Safe to say that it’s become our home away from home…I always tell my wife we’ll retire in the Bay, life is just a little slower and the air is a lot better up there. The valets know us at our hotel we stay at, not surprising considering we’re there every 2 months LOL.
This time up we had the opportunity thanks to our good friend to visit some pretty incredible places…
First up: PIXAR
Okay seriously, who doesn’t love PIXAR movies? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a huge children’s movie fan, but these movies aren’t for children, they’re sincerely for everyone. Albeit I’m a kid a heart (I even have a Holiday Buzz Lightyear figure in my toy collection) but as an adult, PIXAR movies bring such an amazing story each time with a life lesson that makes you feel like a kid again. The imaging is amazing, solid content; it’s no wonder that these guys are the best at what they do.
We arrived and got our temp badges (I was geeked out enough to save mine) – there’s a lot of construction going on so parking was pretty tough. Outside of the main building are a giant Luxo and a ball from Toy Story. Wendy and I took pics with them of course – this was cool in itself, until we heard our friends telling us to come into the building.
This is the main building where all the magic happens…we had just seen a biography on MSNBC about PIXAR less than a month ago and now we were here! The center of the building is completely open, with a high ceiling flanked by 2 catwalks and the food/dining area on one side and the Company store and some offices on the other. The complete second floor is a “no-picture” area but I’ll get to that later.
We signed into the visitor’s area and signed an NDA…I’m pretty sure it was an NDA, I was too busy looking around and smiling that I honestly didn’t read it, I’m sure this happens a lot LOL. Our guides for the day were Subie and AudiTT (names are changed to protect them from everyone asking for a tour LOL); we met up with TurboS after lunch. A bunch of nice guys taking time out of their day to deal with tourists…we all happen to be car guys so maybe that helps a little LOL.
Our first stop was the second level of the building. Apparently the theme changes with each new movie release; this time around it was Toy Story 3.
NOTE: I couldn’t take any pictures up here so you’ll just have to deal with my wonderful descriptive writing LOL.
There’s an incredible set of images maybe 10 across and 5/6 down at the top of the stairs – I don’t believe it’s called a storyboard but that’s basically what it is. No words, just pictures and it captures the entire movie in this set of images…very cool. There was one for Toy Story on this side and I believe the other side was The Incredibles. Along with this are offices, each decorated with their own style, and original art and pieces from TS3 throughout the floor. Early sketches, early props, things that PIXAR used to build the magic for the movies. I was literally in awe as we walked thru and Subie/AudiTT explained some cool insights into the company and movies. 5 years for a movie…that’s crazy. “Sometimes I think that I’ve worked on this movie longer than I was in High School…” – that’s some perspective right there. The end results though, as we’ve all seen – are quite amazing…and worth it if you ask me LOL!
On the other side of the floor we caught some candids and I ran across a picture of the guy that they based Russell (UP!) off of!! This was particularly awesome since he was a middle aged Asian dude (yes, there’s a joke in there)…
By this time we decided to stop for lunch – I opted for the wood fired pizza, there were some specials of the day (the rest of the group went after steak and eggs!) and all the drinks were free…pretty cool, but maybe expected from a company like this that takes care of their employees. As I reached for a cup, Wendy noticed you could make your own Italian soda!! Yet another cool detail…sigh, we only get free Water lol.
While we were eating I was boring them with questions about the company when I asked, “Hey, do you ever see Lasseter?”
“He’s right behind you…”
I casually peeked over (it was probably obvious but I tried my best not to look like an idiot)
Next thing you know, he’s walking over…towards us, but not to us…he’s sitting over at another table for lunch.
As we’re finishing up, TurboS comes by and offers to show us the Theatre…there’s more? SWEET! We make our way towards the back of the building where the screening theatre is…Wendy and I walk around, it’s pretty quiet – TurboS is explaining how they get to see early previews, screeners, etc. of movies on Fridays sometimes. Kirby hops up on to the stage and sits like he’s giving an interview from Biography LOL. We’re about to bail when something comes on the screen…I can’t quite recognize it but it looks like TS3 to me, but maybe something that wasn’t released?…probably a solid reason why we signed the NDA LOL. It cut after a few seconds and we bailed out of there.
Last stop (aside from taking pics around the lobby area) was the Company store…again; I hate to repeat it but VERY COOL. It operates at no profit basically – just a place to get souvenirs and share the PIXAR spirit. There’s a lot of stuff not available anywhere else and I was like a kid in a candy store…towards the end, Wendy was asking what we’d do with some of the stuff and I was like, “I dunno- but I’m buying it!” LOL.
We finished up the day saying thank you to everyone and taking some last minute pics around the lobby. Subie got us these cool TS3 posters that we’re getting framed and will put up at the home office and Wendy’s school office.
Was definitely a day we’ll never forget – special thanks go out to Dad (yes, that’s a codename too hahaha), Subie, AudiTT and TurboS for taking the time out of their hectic schedules to get us in…
Next: Apple
