In early June my wife and I took our two boys (four and six years old), to see "UP!" It was a great movie that we all enjoyed. I'm sure I'll see it again. It was written by Pete Docter, of Pixar. Seeing his name again reminded me of his visit to my studio some years ago. He wasn't in town specifically to see me. He was a special guest of the University of Manitoba, and was here for a speaking engagement. Fortunately for me he was interested enough in comics to accept an invitation to drop by the studio that I shared with Doug Wheatley, the next day. The right personal connections definitely played a big part in getting him to the door.
Pete Docter, of course, had done "Monsters Inc." years earlier. I loved this movie as well, and have seen it many, many times with my kids. When "Monsters Inc." was released though, I was disappointed, since I was working up my own monsters and hoping that something would come of them. The movie though, was much different from any of my concepts and I quickly came to love it.
So, it was an incredible opportunity to have such an inspiring guy pay me a visit. It was also a little overwhelming. The visit was short, but memorable, and I'll probably never have something like that happen again. Pixar's movies are a wonderful source of entertainment and inspiration, bringing a little magic into our lives--and Pete Docter is one of the creative heroes brining that magic to the screen.
I gave him one of the promotional t-shirts that I had in the studio. Luckily I had his size--an extra large--since he is a tall guy. Fittingly, the shirt had a monster on it--the space monster shown above. Maybe it's time to revisit these characters and see what they've got to say to me now.
Thanks for visiting. All images are © Chris Chuckry.
