Keep Moving Forward

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney

This quote came from one of my favorite Disney movies, Meet the Robinsons. The central idea of the movie revolves around an orphan who meets a boy and his family from the future, but an underlying theme about innovation and never giving up despite failure is also implied.

The article on Pixar reminded me so much of that film, and I also found it to be a good complementary read to a documentary on Pixar that I watched not too long ago, aptly named "The Pixar Story". Initially I had downloaded it for entertainment's sake, but after seeing it I wanted to share it with our Creativity and Problem Awareness class because it showed the entire journey of the animation studio from its humble beginnings to the phenomenal success story it is today.

This is the part wherein I come clean and just say it: I am a Pixar fangirl. To be honest, I seriously considered animation as a career once upon a time, before the reality of my inability to draw became too hard to ignore. The company itself has a certain allure and mystery that's difficult to resist. Is there some kind of Pixar magic? Do they just conjure good stories and good characters without any effort whatsoever? Why are they so good at what they do?

But after reading the article and watching the documentary, I realized that all of it was far from being a walk in the park. They also had their fair share of hurdles and dead ends, and everything they've done thus far have been the products of nothing less than blood and sweat.

But what is most remarkable about them is that they still manage to keep themselves grounded despite all their hits and critical acclaim. The fact that they put so much value on the talent and skills of their people, and their willingness to take such big risks is in itself a huge innovation already. Pixar not just makes waves in the industry in terms of animation and technology but also with the entire organizational framework and the principles driving the company.

We can learn so much from how Pixar has built itself and its people. The openness with which they generate and critique their own and each other's ideas, the free collaboration among all the groups involved, and the passion with which they work even if so much sacrifice is asked of them is truly awe-inspiring.