Recently, John Lasseter spoke to Brooks Barnes of The New York Times, specifically about the
not so warm response that many critics had to Pixar's latest release, Cars 2. Cars 2 was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a bad fim (as
my review reflected, and many of the more respected reviews - such as
Roger Ebert's review of the film), it was, indeed, a very good film; in many ways an improvement on the original. Nonetheless, it was not Pixar's finest hour, and many critics panned the film and the studio for this, saying Pixar had sold out and that the film was a disappointment, but the Pixar and Disney Animation CCO had some choice words for these critics.
Addressing the critics who assumed (apparently wrongly) that it was big, bad Disney that had pressured Pixar into making another film to capitalise on the billion dollar Cars franchise, Lasseter said:
"It’s people
who don’t know the facts, rushing to judge. I recognize my place in the Walt Disney Company, but my job, my focus, my deepest desire is to entertain people by making great movies, and we did that with ‘Cars 2.’ ”
Obviously very defencive of the film he directed, Lasseter also, on the subject of the somewhat negative critical response levied at the studio after their latest film, - following 11 consecutive hits - said:
“I typically don’t read the reviews. I make movies
for that little boy who loves the characters so much that he wants to pack his clothes in a Lightning McQueen suitcase.”
The article concluded with a quote from Lasseter on why the Cars franchise is special to him, saying:
"I reached deep into myself and saw what this film was about, and I think it’s clear that audiences have responded. It’s is a very, very special
film to me.”
Read the full article
here.
