BOOK REVIEW:
Before
Disney bought over Pixar for almost US$7 Billion and before
the audience even get to know about the name 'Pixar', the
Emeryville based company has been around for ages since 1979
in fact.
It has never been a bed of roses for Pixar
from the start and this David A. Price’s book will tell
you so in details.
Pixar
was originally a computer company but Ed Catmull, one of the
key founding member and current President, Walt Disney Animation
Studios & Pixar Animation Studios sees it in a different
angle. He wanted it to be an animation studio in the likes
of Walt Disney using computer graphics to tell their tale
instead. However, no one actually believed that it can be
done not even the great George Lucas who first purchased the
company. Lucas obviously makes a huge blunder by selling Pixar
to Steve Jobs for a mere US$5 million in 1986. Amazingly if
Price’s words are true, Lucas’s company did not
even posses a computer back then.
Price
obviously did a thorough research of his own interviewing
those who-can’t-be-named but was either part of the
'growing' process or close to the key personnel. People who
were heavily mentioned in the book including Steve Job, John
Lasseter, Catmull were sadly not interviewed perhaps due to
corporate reasons.
The
first half of Price’s book were engaging and gave insights
to corporate feuds and the despair faced by the management
and animation artistes as the years goes. Anecdotes and interesting
events which you don’t get to know of. The other half
tends to go a bit flat as it dedicates the chapters to the
highlights, trivia behind every Pixar’s animation project
and apparent quotes from past press releases that doesn’t
really seem matter or worthy enough to be included.
We
already knew Pixar is gearing to move on to 'live-action'
feature in the future though Price never touches on that.
After flipping the last page, it sort of ended with an anti-climax
and you wish Price could have serve out more on one of the
greatest animation company ever established in motion picture
history.
CHOICE XCERPT:
"Eisner gave the impression at least of being unconcerned.
In an email to board members on August 22, he related his
impressions of the company's upcoming films. On Finding Nemo,
due for release the following summer, he was dismissive as
if rooting for Pixar to get its comeuppance. Yesterday we
saw for the second time the new Pixar movie 'Finding Nemo'
that comes out next May. This will be a reality check for
those guys. It's okay but nowhere near as good as their previous
films. Of course they think it is great.
As it turned out, the film would become the highest-grossing
animated movie in history and would win the Academy Award
for best animated feature".
VERDICT:
Go for the first half of the book which dedicated
itself to the in-depth look behind the initial years of how
Pixar struggle to keep itself alive.
 
Review
by Linus Tee
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