Mission Accomplished!

After months of hard work and dedication, including several interviews with this blog, the great folk at The Road to Pixar have finally arrived at Pixar. The team recreated a real life replica of the famed Pizza Planet Truck that first appeared in Toy Story in 1995. Today, they completed the fantastic journey by driving the truck all the way up to the gates of Pixar and beyond. Above you see the truck residing in the courtyard of the famed studio's Emeryville campus.

The team Tweeted upon arrival, and this great occassion has also been Tweeted by WALL E and John Carter director, Andrew Stanton, and the official Pixar Twitter feed.

Congratulations to the entire team, they certainly deserve the recognition they're getting and I'm proud to have been able to speak to them!

For more on the fantastic endeavour, visit the group's website.

The Road to Pixar - RES1536

You may remember that, a few months ago, I carried out some interviews with members of the Road to Pixar team, a group who are making a replica of the famed Pixar Pizza Planet Truck and recording a documentary about their journey along the way, their interactions with Pixar fans and, ultimately, their arrival at the famed Emeryville studio.

Now, about a month ago, the team revealed the above video, which shows them adding a few of the finishing touches to the truck, including the registration plate and the group have some big news on the horizon as they are soon to participate in a Christmas parade with the truck.

In the meantime, be sure to follow them on Twitter and pay their blog a visit, and if you can help bring their endeavour to the eyes of any Pixarians, I know they'd be incredibly grateful.

Help Your Local Interplanetary Delivery System

Remember a few weeks back when I carried out interviews with several of the guys from The Road to Pixar; the group building a replica of the Pizza Planet Truck (of Toy Story fame) and planning a trip to Pixar? Well now you can help their very cool cause.

As of a few days ago, their donation site is live, and if you feel like you can, please feel free to donate to help them.

Thanks, you can find the site here, and be sure to let the guys know on their Twitter account if you do, they will be very grateful.

Interview: Tyler Garland of The Road to Pixar Team

In yet another interview, I'm interviewing Tyler Garland, Online Quality Controller, of the 'Road to Pixar' team:

A113Animation: Firstly, for those of us that may not know what 'The Road to Pixar' is about, tell us a little bit:
Tyler Garland: The Road to Pixar is a documentary that will follow the Pizza Planet delivery truck on it's incredible journey up to Northern California.


A113: When did the project start; when is it expected to run until?
TG: About a year ago. We hope to have it up and running by the end of summer!


A113: The ultimate goal is Pixar, obviously, what are your thoughts about Pixar?
TG: Pixar is incredible! From story lines, to characters they really set the bar for animated films in my eyes. Not to mention everything they do is so visually stunning.


A113: What is your favourite Pixar film; why?
TG: For sure Toy Story. Such a groundbreaking film in so many ways, with some great acting talents as well. Can't beat it. A Bug's Life comes in at a close second, though.


A113: Who is your favourite Pixar character; why?
TG: I'd have to say RC. That was always my favorite as a kid, and I never outgrew it. I actually had a real RC remote control car like in the movie at one point.


A113: What was the inspiration for the project?
TG: The love for Pixar, and the love for filmmaking. I think that says it all.


A113: You're launching an online campaign I believe, tell us a little about that:
TG: The campaign is going to be shedding some light on the project and also hopefully creating a fan base!
 

A113: Will you be making a stop on the journey to see Cars 2; what do you make of the idea of Pixar making a sequel to arguably their weakest film?
TG: I think that Cars 2 is going to make a lot of fans happy, although it may not be groundbreaking in any way, it will still please the kids, and that is important. 

A113: Anything else we should know?
TG: This will be a really fun journey to follow. Don't be left behind!


Once again, remember to keep your eyes peeled for more and check out their website.

Interview: Sean Beamon of The Road to Pixar Team

In the latest of my series of interviews with members of the 'Road to Pixar' team, I'm interviewing Production Coordinator, Sean Beamon:

A113Animation: Firstly, for those of us that may not know what 'The Road to Pixar' is about, tell us a little bit:
Sean Beamon: We are going to deliver a pizza to the sensational people of Pixar... in the truck from a planet made of pizza.... at least that's what the group told me.



A113: The ultimate goal is Pixar, obviously, what are your thoughts about Pixar?
SB: I find Pixar to be a creative giant that grasped an idea and ran with it.  They seem to have the winning formula with animated movies and they sure do a good job of replicating it



A113: What is your favourite Pixar film; why?
SB: I mean the Toy Story trilogy is fantastic but honestly my favorite Pixar moment is probably the chess game known as "Geri's Game" it was so clever for when it came out and developed the character so well without dialogue! It really was Pixar showing off their animators.



