On Ratatouille and Pixar generally

Last night I had the divine pleasure of being accompanied by two lovely ladies for a screening of Ratatouille. The movie was fucking fantastic, both technically and artistically. There are spots where you look at the hair on the rats or the people, or the water in certain scenes, and it looks dead-on. They nailed it. But that wasn't even the most impressive thing about it.

The most impressive thing about the movie was the way it just dripped with passion for the message, the story, and the desire to please the audience. About half-way through the movie I got to thinking that this is a staple of all of Pixar's output. They blow the competition away every time out. When you look at what the competition is doing, there's a different feeling. Those movies are entertaining enough, and they end on an up note more often than not, but there's just an inescapable feeling that it's product. But Pixar is able to maximize their output as capital-A Art every time out. They take chances, they go the extra mile, and the work stands out as something really special while the rest are content to produce something that's 'good enough'. John Lasseter (the boss at Pixar) is never content with 'good enough', he's not even content with great. He doesn't rest until it's The Best.

This got me really passionate last night, as it's a subject I can relate to. I've alluded before to a big project I'm undertaking that's under wraps. The thing's been in-process for over a year now, and we reached a major turning point just over a month ago. The last year has been one long conversation between me and the (now former) producer about how one needs to go the extra mile I've just described if one wants to create something truly special. The milestones when the project leaped ahead and saw real, sudden progress were all when the work was coming from the heart, when we were willing to stay up late, to work through the weekend, to just do whatever it takes to do the job right. Unfortunately, most of the last year was spent working from the head, trying to outthink what some potential prospect was going to want to see down the road, and thinking that 'good enough' is good enough. Thankfully my business partner and I have control back, and may we never forget that creating something timeless is just as important as creating it in time.