Storytellers

One thing that Pixar pushes above everything else is storytelling. By telling a good story you can bypass some less than perfect graphics, or maybe something that looks outdated, because you can get the audience to relate to your characters on an emotional level. This is something that Pixar excels at. We watched a short today where the only character was an old man named Geri. The environment was rather minimal, the plot was simple, and the character design was exaggerated. Geri’s nose and ears are comically large. But through that the creators of the short were able to connect with us. They showed an old man in the park playing chess with himself, and exhibiting two distinct personalities for each side, eventually outsmarting himself.

Through developing a great character, giving him personality and life, and using their animation capabilities to their best, they created a character and a situation that people enjoy and can connect to. This didn’t require the same type and level of animation we see today in games and movies, they worked within their limits. All it took was having a good premise, however limited, and a good character. The story might even have been enhanced by having such a limited premise.