PETE DOCTER WINS OSCAR FOR UP!

Throughout the writing of our latest book Innovate the Pixar Way, Pete Docter inspired us by his ability to look at the world through the eyes of a child. Considering that we write about Pixar’s ability to “dream like a child, believe in their playmates, dare to jump in the water and make waves, and do unleash their childlike potential,” Pete’s statement about the making of Toy Story is perhaps the most apropos of all: “As naïve as it may sound, making Toy Story felt like an extension of school, where we were just making the film we wanted to make for us and our friends to enjoy.”

Upon receiving the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Up, Pete said, “Boy, never did I dream that making a flip book out of my third-grade math book would lead to this….it was an incredible adventure making it but the heart of it came from home.” As his parents watched the Academy Awards from their home in Bloomington, Minnesota, they must have been so moved to hear their son stand up in front of the world and honor them. They told Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that they “always believed in him (Pete), and if he had an idea, we tried to make it happen, whether it was buying film or art supplies.”

And to a large degree, Pixar treats all of their employees in similar “family” fashion…giving the entire team the tools to succeed by making the finest animated feature films in the world. Thanks, Pete, for your inspiration and congratulations to you and your Pixar team on the phenomenal success of Up.