This may be a stupid question but...what is it that makes Pixar films stand out?
Greg
I think ultimately, it comes down to the team you have doing the stuff.... if you have a kick arse team of innovators, then they will feed off each other to keep the standard high and then raise the bar with each swing.
Clearly, the people in the hot seat have been able to recognise the like minded amongst the wanna-be's and then build a team that will deliver the kind of exellence across the whole spectrum of requirements of an oscar winning product. To acheive that you have to hit all the bases (script, animation,actors etc)... simultaneously ... and then babada bing.... Oscar comes a calling. Wall E, for instance, could have been a dreadful flop like so many other 'robot' movies, but the fact that heart was injected into it in the right places and at the right level, elevated it above the crowd. That couldn't have happened if the writing wasn't spot on, or the CG was a little lacklustre, or the concept was a little off the mark.
I actually think that Pixar has given themselves enough breathing space between themselves and their nearest competators, to have a flop, but I don't actually think they would release anything that might have the remotest chance of dropping the ball... I think they'd tinker till it was to their exacting standards. And that right there is what makes them better... They followed Walts example ( whether by coinkydink or design) of having the best of the best doing the work and then allowing them enough space to create magic.
Thats my 20 cents anyway...
Lisa. -/