The Pixar Theory Explained

The Pixar Theory Explained

Jon Negroni, a Pixar fan, created the Pixar Theory back in 2013. This theory suggests that all Pixar films happen on the same planet, however when Pixar aren’t releasing them in the correct order so we, as Pixar fans, need to find out where and how they fit together on the new timeline. It’s hard to explain because it keeps on updating and changing with each new Pixar film but I will do my best to explain the order of Pixar films.

So for many, many years we believed that the first film in the timeline was “Brave”, but with the introduction of “The Good Dinosaur” this film has now taken the no.1 spot. “The Good Dinosaur” explains why the Pixar films are so similar to life on earth. The planet that the dinosaurs live in is an alternative earth, it’s similar in almost all other ways, except for the fact that an asteroid never collided with the planet. So why aren’t all following films about dinosaurs? Well, because they do end up dying out due to crazy weather which we see in the film. However what’s crucial is that we see that the dinosaurs advance enough to develop farming techniques which shows how animals on this planet have the ability to advance more than they do on earth.

The second film in the timeline is “Brave” which introduces magic to the Pixar world.  The film shows how animals and inanimate objects can and do on occasion behave differently from the way they are meant to. For example the Raven is able to talk and the knives and broom in the witches workshop acted of their own choice. You could say that it’s just the witch controlling them, but I don’t think that’s true because the knives do turn on the witch momentarily. 

The next film in chronological order is “The Incredibles” and this film shows the development of A.I which if you didn’t know is artificial intelligence. Syndrome creates a machine to try and defeat the Superheroes, but instead he makes a machine that ultimately leads to his demise.

Next we dive under the water with “Finding Nemo”. More and more animals are developing human traits like creating schools, transportation, day care services, real estate, traffic light systems and more. Marlin is so advanced that he can travel 1000’s of miles across the ocean to rescue his son. Nemo himself befriends intelligent fish in a fish tank that hatch a clever plan to escape the fish tank and return to the ocean.

Finding Nemo Poster

“Ratatouille” and “Up” are next which both show animals on land becoming more intelligent. “Ratatouille” introduces us to Remy who becomes one of the greatest chefs Paris has ever seen. Then in “Up” we hear from Charles Mintz that his dog, Epsilon, is also a great chef. However Charles dogs aren’t just chefs, they also become waiters and pilots. 

What’s also important in “Up” is that it introduces a faceless corporation that’s taking over everything. If you don’t know what I mean, I’m talking about the corporation that was buying up the real estate around Carls house and converting it into skyscrapers.

Next up are the Toy Story films and what’s important about these films is that the faceless corporation is given a name, and that name is Buy ‘N’ Large. They are the makers of Buzz Light-years batteries which we see in Toy Story 3.

The Toy Story films also show how inanimate objects have continued to act in ways they shouldn’t normally act and are actually becoming more human. For example they need someone to love, they can show a variety of emotions, they can communicate and move and they have dreams, hopes and desires. The Pixar world is a more advanced world.

At the end of Toy Story 3 the toys end up in a gigantic incinerator and although they luckily escape, it’s crucial in the Pixar Theory to show how the planet is becoming a lot more wasteful, and to combat the amount of waste they are producing they need to create these massive incinerators. This is showing how the world is heading towards a consume and throwaway society which will eventually lead to the events of “Wall-E”, but not just yet.

The next film is “Finding Dory”, where we see the oceans are becoming a dumping ground for waste, that people and companies are creating.

With a world that’s becoming more polluted by the day, the humans leave, they can’t survive on the planet and instead A.I steps up with Cars becoming sentient beings. However with all these cars that are on the planet, they’re producing so many more emissions and pollution the planets cars can’t cope on planet earth and they eventually become extinct. Luckily the Wall-E robots are there to compact them and clean them away.  

Next comes “Wall-E” where we see that Buy ‘N’ Large, and there awful effects on the planet means that mankind need to leave and spend 700 years on the Axiom. A.I developed on the Axiom, with some good machinery and some not so good machinery.

In the film Eve finds a tiny seed, takes it to the Axiom which eventually allows the humans to return to earth. They plant that seed and that plant grows into a tree which is the setting for “A Bugs Life”.

So where do the Monsters come from, well all that pollution didn’t disappear and it seeped into the humans skin and turned them into monsters. But I hear you say that humans exist in Monsters, Inc. Well let me remind you that you only see humans when they go through magical doors, the same technology from “Brave” might I add. However when you go through these doors, you’re actually going back in time and collecting screams, and then laughter, from the past.

