John Lasseter is largely responsible for ushering in animation’s new golden age. As head of Pixar, he has overseen the most commercially successful – and critically acclaimed – filmmaking operation in the history of Hollywood. Hits such as the “Toy Story” franchise, “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars” (all of which he also directed), “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles” have made billions worldwide and racked up scores of awards. Its latest, "Up" is nominated both for Best Picture and Best Animated Feature.
As Chief Creative Officer for Disney, the 53-year-old, who cut his teeth at Lucasfilm (which morphed into Pixar), also oversaw Disney’s latest release “The Princess and the Frog.” Recently honored by the Producers Guild of America, he talked with TheWrap about “The Princess and the Frog’s” failure and his first $15 drawing prize.
Is it true you won your first award at the age of five from a local grocery store for a drawing of the Headless Horseman?
(Laughs) Yes. I grew up in Whittier, my mom was an art teacher and our local grocery had a Halloween flier competition with the Headless Horseman image on it, so I colored it in and added to it and won.
But when the manager gave me my $15 prize as a $10 and $5 bill, I was very upset as I had no concept of denominations! So they took me back to the cashier and counted out 15 separate dollar bills, and then I was happy.
“Up” is Pixar’s 10th original hit. Can you keep it up?
It’s tough. I’m so proud that every single one of our films is 100 percent original -- not based on any book or previous project. We’re creating the stories ourselves, and it’s hard to do that. You have to do things really well -- and tell stories that are intelligent and unpredictable.
Then you have to populate it with appealing characters -- and “appealing’s” the key word. Even the bad guys should be appealing. And you must create a believable world. Not realistic -- but believable for the story you’re telling. Do those three things, and you entertain audiences and transport them.
And it got an Oscar nomination…
I had hoped that people would be finally willing to nominate an animated film for Best Picture -- for many years I’ve felt there’s been an animated film that was easily one of the top films of the year. I just want animation to get the respect it deserves.
“The Princess and the Frog,” which took the old-fashioned 2D route with hand-drawn animation, was a box-office disappointment. Do you think that technique still has a future?
Absolutely. And we’re in the middle of making a new “Winnie the Pooh” feature using hand-drawn animation.
I think “The Princess and the Frog” had a perception problem -- that it was for little girls and kids. It was nothing to do with the technique, and when my career’s over, I think it’ll be in the Top 5 of the ones I’m most proud of.
