Pixar Exhibition

In early 2005, the special exhibition space at the Ghibli Museum was devoted to Pixar Animation Studios.

The exhibition was laid out in a similar manner to the initial exhibition at the museum - that for Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. There is a glass-topped display cabinet displaying traditional art materials, such as pastels, oil paints and brushes. There is an introductory letter from John Lasseter, which reads in part:

"At Pixar Animation Studios we have many artists using many different tools, and all of them are essential to the moviemaking process. Our studio runs on collaboration, not only between people, but between media. While the computer produces the final images seen on the screen, most of the work that goes into developing the story, the characters and the look of the movie is done in traditional forms - hand-drawn storyboards and designs, sculptures, painting, pastels.

As artists we are inspired and nourished not only by animation's long and rich history, but by our talented colleagues of the present - the foremost of whom are undoubtedly Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. We are honoured to be invited to show our work here, in the home of friends we admire and respect so deeply."

Many exhibits are presented, from development artwork mounted on panels lining the walls, to computers running animation software.

There are model figurines, a reproduction of an artist's desk and bookshelf holding many toys, and even a reproduction of the Love Lounge - a room connected to the office of Pixar animator Andrew Gordon, as seen in the DVD Arigato, Lasseter-san

In conjunction with thie exhibition, the Saturn Theatre at the museum is showing several short films by Pixar: Luxo, Jr. about a playful lamp, Knick Knack about a snowman's attempts to escape his snowdome and join the other souvenirs on the shelf, and Mike's New Car about Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. trying out Mike's latest plaything.

The accompanying exhibition catalogue (in Japanese) contains pictures of the space and a Pixar filmography, as well as scenes at Pixar and the meetings leading up to the construction of the exhibit.

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Pictures and synopsis by Chris Kuan