The person who ties the whole Pixar Theory together is Boo from “Monsters, Inc”. She loves Sulley so much that she makes it her goal in life to try and find him again so she grows up and turns into the witch from “Brave”. Which is why the witch has a carving of Sulley in her workshop and why she’s obsessed with bears.

With every Pixar film that is released it’s time for fans of the Pixar theory to find out how it fits into the Pixar Theory. Jon Negroni, who’s the creator of the Pixar Theory, has actually written a book about the theory but I can’t find it anywhere in the UK to buy, so I don’t know what it’s like.

Let me know what you think of the Pixar Theory in the comments bellow and come back next Monday for another Disney blog.

Pixar in Concert Review

Pixar in Concert Review

A few days ago I had the pleasure of going to see Pixar in Concert at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, this was a present from my mum that I received at Christmas. I have never been to anything like this before so I was very excited to go. I even designed an Up inspired top to wear to the event which my mum helped me make. You can see the top in the picture below. It says “Adventure is Out There”

I definitely wasn’t the only one to dress up, I saw some Disney Loungefly bags, people in spirit jerseys, someone was wearing a Woody top and there was a lot of other people wearing different Disney tops. It was a nice way to spot the big Disney/Pixar fans.

As I walked into the event there was a massive screen and in front of the screen was where the Novello Orchestra was with the conductor David Mahoney who was also the spokesperson for the event.

The concert focused on one Pixar film at a time, showing you clips and scenes of the film on the big screen, while a live orchestra plays music from that Pixar film below. For example they played Married Life from Up while scenes of Up played. They did Toy Story 1 and 3, Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, Monsters Inc and Monsters University, Incredibles 1 and 2, Cars 1 and 2, Up, Wall-E, Inside Out and Coco.

Some films showed whole clips and this was really lovely because it immersed you in the experience. The downside of this is that when you’re watching a sad scene, like the end of Toy Story 3 where all the toys are holding hands, looking like they’re about to be gone forever, it’s pretty hard to remind yourself you’re in public and that bawling isn’t acceptable.  

The most special part of the whole experience came right at the end when David, the conductor asked everyone to stand up and we all sang and danced to Toy Story “You Got a Friend in Me”, it was a really lovely moment and brought the audience together.

The only thing that did disappoint me about the experience was that there was no merchandise, no programme, no pin, no nothing. I have my ticket as a memento but I feel like it would have been nice to come away with something that will remind me of the experience.

I went to the last show of this touring production but I’m sure that there will be another Pixar in Concert experience again. Although I loved the experience and really enjoyed myself, I don’t think I would repeat the experience, I 100% would if it was Disney songs, but now that I’ve done it once, I don’t feel like I need to do it again. However  I would recommend the experience to everyone else of all ages.

If you went to see Pixar in Concert, please let me know in the comments below what you thought and come back on Friday 26th for my review of the Disney Cafe in the new Primark in Birmingham.

Top 10 Saddest Moments in Disney and Pixar Films

Top 10 Saddest Moments in Disney and Pixar Films

 

In this blog I will be counting down my opinion of the 10 saddest Disney and Pixar moments.

 

No. 10 Toy Story 2

Jessie being rejected by Emily: The number 10 saddest moment for me goes to Jessie being forgotten by Emily, her owner, in Toy Story 2, and then being abandoned in a box. This moment in the film is stunning with the beautifully song “When Somebody Loved Me” and montage of time passing. It’s just heartbreaking to watch a toy, an innocent cowgirl become unloved after she had been through so much with Emily.

I think the reason why this moment resonates with me is because it reminds me of all my teddies, dollies and beanie babies that have been shoved into boxes and it makes me feel so bad for them. Excuse me while I go and give them all a cuddle.

 

No. 9 The Lion King

Mufasa dying: Spoiler! Sorry! I know that this moment would normally be people’s number 1 but by the time I had seen The Lion King, age 17, I know, I was a sheltered child, the fact that Mufasa dies, that Simba blames himself and Scar is actually to blame was spoiled for me back when I was 6. So when it came to watching the moment for the first time, I wasn’t that saddened. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s an emotional scene, when poor Simba pushes his way under Mufasa’s paw for a cuddle, it’s sad, but there have been more emotional scenes than that.

 

No. 8 Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast, live action, turning into inanimate objects: I’m not 100% sure this should be on the list because it’s not animated, but I’m in charge so I guess I’m adding it.

