Topic: Pixar Love

[xtopave]

Out of curiosity, how old is your daughter?

She's 4 years old. Recommendations are welcomed. 

[JackFrost]

She's 4 years old. Recommendations are welcomed.  

Is she a reader? Either way, I'd recommend encouraging that...  



On to The Incredibles.

This is definitely my least favorite Pixar flick mostly because I found a lot of it to be really clich?, something I usually expect Pixar not to be. Their other flicks up to this one had been really original and inventive, this one uses a lot of ho-hum trappings from several sources, mostly from marginal superhero comics, James Bond movies and cheesy 60s spy shows - none of which am I a fan. And as much as I normally like Jason Lee, I never liked his voice for Syndrome, it grates for some reason, but then, I also think Syndrome is kind of lame, too so... Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie, I just don't love it as much as other Pixar flicks.

But then to find out it doesn't have the Pizza Planet truck or the Luxo ball in it? That's just a shame...

So, anyway, they kind of allude to the Luxo ball here in the this scene. Lucius and Bob drive out of an alleyway on their way to rescue people from a fire, and on a building on each one is painted Andy's and Luxo Deli:



After Bob gets the holographic image from Mirage that asks him to be a superhero again, he sits back to take in his shrine to 'The Glory Days', and on the far left can be seen the Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Robots from Toy Story 2:



There are actually two references to A-113 in this flick. The first is the number of the room where Mr. Incredible is asked by Mirage to go for a conference. Mirage just states the room number verbally and it's never shown, but this is the room Mr. Incredible ends up in:



But when Elastigirl is peaking in on Syndrome's men, she sees on a monitor from where the rocket containing the Omnidroid was launched. Level A1...:


...cell block 13:


When Edna is showing Helen all of the new costumes she's made for the family, she hands Helen a tracking device saying that the costumes can be located via GPS. When Helen presses the button, it targets Pixar's Emeryville, CA studios:







During the Omnidroid battle, when Bob is holding one of its claws to try and aim it, we can see a Hudson Hornet the model used for Doc Hudson in Cars:




So then the DVD comes out, and it has a new short on it called Jack-Jack Attack, which recounts what happened with Kari and the baby while the Parrs were off doing superhero stuff. In it Kari places Jack-Jack on the floor with several toys including the Luxo Ball:



Also, the ring toy seems to have returned, but it's not the same one as before. This one seems made of wood and doesn't have the white plastic rocking base that the other one had. Also, if you go back and look above at the dentist's office toybox in Finding Nemo again, you'll see that little wagon and a jack-in-the-box that's similar, too.

Next up: Cars

[xtopave]

Is she a reader? Either way, I'd recommend encouraging that... 

We're working on that.

When I showed her this she opened her eyes and said: "Hudson Hornet is in The Incredibles!!" 

[JackFrost]

When I showed her this she opened her eyes and said: "Hudson Hornet is in The Incredibles!!"  

She seems to pick up on a lot.

Which is her favorite flick?



So here's the stuff from Cars, a flick I was a little underwhelmed with the first time I saw it, but it seems to get better with subsequent viewings. Although some of the soundtrack music still makes me cringe...  

I just realized that despite this flick being directed by John Lasseter (who also directed Luxo, Jr.) the Luxo ball, nor a pattern like it does not appear in Cars...

At the beginning of the film as we are introduced to Lightning McQueen, we can see that he (and inevitably all the other race cars) are driving on Lightyear Tires:



In this shot from the opening race, we track through a bunch of camper-trailers and painted on the back of one of them is the jackalope from their short Boundin' (which premiered with The Incredibles):




The oil giant in the Pixar universe, Dinoco, last seen in Toy Story 2 comes back as the Piston Cup sponsor - this sequence is from when Lightning McQueen fantasizes about winning the race and becoming Dinoco's spokescar:



The first reference to Pixar's Emeryville studio comes during the Rust-Eze ad:



During the 'Life is a Highway' montage, you can spot for a brief second the birds from their short For the Birds (premiered with Monsters, Inc.). These are also the only non-automotive-based lifeforms shown in the movie - for instance, even when flies are shown they look like little cars (if I can remember, I'll post a cap):

When Mack tries to pull over to get some rest (but Lightning won't let him), the truck stop they pass by has trucks with the initials of Pixar's last few flicks on the side:




There are two references to the code A-113, the first seen here on the train that Lightning races to catch up with Mack:



Even though it's difficult to see, Mater's license number is A-113:



Here's the back end of the statue that honors Stanley Steamer, the founder of Radiator Springs:



Which is the same vehicle that pulls up and snatches the dancing sheep in Boundin':



The second reference to Emeryville comes as the sign to the town itself which says that it's closed so that the inhabitants can watch the final race:



And wouldn'tcha know it, but Pixar itself makes a cameo in this flick as three jets fly over during the pre-celebration for the final race they pass by Pixar's Emeryville studio:




Next: on to Ratatoulle!

[xtopave]

She seems to pick up on a lot.

Which is her favorite flick?

Her favorite is Cars. We must've seen it a hundred times and the only thing we had picked up was the lightyear tires.

When I showed her the pictures she said: "Look mum, the kangaroo from the Pixar shorts". There aren't many jackalopes in this part of the world. 

And what's wrong with Cars' soundtrack? 

[JackFrost]

Her favorite is Cars. We must've seen it a hundred times and the only thing we had picked up was the lightyear tires.

Well, admittedly, a lot of the things in Cars are pretty well hidden so that's no surprise. I didn't notice many of them myself originally, but luckily I have some references to help me out...  

When I showed her the pictures she said: "Look mum, the kangaroo from the Pixar shorts". There aren't many jackalopes in this part of the world.  

There's a jackalope on this very board!  

And what's wrong with Cars' soundtrack?  

A little too much Sheryl Crow, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley for my tastes...

[dweez]

Yeah, JackFrost doesn't like the new country.  It's Hank Williams, Buck Owen's, or Patsy Cline for him or nothing at all.

[frankcapri]

I am with Jack in that respect.  That "Life is a Highway" song is really irritating 

[JackFrost]

Yeah, JackFrost doesn't like the new country.  It's Hank Williams, Buck Owen's, or Patsy Cline for him or nothing at all.

Well, I don't dig country from any era, so you can throw it all on the same pile... 

I am with Jack in that respect.  That "Life is a Highway" song is really irritating 

Thankfully because it was a cover it didn't get nominated for an Oscar because it probably would've won giving it more airplay *shudder*. The Oscar nomination went to the ultra-metamucil "Our Town", written (but thankfully not performed) by Randy Newman with James Taylor doing the actual song. *Yawn*

[dweez]

Speaking of Randy Newman...

Spoiler (hover to show)

Spoiler (hover to show)

[xtopave]

I liked it. 

[frankcapri]

Those are some awesome spoilers Dweez 

SK-p3mtyhRc

EmH4KfV_A-E

[dweez]

damn, spoiler tags killed the youtube ones.

[frankcapri]

I like that Randy Newman better than the real Randy Newman 

[JackFrost]

Will Sasso is a very underrated comedian, his Randy Newman is awesome!

I liked it. 

Well, there's no accounting for taste...