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  • [Shouts] “Hey, Buzz! You're flying!”

  • In almost every Pixar film, there's a MOMENT.

  • It's the scene you remember years later, when you cried or laughed like a child.

  • These moments make us forget we're watching a movie --

  • for a few seconds at least, we're part of the story.

  • But what IS the Pixar Moment?

  • For this essay we're going to focus on scenes from three films:

  • Toy Story, Up, and Ratatouille.

  • Though the movies themselves are very different,

  • they each have a key scene that centers on what writer K.M. Weiland calls,

  • The lie your character believes.”

  • Characters usually have a preconceived notion about themselves, others, or the world.

  • It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it,

  • but there's nothing I can do about it right now.”

  • The story slowly tears down that falsehood so the characters can grow and learn.

  • Sometimes the hero learns this lesson early in the story as the inciting incident.

  • You're a wizard, Harry.”

  • Usually, the realization is saved for the climax,

  • when a character needs knowledge to overcome the final obstacle.

  • He is the one.”

  • And it doesn't have to be the protagonist who believes the lie.

  • It can be a villain --

  • You were right about me.”

  • or even the sidekick --

  • “I'll take the heat for it.

  • We'll wait for your father to come home, and when he gets here, I'll tell him that I did it.”

  • No, I'll take it.”

  • So let's examine how Pixar creates these moments of self-realization

  • and how we can find the Pixar moments in our own lives.

  • [Sings] “Remember me…”

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  • Toy Story centers on a clash of egos between two tiny toys.

  • Both characters have inflated egos.

  • Buzz thinks he's a real space ranger on a mission to save the galaxy.

  • "I'm Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger."

  • "I protect the Galaxy from the threat of invasion from the evil Emperor Zurg."

  • While Woody believes that he alone is central to Andy's life.

  • In a couple of days, everything'll be just the way it was. They'll see.”

  • They'll see.”

  • “I'm still Andy's favorite toy.”

  • Toy Story's Pixar moment comes at the climax of the film.

  • After Woody rescues Buzz from Sid, a series of obstacles keeps them from joining the others.

  • All of these letdowns bring the audience's hopes to a nadir,

  • preparing us for the final triumph when Woody lights the rocket.

  • [Shouts] “To infinity and beyond!”

  • In this moment, Buzz acknowledges, with glee, that he's not a real space ranger

  • but he's learned to play pretend.

  • [Shouts] “Hey, Buzz! You're flying!”

  • This isn't flying. This is falling with style.”

  • And by adopting Buzz's catch phrase,

  • [In unison] “To infinity and beyond!”

  • Woody lets go of his self-importance and accepts his new buddy.

  • So both have a more realistic sense of their places in the world.

  • And now that they've given up their egotistical delusions,

  • they're free to experience the joys of friendship.

  • Besides, when it all ends, I'll have old Buzz Lightyear to keep me company.”

  • So Toy Story's Pixar moment encourages us to break free of rigid preconceptions about who we are.

  • When we accept change, we grow --

  • and we can perform feats we never imagined possible...

  • like falling with style.

  • AHHH!”

  • [Screams] “This is the part where we blow up!” “Not today!”

  • Moving on to Up.

  • EVERYONE remembers the first ten minutes.

  • Carl and Ellie's marriage was happy, but tinged with sadness.

  • They couldn't have children and couldn't afford their dream vacation to Paradise Falls.

  • And once I get there…”

  • Well.”

  • “I'm saving these pages for all the ADVENTURES I'm gonna have!”

  • When Ellie passes away, Carl believes she died unfulfilled.

  • [Sighs]

  • He wants to bring their home to Paradise Falls

  • so he can finally make her dream adventure come true.

  • [Shouts] “So long, boys!”

  • “I'll send you a postcard from Paradise Falls!”

  • Along the way he meets obstacles to this goal.

  • “I'm tired.”

  • But Carl sticks to his mission.

  • Whether you assist me or not, I am going to Paradise Falls if it kills me!”

