ratatouille

New book highlights Pixar's fantastic art

If you're a fan of Pixar's many wonderful movies--and who isn't?--you've no doubt spent years caught up in the studio's terrific storytelling. But you've probably also been glued to your seat again and again by Pixar's terrific artistry.

Now, you can dig deep into the history of that work. With the new book "The Art of Pixar," Amid Amidi takes us inside the creative process behind Pixar's long list of hit films--"Toy Story," "Finding Nemo," "Monster's Inc.," "Ratatouille," "… Read more

The art behind Pixar's long run of hits

OAKLAND, Calif.--"Computers don't create computer animation any more than a pencil creates pencil animation. What creates computer animation are artists."

Those words would ring true no matter who said them, but in this case, the source has just about the highest possible credibility on the issue at hand: John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for both Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, and the director of four of Pixar's most loved films.

Lasseter's words hang high on a wall in the Oakland Museum of California here, where the exhibit "Pixar: 25 Years of Animation&… Read more

Sneak peek: Pixar's 'Toy Story 3' a very big winner

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--Oh, Pixar, Pixar, Pixar. You've done it again.

Let me just say it now: "Toy Story 3" is fantastic. I saw an advanced screening Thursday night, and going back over the notes I took in the dark theater at Pixar's headquarters here, I find this that I wrote about a third of the way into the film: "I already know it's a BIG hit."

At Pixar's request, those of us in the room for the screening are constrained about what we can say. Director Lee Unkrich, who spoke prior to … Read more

Why Sony Imageworks got an Oscar nod for 'Surf's Up'

CULVER CITY, Calif.--One of the things that struck me towards the end of the animated surfing penguin mockumentary, Surf's Up, is that I had forgotten that every bit of water in the film--mainly loads of lovingly rendered surfing waves--was digitally animated.

Even after that realization, I looked at the water in the film and thought the animators had done a remarkable job at recreating one of the things that, like making human hair look realistic, has always been hardest to recreate.

Others must agree, because last month, Surf's Up was chosen as one three nominees for … Read more

Steve Jobs' other major Friday launch

The whole world is watching as Steve Jobs' Apple launches perhaps its most-anticipated product ever, the iPhone, Friday.

But in technology circles at least, I've heard few, if any, references to the fact that Jobs' other company, Pixar--OK, Disney-Pixar--also has a major launch Friday.

And that, if you haven't been paying attention through the iPhone haze, is Ratatouille, Pixar's latest film and, if the early reviews are indicative, its latest hit.

Jobs is already noteworthy among tech titans for running two vital companies at the same time (at least when Pixar was independent), but I'm having … Read more