Pixar movies I know best---WALL-E, Up, and now Cars---which is a common experience with works that move me lately.

(You've heard me talk of my Internet Fan Fiction experience---well, with the Original Series in question, I thought I could map out about sixty to seventy percent of my life across the life of the main character. I did use some experiences of my own in the Internet Fan Fiction I wrote, as a matter of fact.)

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Managed to forget I'd obsessed over The Incredibles when it came out...can't say loneliness is a theme in that, though...

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I don't think it's an overt theme, but the main characters, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, do go through a period of loneliness that actually furthers the plot.

A Bug's Life: well this is a Hero's Quest - can't remember this movie much...reminded me of 7 samurai.

Monster's Inc.: There can be alternatives to the Energy crisis that are positive to all.

Finding Nemo: Let your kid face the world boldly instead of with fear, despite what happened in the past, and don't be scared of new things and people.

The Incredibles: Accepting who we are and using our different abilities together can help overcome adversity that we couldn't overcome alone. Be true to yourself.

Cars: Living the simple life in a quiet town among good people can teach you values that living the luxurious, fast-paced, competitive, dog-eat-dog life cannot.

Ratatouille: Don't judge a book by it's cover. Be true to yourself; Follow your true talents; Don't be what you aren't; Don't force your kids into a 'real' career;

Wall-E: You'll find love...even if you're working at a crappy job forever, are literally alone, and extremely lonely. Just follow your heart blindly. And the general themes of 'anyone can be a hero' and 'don't mess with Earth - or you'll be fat. In space' and the ever popular, 'don't give the machines too much power. It never works out in the end.'

Up: 'Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans' - so enjoy what you have with each other now cuz your plans many not come true, but what happens in the meantime can be just as good, besides, you might lose each other before you realize it, Still, don't ever give up on your dreams - you never know what's in store for you. Oh, and 'a friend in need is a friend indeed' and 'objects can never replace people (or animals).'
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If I were to pick a general common theme it would be:
"estranged friends/family, due to their (growing or established) fondness for each other and moral righteousness, are forcibly brought together when faced with common adversity, which they subsequently overcome, and are left with greater understanding of, and strongers bonds with, each other."

One more thing I picked up on is that all the lead characters are in some way horribly alone---they're isolated, by personal tragedy or circumstance or personality. Carl has lost his beloved wife Ellie...Lightning McQueen's focus on winning cuts him off from companionship...the superpowers of the family in "The Incredibles," and the need to suppress them, cuts them off from others...WALL-E is alone at the end of the world with only a pet cockroach for company.

I cried like a baby in Toy Story 3. So did 99% of the adults in the theater (and it was PACKED!) I won't spoil it for you, but when you've seen it, jump on and let me know what you thought. It was the most moving Toy Story out of the trilogy, and I personally thought it was the best film Pixar has put out so far.

http://www.ugo.com/movies/toy-story-3-interpretations

From the number of hits on Google, it seems to be all over the place now.

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I did see "Toy Story 3" this afternoon...a great movie...but I didn't find it "moving" me the way some of the others had. I wondered about that---until the final scene, when it was everything every other Pixar movie had been.