Friday, August 26, 2011

Pixar Paradox

I'm not a fan of most children's movies.  However, I am often surprised by the ability of Pixar to create a collective cultural mythology.  They understand how to use the medium effectively, creating an entire multimedia world that is timeless and accessible to all ages. I'm often impressed by the paradoxical nature of their movie themes:

  • Finding Nemo: Safety is found only when you are no longer trying to be safe.
  • Wall-E: The technology we design to save our lives is the very thing that destroys our ability to live
  • Cars: Success is found only when success is no longer the goal
  • The Incredibles: The "boring" life turns out to be the real adventure.  
  • Up! Your protagonist becomes your hero
  • Monster's Inc: The only thing to fear is fear itself (sorry for the cliche there)
  • A Bug's Life: The humble are exalted and the powerful are humbled. 
  • Toy Story: You can't lead until you learn to serve

I haven't figured out a paradoxical theme of Ratatouille yet.

1 comment:

  1. Ratatouille: Looks can be deceiving, or never underestimate the underdog.

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