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The Pixar Phenomenon

July 15th, 2009 · 16 Comments

And now for something completely different…

[Still from movie Up]

I recently took our kids to see Disney Pixar’s Up and came away amazed at how consistently Pixar Studios churns out one hit movie after another. Starting with Toy Story in 1995, every one of the ten movies released by the animation studio has been a commercial, and perhaps more importantly, a critical success. Even Cars, which would rank as a relative failure in Pixar’s book, received a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed more than $450 million worldwide. What’s more, competitors have not been able to capture Pixar’s on-screen or box-office magic with a few exceptions — Shrek and Kung Fu Panda — come to mind.

So, what is Pixar’s secret sauce? One theory holds that the success can be traced to how differently the studio operates compared to the rest of Hollywood. Whatever it is, it would be interesting to see if Pixar can keep up its hot streak with its upcoming features: Toy Story 3, Newt, The Bear and the Bow and Cars 2.

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16 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Joe // Jul 16, 2009 at 12:01 am

    The secret is John Ratzenberger. That guy is gold, I tell you. GOLD.

  • 2 Jordan // Jul 16, 2009 at 1:43 am

    Apparently by having him in every pixar movie as their “lucky charm” has made him one of the world’s most successful actors!

  • 3 JFM // Jul 16, 2009 at 9:24 am

    This picture explain very well the difference between a Pixar and Dreamworks movie. So true !

    http://www.poe-news.com/forums/sp.php?pi=1001979235

  • 4 Derek // Jul 16, 2009 at 10:42 am

    If my son and his Lightning McQueen pajamas are any indication, Cars was a wild success. For about two months all he wanted to do was watch that show.

  • 5 Blair // Jul 16, 2009 at 11:11 am

    I think they understand their market. It seems they have a knack for making movies that reasonate with both kids and adults. My son has watched the CARS movie so many times its crazy and to tell you the truth we all love it even to this day. And with the 3-D movies, well it adds a whole new element to movie watching… my kids thoroughly enjoy 3-D and wouldn’t want it any other way.

  • 6 Canadian Capitalist // Jul 16, 2009 at 11:36 am

    @Joe, @Jordan: I had to look John Ratzenberger up on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ratzenberger Hey, whatever works. Keep ‘em coming.

    @JFM: It does explain the difference brilliantly. A lot of Shrek’s success are probably due to the talents of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. They were just brilliant!

  • 7 Gaby A. // Jul 16, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    What I want to know is if Pixar is publicly traded? :-) I’m guessing not and the only way would be through the empire of Mouse.

  • 8 A Lap Of The Blogs : WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com // Jul 16, 2009 at 9:04 pm

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    [...] Canadian Capitalist asks How Does Pixar do it? Lots of computers and even more marketing, as [...]

  • 11 @networthcanada.org // Jul 17, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Pixar does seem to have a magical touch. They have a special ability to make movies that appeal to all audiences, from the very young to the very old. When you look at a long running television show, like The Simpsons, they have gone through many ups and downs over the years. I would suspect that various eras within the show can be attributed to writers coming and going, and I think that the Pixar phenomenon will be very much the same. Once their current writers move on to bigger and better things (or retirement) the content and tone of the movies will change and it could be for the better or worse.

  • 12 Jerry // Jul 17, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Pixar does something amazing in that I don’t find their movies annoying at all, I’m not always a fan of animated movies. The fact is that good writing usually leads to a good movie, and these films are well-written and funny, both for kids and adults. My daughter just discovered ‘Toy Story,’ and it still makes me laugh. I think that there’s some insurance that the future movies will be good, as well, as long as Pixar can keep replenishing their stock of excellent writers.
    Jerry

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  • 14 Squawkfox // Jul 20, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Pixar is unique. They write unique stories, have a unique voice, and use unique technology. Unique is different and sells tickets. I’ll keep buying…

  • 15 Trish // Jul 21, 2009 at 3:29 am

    I think Pixar is where it is today because it gives its employees a free hand when it comes to innovation. I saw a program about Pixar on TV, and i can honestly say that the people who work there are one happy group. I can’t wait to catch their next movie.

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