Many Pixar films have a number of unanswered questions in each of them, but Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, and director of classics like Monsters Inc, Up, Inside Out, and the latest entry from the acclaimed studio, Soul, had an answer, or at least explanation, for some of them.
What’s Happening:
- Pete Docter – the director of Pixar’s Soul and Monsters Inc. – talked with Huffpost about some of the questions many fans have about their favorite Pixar films.
- When he was asked what Boo’s parents were thinking when she was missing during Monsters Inc., Docter responded, “This is one of these questions that we asked ourselves, and we went through a lot of different machinations of writing scenes. We didn’t actually board any, but we felt like, OK, the audience doesn’t need to know this because Sulley doesn’t know. And we’re with Sulley. So who cares?”
- Other mysteries, such as why Buzz knows to fall limply to the ground around people (when he isn’t even aware he’s a toy) were also discussed at one point during production, but explanations for them either: “We went through a lot of discussion on ‘Toy Story,’ the first one, about like, ‘If Buzz doesn’t know he’s a toy, why does he go rigid when a kid walks in the room?’ We had a lot of explanations and talk about that, too. And in the end, nobody cared,”
- More fan questions and theories are sure to arise out of the latest Pixar film, also directed by Docter, Soul. The story follows a wannabe jazz musician, Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), who meets his unexpected end right after getting his big break. But our guy doesn’t want to give up his life that easily. Gardner escapes the Great Beyond and winds up as the mentor to a yet unborn soul named 22 (Tina Fey). It’s a heartwarming look at the afterlife, asking the audience what truly matters. And in doing so, all logic goes right out the window, to a point where Producer Dany Murray said “Our editor Kevin Nolting, on his big whiteboard in his office has ‘logic’ in a big X.”
- Regarding Soul, Docter just hopes audiences will focus on what really matters in the movie, saying: “I’d like to hope that the things that we’re talking about in the film ― you know, what is going on in our lives? What’s important? ― all of that will still be questions that we’re asking,”
- Regarding all of the theories and questions audiences may have about any of the Pixar films, Docter said “I think the short answer is you just have to kind of try to guess where the audience is going to find importance, or at least push their interest there.”
- Soul is now streaming on Disney+.
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