When I went to see this film at the cinema, I was heartbroken, on the edge of my seat, ready to storm out at the prospect that they may not become human again. The whole scene from the beast getting injured to Lumière, being all on his own and having to transform makes my choked up inside and my heart ache. It’s the “Amore, no, don’t leave me” and Mrs. Potts frantically trying to find her son before she transforms and Chip nearly smashing to pieces that gets me. For what felt like a thousand years (yes I’m being dramatic) I was waiting, no, hoping that the curse would reverse itself and I am so thankful that it did.

 

No.7 Finding Nemo

Barracuda attack: So 9 year old Siobhan (that’s me) gets invited to a cinema party, the film was Finding Nemo, the new Pixar film, I was expecting great things, especially after Toy Story and A Bugs Life. Little did I know that within the first 10 minutes of the film I would be silently sobbing my eyes out. The cause? The film that started out with so much hope, love and family values, crushes my hopes when Marlin loses his entire family, except from one small clown fish, because of a Barracuda attack. The whole scene makes your heart sink, get it, sink, water?

 

No. 6 Wall-E

Wall-E: I have watched Wall-E several times now, and each time it’s a painful process, not because it’s a bad film, but because I love Wall-E so much and it always breaks my heart to see how much he goes through. I’m sure there are some of you out there who are saying that he’s just a robot, but he has feelings. He’s the last working robot and his only friend is a cockroach. You can see he craves human contact and then the first and only robot that comes to earth after who knows how long he has been alone, rejects him. He then spends the entire movie trying to do the right thing in his own little quirky way and then risks his own life to save her. Then right at the end of the film Wall-E forgets Eve and I honestly thought he would never remember her, so I was so glad when I saw that little spark of light, it’s like letting out a breath I’ve been holding since pressing play on the DVD menu.

 

No.5 Princess and the Frog

Ray: Princess and the Frog the film is a little gem, there is nothing I don’t like about this film, except that Ray died, and by the hand of Dr. Facilier. If it had been an accident I wouldn’t be so sad, but no, he got hit and stepped on, and he didn’t deserve it. Killing him was unnecessary. You want to know the sad thing, for the rest of the movie, until it was 100% confirmed that he had passed on, I hoped that maybe some Disney magic had happened and he would just have a poorly wing, but no, he was dead. I get that he got to be with his dear Evangeline, but no, it wasn’t his time yet. He had so much more to give.

 

No. 4 Up

Up time lapse: You head into the cinema, you sit down into cinema with your giant bowl of popcorn and your over priced drink, you’ve finally gotten over the trauma of Finding Nemo and you think your about the watch a fun film about a man who floats his house away on adventure, instead, within 10 minutes into the film you’re rocking yourself backwards and forwards, and your using the hem of your dress as a tissue because you’ve just watched Carl loose the love of his life and never get to fulfil his dream of going to South America. It’s just so sad and it doesn’t matter how many times you watch the scene, it gets you every time.

 

No. 3 Inside Out

Bing Bong sacrifices himself: “Take her to the moon for me” such a great line, but also the line that leaves me bawling my eyes out, and with tears, not candy. Bing Bong loves Riley so much and he knows he can’t go on much longer so he lets Joy go alone. I think it gets to me so much because I know that there were all those imaginary friends out there that like Bing Bong have been forgotten and although they’re not real, they helped shaped those people…and I’m gonna stop myself before I get too mushy.

 

No.2 Dumbo

Baby mine: Just thinking about this scene from Dumbo makes my eyes prickle. The moment in the film is sad for so many reasons, it shows just how badly humans can treat animals, I mean separating mothers from their babies, who thought that was a good idea… no one in their right mind, that’s who.

The song doesn’t help either, the lyrics “You are so precious to me”, “Dry your eyes” and “Don’t you cry”, it’s like the song is taking to me. That and the visual of having the two of them cuddling with their trunks, I mean come on, it’s just so beautifully sad.

 

Before we get to No. 1 here are some honourable mentions:

11) The opening of Tarzan. Disney really loves death, it’s true, why oh why did that poor innocent baby have to lose both of his parents, and by being eaten by Sabor, a tiger, who also kills Kala’s child. They only reason this didn’t make the top 10 is because it’s equally shocking as it is sad.

12) Loosing Tadashi, and Baymax and then Tadashi again. Hiro’s already lost his parents, then he loses his brother, he gets him back in the form of Baymax and then he loses Baymax. It’s like you have to mourn Tadashi twice.

13) Bambi’s mum dying. It’s just not fair, Bambi did not deserve that, I, the viewer did not deserve to go through that. He was innocent and young and now he has to grow up without his mum. Excuses me while I grab my box of tissues.

