GTU Voices - Academics Visit Pixar

There is something quite magical watching fellow scholars smile while sipping delicious craft sodas, act giddy while trying on Monster’s University baseball caps, and laugh while posing with a Lego life-size model of Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

Who knew an opportunity to tour Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California alongside GTU friends and colleagues would be such a delightful and grounding experience — an experience that would provide an unexpected balm to one’s soul?

For many of us, the academic grind can be grueling and relentless. Indeed, writing a dissertation can feel quite lonely, tiring, and tedious. And, so, having this unique opportunity to step into a creative space filled with childlike awe and wonder, and in the company of such fine people, was a true gift.

We immersed ourselves in all that was Pixar, relishing in the beautiful sketches and images that dotted every wall of past and present films like Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and Pixar’s most recent film, Inside Out 2. We glimpsed the creative process that goes into producing our favorite stories — stories that capture universal themes of love, family, friendship, hope, adventure, and grief.

One of my favorite moments was when we got to see sketches and storyboards from this summer’s blockbuster film, Inside Out 2. Some of the sketches displayed on the walls never made it into the film, and yet, here they were, hanging up in a beautiful gallery for all to see and celebrate.

And that really struck me.

Folks at Pixar take time to celebrate and recognize the effort and time that goes into creating — the sketches, the first, second, and third drafts, the beautiful scenes that never made it into the film and yet were still viewed as precious and important. Each piece was worth publicly commemorating.

This act of bold celebration invited me to think about my own scholarship and writing in a new way. As many of us know first hand, writing is a long, complex, and messy process. And yet, each word, each sentence, each paragraph is an act of creation. It is something that did not exist before and that, in and of itself, is worth celebrating — each draft, each iteration. Because there is no finished article, no complete story without this process. Pixar reminded me to take the time to honor and celebrate my writing at every stage, and to have fun while doing so.

My hope is that we can each make space in our academic pursuits to embrace the whimsy and the magical. And I have a sneaking suspicion that creativity, magic, and awe surrounds us every day, perhaps in unlikely and unexpected places. Indeed, there can be magic in the writing process, especially when we collaborate, laugh, and stay curious.

This humble visit to Pixar has challenged me to pay attention to the magic of everyday life and to ignite a spark for creativity and fun that was, perhaps, within me all along. Pixar also reminded me that we, academics, contain multitudes — at times, we immerse ourselves into the throes of intense scholarship and quiet libraries and, at other times, we pose wildly with life-size Monster’s Inc. characters, like Sully and Mike Wazowski, laughing big belly laughs for all to see and hear.

Our afternoon at Pixar was an invitation to honor the creative process, to embrace all that is whimsical and fun, to be unafraid to play and be silly, to see ourselves as creatives and creators, and to boldly reawaken our inner child.

“To Infinity and Beyond!” — Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story (1995)

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With thanks to Rowena Chan, leader of the student group Creatives’ Cove, for organizing this field trip to Pixar!

The Creatives’ Cove is a space for artists and art-lovers to converge, create, and converse in the gallery, over refreshments and art supplies. All GTU students, faculty, and staff are very welcome to join us! No artistic experience needed.