Adventures in Pixarland

I had a pretty special adventure yesterday, having the opportunity with my voice over training school to visit Pixar Studios in Emeryville, right outside of San Francisco.

The campus there is closed, so it is a rare chance to visit what for me as an aspiring voice actor is a sort of Mecca.



Yes, that's the "Pixar" sign from the inside of the gates.

The building itself is fairly non-descript, looking like a old factory more than anything else. But the inside was very amazing, filled with mementos and examples of animation and models from Ratatouille, Toy Story, Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, and many other of the studio's films. Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable bringing my camera into the building, as they were very protective of secrecy in terms of their creative process. Inside was like a grown up amusement park/shopping mall, with video games, people skateboarding, and food and drink for the crew to celebrate the end of the week. If I have to work in heaven, I want it to be at Pixar.

We spent a couple of hours listening to Kevin Rehr, who has been involved with Pixar from the beginning and has worked in various capacities on The Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Stories I & II, The Gumby Movie, and many other productions. It was a real treat to hear him relate anecdotes from his work, as well as to get a little peek behind the walls of such an amazing place. And to let him know how much I love the fruits of his and the many other Pixar people's labors.

At one point he remarked that there was a fear when they were making Ratatouille that the humor was too dark and sophisticated for younger kids; that the parents and older children would get it, but the 5 and under set might lose interest in it. I got to tell him how much my 4 1/2 years old grand daughter loves it. It is her favorite DVD right now, having supplanted Cars (another Pixar product) as her most watched film. He seemed genuinely happy to hear that.

The whole experience was wonderful, from the friendly guards at the security gates to the clay models and beautiful cartoon murals throughout the facility. One of my fellow students took a picture of me with some of the life (?) sized models from Monsters, Inc., which I hope to get back soon.

Pixar is a class act!