 

 

No.1 Toy Story 3

The toys nearly getting burnt alive: Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2 are practically perfect films, I’ve watched them countless times and love the characters, I’ve grown up with them and every year at Christmas they’ve wound up on the big screen. When it was announced that a third film was being released, I knew that it either had to be big or it had to go home. So there I was, at the cinema ready to watch the film and it was going well until the toys meet the big fiery pit of death and they hold hands and it looks like there’s no escape and I am a nervous wreck. I actually thought they were going to kill off the toys and that would be the end of the film, thankfully I was wrong, but I have to admit, it was a tense few minutes.

 

So there we have it, my top 10, plus a few extra, of the saddest Disney and Pixar moments. Was your saddest moment included? Did you agree with my list? Let me know in the comments bellow.

 

Pixar Easter Eggs

 

Pixar Easter Eggs Volume 1

Common Occurrences

 

Hello and welcome to my Pixar Easter Egg blog, this is the first volume of three that will be coming to you this week. In this blog post I am going to be focusing on A113, the Luxo Ball, the Pizza Planet Truck and John Ratzenberger. Let’s start with…

 

A113

A113 is the number of a classroom at the California Institute of the Arts. The classroom itself is used to teach character animation. Past pupils who attended the college include Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Glen Keane, Brad Bird and Andrew Stanton. The reason why this is important to Pixar is because within every Pixar film accept Monsters Inc and Monsters University, there is this number and I am going to show you where you find them so when you watch the films you will be able to find it.

In all three Toy Story films you can spot A113 on Ms. Davis’ minivans license plate.

In Toy Story 2 when the Toys are in the airport there is an announcement for “Lasset Air Flight A113”. This is also a reference to the director of the film John Lasseter.

In A Bugs Life it can be found on the side of a box in the bug city.

 

In Finding Nemo A113 is the model code on the camera the scuba diver uses which stuns Marlin.

In the Incredibles the code is a little trickier to find. Mr. Incredible is held on level A1 in cell 13.

In Cars A113 can be found on Mater’s license, Dexter Hoover’s licence and on the railway train that almost crashes into Lightning McQueen.

In Ratatouille, the rat Git has a tag and on that tag the label reads A113. Also in Ratatouille A113 is on a train behind the loved up couple on the TV that Linguini is watching.

In Wall-E A113 is the code for AUTO’s “directive”.

In UP A113 is on the sign outside the court room.

In Brave you need to test your knowledge of Roman numerals as A113 is written as ACX111 above the exit of the witches shop.

In Inside Out A113 is written in graffiti on the streets of San Francisco, it is also the number of Riley’s classroom.

In The Good Dinosaur A113 is formed in the wooden fence that keeps the Kluckers in.

In Finding Dory the tags of Fluke and Rudder are A1 and 13. A113 can also be found on the license plate of the truck which transports all of the quarantined fish.

In Coco the number of the office door of the “Bureau of Family grievances” in the land of the Dead’s Grand Central Station.

 

Luxo Ball

Another common occurrence in the Pixar films is the Luxo ball which made its first appearance in Luxo Jr which was the first short film for Pixar. It debuted in 1986 at SIGGRAPH at a conference in Dallas. Since that first appearance the Luxo ball has appeared in many Pixar films, even in some of the Pixar shorts.

 

Pizza Planet Truck and Toy Aeroplane

Similarly with the Luxo ball, the pizza planet truck and the toy aeroplane appears regularly throughout the films and they both made their debut in Toy Story.

John Ratzenberger

John Ratzenberger is Pixar’s good luck charm which is why he has voiced a character in every single Pixar film.

In Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 he voices Hamm

In A Bugs Life he voices P.T. Flea. This character is reportedly his favourite of all that he has voiced.

In Monsters Inc and Monsters University he voices the Yeti.

In Finding Nemo he voices the Moonfish.

In The Incredibles he voices the Underminer.

In Cars, Cars 2 and Cars 3 he voices the Mack.

In Ratatouille he voices Mustafa.

In Wall-E he voices John.

In Up he voices construction worker Tom.

In Brave he voices Gordon.

In Inside Out he voices Fritz.

In The Good Dinosaur he voices Earl.

In Finding Dory he voices Bill.

In Coco he voices Juan Ortodonica.

 

I really hoped you learned seeing all of the common occurrences in the Pixar films. Next time you watch a Pixar film you can see if you can spot them.

Come back on Wednesday  25th for another Pixar Easter eggs blog.