A perfect magical memory

A combination of luck and circumstance meant that this weekend I had more time than usual to spend reading, which was great as I had two brilliant books I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into.

The first one was “The Pixar Touch: the making of a company” which I had been meaning to read for some time. It appealed to my love of corporate histories as well as of course the relationship with Disney. The book proved to be informative, entertaining and very interesting but I wish it had more photos… however; my second book delivered those in spades.

As soon as I put down “The Pixar Touch” I started on what turned out to be a gigantic coffee-table book (it didn’t look that big on the website!), also about Pixar called “To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios” which is more of an official story. I was glad I’d read “The Pixar Touch” first as it gave me enormous background, whereas “To Infinity and Beyond!” glosses over the details about how the company came to be but is generous with photos, renderings and illustrations as well as lots and lots of information on each of the Pixar features to date.

I haven’t quite finished the second book yet but I am really enjoying it. As I said before, it appeals to my love of corporate histories (I just MUST know everything there is to know about companies I respect!) but the slightly geeky side of technology and computer animation is also very interesting to me. I have always admired Pixar and the incredible work they do and this was a chance to learn more about how they do it.

It also reminded me about the first time I saw Toy Story. I was a cast member at the time and we were invited to a screening of this movie – I don’t even remember it being a huge deal and it certainly was easy enough to get the tickets. I went along with some friends to the Magic Kingdom, after hours, where the screening took place (I’m fairly sure that it was the same theatre that used to show “The Walt Disney story”). It was fairly busy but we were more there because it was something free to do rather than because we were interested in Toy Story.

You have to remember the film hadn’t been out yet so the incredible response and positive reviews were a few days in the future at this point. I had heard something about Toy Story in our in-house communications but I can’t remember being excited beyond belief or anything. For me it was basically the chance to see a free movie at the Magic Kindgom and to see it before everyone else.

The movie started and I was SPEECHLESS. I just literally couldn’t take it all in – the colors, the toys, the music, the incredible animation… I felt like I was watching movies for the very first time. Soon enough the technology subsided and I was totally gripped watching this story of two mismatched toys that have to work together to get back to their owner and resume their lives.

To say I loved it would not be saying enough. I felt like I was looking at the future. I wanted more, I loved every single second of it, every word was perfect, every figure did just what they had to do, every shot was beautifully composed, every musical note was the right one.

There was also something surreal about walking out at the end of the movie and being in the middle of Main St, USA, surrounded by the third shift people and all those iconic buildings are standing there, lit beautifully, with Cinderella’s castle looking very peaceful at the end of the street. It was certainly an evening I wouldn’t soon forget.

To this day every time I watch a Pixar film I am once again amazed by what incredible things they do and just how entertaining their movies are. And it reminds me of that unforgettable November evening in 1995 when I didn’t just watch a movie – I lived through a perfect magical memory.