  • After succeeding, he shuns his new friends so he can be alone in his grief.

  • Notice, the first piece of furniture he sets upright is Ellie's chair

  • a touching sign of respect.

  • Now he's essentially waiting to die, so he and Ellie can be together again.

  • But then... the moment.

  • He flips through the final pages of Ellie's adventure scrapbook.

  • The camera slowly pushes in on the photos and in toward Carl's face as he sees a lifetime of smiles.

  • Together, we realize that Ellie was grateful and content with her experiences.

  • Carl believed he failed Ellie by not giving her excitement.

  • But her final message says that she never regarded her life as a waste.

  • She simply thanks him for the adventure.

  • [Sobs]

  • Like Carl, many of us project our worldviews onto the people we care about.

  • Even when we're trying to make our loved ones happy,

  • we can be blinded by our assumptions of what that means --

  • and fail to understand the people closest to us.

  • Up teaches us that to truly know our beloveds,

  • we have to see the world from their perspective.

  • And also, we should remember that every day with them is an adventure.

  • Ready?”

  • Ready!”

  • The final lie a character can believe is about their worldview.

  • You know what I'm craving?

  • A littleperspective.”

  • This is beautifully portrayed in the climax of Ratatouille.

  • Remy is a rat and aspiring chef, mentored by the spirit of the late chef Gusteau

  • who made famous the motto, “Anyone can cook.”

  • Gusteau's restaurant is in decline, suffering from a negative review by the revered critic Anton Ego.

  • My last review condemned it to the tourist trade.”

  • Anton Ego is the antithesis of the ideaanyone can cook.”

  • Even his name implies vanity, elevating the individual over the masses.

  • And this is the lie that he believes

  • that only a select few can practice the fine art of cooking.

  • Then Remy serves him Ratatouille, which some dismiss as a peasant dish.

  • Ratatouille, it's a peasant dish.

  • Are you sure you want to serve THIS to Ego?”

  • Ego begins the meal with pen in hand, like he's a professional at the office.

  • First the dish, flanked by Ego's notebook and fork.

  • Then we examine the food from Anton's shoulder, nearly from his point-of-view.

  • We're seeing the food as he sees it -- as something to be studied.

  • The food enters his mouth and then we see Ego's eyes close up for the first time.

  • Through his eyes, the scene melts away

  • and Ego is transported to a small cottage in his childhood.

  • Outside, his bicycle is broken.

  • He's crying.

  • But his loving mother cooks him a meal and,

  • without a word, tells him everything will be fine.

  • In this moment, he changes his view of food and of the world.

  • Not only can anyone cook,

  • but eating great food doesn't have to be an intellectual, elitist pursuit.

  • It can be the simplest and most fundamental of joys,

  • one that carries us back home to our childhoods.

  • This moment is powerful because the audience is right beside Ego,

  • watching our adulthoods melt away.

  • In a flash, we're all children again, sitting in a caring kitchen with a home-cooked meal.

  • To say that both the meal and its maker

  • have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement.

  • They have rocked me to my core.”

  • All of these Pixar moments encourage us to see that WE, too,

  • might be holding onto false ideas about ourselves, our loves ones, or our world.

  • Maybe we feel like we'll always be alone or that workplace traditions can't change,

  • that our economy can only depend on one energy source

  • or that winning means everything.

  • You must try things that may not work.

  • And you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from.

  • Your only limit is your soul.”

  • These deeply entrenched lies prevent us from growing.

  • Embracing the full TRUTH is the only way to escape a narrow point of view and live our fullest lives.

  • There are times when a critic truly risks something

  • and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.”

  • On the other side of the Pixar moment,

  • it's like the mental and spiritual equivalent of the Happy Ever After

  • the experience of true freedom.

  • Life is exhilarating, full of possibility

  • an adventure into infinity and beyond.

  • What's your favorite Pixar moment?

  • Let us know in the comments below.

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  • Thanks for watching.

  • Hi, guys.

  • Susannah and Debra here.

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[Shouts] “Hey, Buzz! You're flying!”

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