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DAY 54

Today we have the first 5 short films made by PIXAR. They might not have been owned by Disney at the time they were released, but I decided to put them in anyway, since they are how PIXAR got started. Speaking of which, I realize that I probably done this on the day PIXAR was founded, since the company's 30 years old now. Don't know why I didn't think of that.
The Adventures of Andre D & Wally Bee was their first ever short, released in 1983. It's about a little creature who meets a bumble bee... and that's it. Yeah, there's not much that happens here. It's got some electronic 80s-style music, Wally makes sounds that are like Donald's quacks & it's hard to tell who wins at the end. But apparently John Lasseter knew it was a hit because when it was first shown, someone asked him "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Luxo Jr. was the first short that had their name attached to it (the other one was attached to George Lucas' name; long story) & is what officially got them discovered/popular. It's about 2 Luxo lamps (one big, one small) who interact with a ball. The story is very simple in the best ways possible, especially since there's no dialogue & no facial expressions. The music is good, it's all done in one shot & it's the first appearance of the PIXAR Ball. The little lamp would soon become the mascot for the company & there would also be plenty of shorts made for Sesame Street in the 90s.
Red's Dream is very different. On a dark and stormy night at a bike shop, a small red unicycle dreams of being in the circus, but he doesn't make it. That's what makes this short different. It was intentionally made to have an unhappy ending. It's a nice change & shows how they were willing to take risks. The music is wonderfully mourning (love that saxophone), the clown is noteworthy for being creepy-looking & the still-shots are very atmospheric.
Knick Knack is the most musical, all thanks to the scatting skills of Bobby McFerrin. A snowman in a snow globe tries to break free of his bowled prison to join some warmer friends on the shelf. There's a lot of Wile E. Coyote antics from the snowman & each of the different ways he fails are great (especially his reactions). All the other knick-knacks are clever (I wonder if they were ever actually made), McFerrin adds a lot being the music & before anyone asks, yes, I know Sunny Miami first had bigger breasts. They looked wrong for some reason & I'm glad Lasseter changed them.
Tin Toy is about a little wind up toy who tries to escape being hurt by a baby. The baby is just as lovable as Tinny himself (he was based off one of the animator's actual babies who was just like the baby in the short), Tinny's entire horror & frustration is fun, there are a lot of cute gags, it's great. Of course, this would become a big inspiration for Lasseter and PIXAR. They wanted to do a Christmas special after this, but then it was changed to a movie and after a few rewrites, we got Toy Story.

DAY 56

Comment & enjoy!

Description
DAY 54

Today we have the first 5 short films made by PIXAR. They might not have been owned by Disney at the time they were released, but I decided to put them in anyway, since they are how PIXAR got started. Speaking of which, I realize that I probably done this on the day PIXAR was founded, since the company's 30 years old now. Don't know why I didn't think of that.
The Adventures of Andre D & Wally Bee was their first ever short, released in 1983. It's about a little creature who meets a bumble bee... and that's it. Yeah, there's not much that happens here. It's got some electronic 80s-style music, Wally makes sounds that are like Donald's quacks & it's hard to tell who wins at the end. But apparently John Lasseter knew it was a hit because when it was first shown, someone asked him "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Luxo Jr. was the first short that had their name attached to it (the other one was attached to George Lucas' name; long story) & is what officially got them discovered/popular. It's about 2 Luxo lamps (one big, one small) who interact with a ball. The story is very simple in the best ways possible, especially since there's no dialogue & no facial expressions. The music is good, it's all done in one shot & it's the first appearance of the PIXAR Ball. The little lamp would soon become the mascot for the company & there would also be plenty of shorts made for Sesame Street in the 90s.
Red's Dream is very different. On a dark and stormy night at a bike shop, a small red unicycle dreams of being in the circus, but he doesn't make it. That's what makes this short different. It was intentionally made to have an unhappy ending. It's a nice change & shows how they were willing to take risks. The music is wonderfully mourning (love that saxophone), the clown is noteworthy for being creepy-looking & the still-shots are very atmospheric.
Knick Knack is the most musical, all thanks to the scatting skills of Bobby McFerrin. A snowman in a snow globe tries to break free of his bowled prison to join some warmer friends on the shelf. There's a lot of Wile E. Coyote antics from the snowman & each of the different ways he fails are great (especially his reactions). All the other knick-knacks are clever (I wonder if they were ever actually made), McFerrin adds a lot being the music & before anyone asks, yes, I know Sunny Miami first had bigger breasts. They looked wrong for some reason & I'm glad Lasseter changed them.
Tin Toy is about a little wind up toy who tries to escape being hurt by a baby. The baby is just as lovable as Tinny himself (he was based off one of the animator's actual babies who was just like the baby in the short), Tinny's entire horror & frustration is fun, there are a lot of cute gags, it's great. Of course, this would become a big inspiration for Lasseter and PIXAR. They wanted to do a Christmas special after this, but then it was changed to a movie and after a few rewrites, we got Toy Story.

DAY 56

Comment & enjoy!