A113: Who is your favourite Pixar character; why?
SB: TWO WORDS. JOHN. RATZENBERGER. The man is awesome in every flick, from Hamm dropping his cork to yellow snowcones with the Abominable Snowman



A113: What was the inspiration for the project?
SB: OK so me and Andy.... yeah we're the same person, and that goes for my whole generation that grew up relating to the kid.



A113: You're launching an online campaign I believe, tell us a little about that:
SB: Well we're really looking for support anyway we can have it. We wanna have as many people behind us as possible so as to express how many people Pixar truly has touched. We are looking for donations to help fund the trip, for we are paying out of pocket, but we are also looking for reasons to make more videos, so of course if you donate and would like a viral video we do have plenty of ideas that could help to get your businesses name out there.



A113: Will you be making a stop on the journey to see Cars 2; what do you make of the idea of Pixar making a sequel to arguably their weakest film?
SB: I don't think we'll be ready by then, but I found the Cars franchise to be pretty fun for all the gearheads out there.



A113: Anything else we should know?
SB: I don't like pickles.


Remember to check out the 'Road to Pixar' website for more updates.

Interview: Mo Alcaraz of The Road to Pixar Team

Yesterday, I published my interview with Marco Bongiorno of the 'Road to Pixar' team, who are planning a trip to Pixar in a life-sized replica of the famed Pizza Planet Truck. The team have some big stuff coming on the Fourth of July, so today, to build to that, I'm publishing another interview, with Mo Alcaraz, who answers much the same questions in some very different ways:

A113Animation: Firstly, for those of us that may not know what 'The Road to Pixar' is about, tell us a little bit:
Mo Alcaraz: We feel that movies inspire us and stick with us through the course of most (if not all) of our lives, and Pixar movies are no different. We also like the disruptive nature of injecting pop culture into a living breathing society, hoping to engage people's curious nature. By building the Pizza Planet truck from the Pixar films and driving across California, we hope to blend the two.


A113: The ultimate goal is Pixar, obviously, what are your thoughts about Pixar?
MA: To me, Pixar embodies the perfection combination of storytelling, technology, and art. What I hope are primary ingredients in my life's work.


A113: What is your favourite Pixar film; why?
MA: Toy Story 3. Although all Toy Story films have themes which are reflected in us, the third installment has the most diverse and powerful themes of relationships, attachment, growing up, finding love, losing/gaining hope, and home.


A113: Who is your favourite Pixar character; why?
MA: Eve - "Wall-E", she is strong, flies, and has integrated weapons.


A113: When can we expect the next big update?
MA: Tomorrow


A113: Will you be making a stop on the journey to see Cars 2; what do you make of the idea of Pixar making a sequel to arguably their weakest film?
MA: I think it helps promote their new expansion of Disney's California Adventure, by bringing added awareness. Will it be the "redeeming" film? I don't know.


Keep you eyes peeled tomorrow for updates on their website and another interview here.

Interview: Marco Bongiorno of The Road to Pixar Team

I had a chance recently to ask Marco from The Road of Pixar Team a few questions, I'm very grateful to Marco for the interview. I encourage you all to pay the blog a visit:

A113Animation: Firstly, for those of us that may not know what 'The Road to Pixar' is about, tell us a little bit about it:
Marco Bongiorno: The Road to Pixar is a full length documentary that will follow our crew as we go about building a full sized functioning replica of the Pizza Planet Truck. Originally we just wanted to build the truck to see how people would react when they saw it passing them on the road and whatnot. After a while it evolved into the project it is today, documenting the hilarity that goes along with driving around in the Pizza Planet Truck, while interviewing those who want to talk about how Pixar Films (specifically the Toy Story Trilogy) have effected their lives through anecdotes and comedic recreations.


A113: When did the project start; when is it expected to run until?
MB: The concept for the project came about around a year ago, however school and a few other smaller projects have prevented us from giving it our full attention. We are planning on finishing the build over summer and having the truck ready to go for the holidays but things could always change.


A113: The ultimate goal is Pixar, obviously, what are your thoughts about Pixar?
MB: I think the team that has assembled at Pixar are some of the more creative individuals working in film today. This is a much played down version of my usual spiel, but to sum it up in as few words as possible I'd say that I think Pixar is causing the viewing public to rethink the boundaries of animation and realize that it is just another form of film. I could go on for hours about this.