One "Nemo" Theme

One theme explored in "Finding Nemo" is the notion of being able to "let go." In the movie, it is directly explored in the character of Marlin not being able to trust others, and not being able to let his son grow and mature.

Marlin is continually given this lesson to learn in this movie, and takes a big step to do so when he and Dory are caught in the huge whale. Dory tells Marlin to let go, and he finally does, to a positive result. He has to let go both "mentally" and "physically."

"Nemo" is one of my favorite Pixar movies, and will be the subject of many different posts on this blog. It is a simple and straightforward story that is expertly told--what more could one ask from a movie?

"Up" Symbol (with spoiler)

One symbol I figured out on the way out of the theater after seeing "Up" was the house attached to the main character, Carl.

When Carl and Russell first land in Paradise Falls, they are not at the correct site, so Carl decides to literally pull the house to where he wants it. However, the longer the house is pulled around, it becomes like an anchor to him. Eventually the anchor turns into a burden, and Carl has to make a choice between the past and the present/future.

First, he gives up his old furniture and pictures and remembrances to lighten the house so he can save both Russell and Kevin (the bird). Eventually, he lets go of the house... the anchor to Ellie--the anchor that keeps him from enjoying his life--the anchor that keeps him in the past, and keeps him from enjoying the present.

A floating house--a brilliant symbol.

Eye Heart Pixar!

This is a stupid name for a blog, but I figured it would be different. So there you go.

Pixar to me is one of the best movie-making companies around because they really pay attention to story--they don't just crank out movies to make money (even though they do make a ton of money on their movies).

In this blog I will take a closer look at the Pixar movies and see if I can think out loud and learn how they write such good stories. In other words answer this question:

What makes Pixar movies so great?