THE PIXAR PROCESS

“Every 8 weeks we had to put the movie up”.

Tales abound of the legendary process behind some of the greatest films in the aughts. Pixar had a run of groundbreaking hit films the likes of which had not been seen before nor after: Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010). What is (or was) that secretive process that gave the world hit after hit?

The “Pixar Process” is a creative and collaborative approach to storytelling and filmmaking developed by the team at Pixar Animation Studios. It is a methodology that emphasizes exploration, iteration, and a commitment to the creative process, with the goal of producing compelling stories that resonate with audiences.

The key elements of the Pixar Process include:

1. Brainstorming: Pixar encourages its writers and directors to generate a large number of ideas, even if they seem strange or unlikely at first. This approach helps to stimulate creativity and can lead to unexpected and innovative concepts.
2. Storyboarding: Once an idea is selected, the team creates a storyboard that outlines the plot, characters, and key story beats. This allows the team to visualize the story and identify areas that need further development.
3. Iteration: The Pixar team is known for their commitment to the iterative process. They create multiple versions of scenes and sequences, experimenting with different approaches and making changes as needed.
4. Collaboration: Collaboration is a key part of the Pixar Process. Writers, directors, artists, and other members of the team work closely together to develop and refine the story. This approach allows for a diversity of perspectives and can lead to more interesting and nuanced characters and plots.
5. Feedback: Pixar encourages open and honest feedback from team members and outside consultants. This helps to identify areas that may need improvement and can lead to more effective storytelling.
6. Attention to detail: Pixar is known for its attention to detail, both in terms of the story and the animation. The team strives to create fully realized worlds that are immersive and believable.

In essence, the Pixar Process is a methodology that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and a commitment to quality storytelling. It has been highly successful, with Pixar films consistently ranking among the highest-grossing and most critically acclaimed animated films of all time.

So how does this translate when you’re a writer tasked with operating inside of this process? Has the process changed over the years? Speaking off-record, a noteworthy writer who spent years at the Emeryville animation studio described their experience with the Pixar process as follows: “Every 8 weeks we had to put the movie up. …This meant that every 8 weeks we would have a rewritten script, we would record new dialogue with the A list actor voice talent, we would board out the shots, and we would have to present to the higher ups. This meant in a course of a two and a half year cycle we would have had to show the film more than 16 times. When big Disney came in after Iger left [Bob Iger stepped down as CEO in February 2020] they looked at how much this development cycle was costing and changed the infamous Pixar process.”

Readers can decide for themselves if this alleged change was for the better. Films that released from that point on are as follows: Onward (2020), Soul (2020), Luca (2021), Turning Red (2022), Lightyear (2022), Elemental (2023).