Director Brad Bird is basking in boffo box office returns for his first live-action feature, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.”

But Bird proved he could tell a terrific story way back in 1999 with the beautifully crafted animated film “The Iron Giant.”

“Giant” didn’t use computers to generate its characters, and the only bankable star in the vocal cast, Jennifer Aniston, wasn’t even atop the A-list at the time. Bird relied on an old-fashioned story leavened with the kind of mature themes that transform kiddie fare into content suitable for all ages. And he might have coaxed Vin Diesel to give the most tender performance of his action-packed career.

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If Tom Cruise’s tenure as a Big Movie Star is ending, he’s not going out without a fight.

“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” isn’t just a rip-roaring yarn worth seeing in all its IMAX glory. It’s the most eye-popping installment in a franchise overseen by some of the biggest directors in Hollywood.

Each “Mission” recruits a new director – should they choose to accept the assignment – to interpret the modern spy film as they see fit. This time, Pixar veteran Brad Bird (“The Incredibles”) got the nod. Seems he’s just as comfortable directing human beings as he is orchestrating ones and zeroes on a keyboard.

Yes, the “Protocol” story is sketchy, and you won’t be quoting any of dialogue as you file patiently out of your seats. But when an action caper delivers this much excitement, demanding more almost seems churlish.

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The Pixar movies have always had a special place in the heart of conservatives and libertarians because they show a commitment to human excellence without apology. While the films are directed at children, they are anything but childish.  Each of the Pixar films deserves celebration in its own right, but here are a few of my favorites.

In Ratatouille, in the obscure French countryside, an aspiring chef, Remy, follows the televised culinary advice of his idol, Auguste Gusteau. Remy dreams of following him, but there’s just one problem: he’s a rat and rats don’t belong in the kitchen. Fate offers Remy an opportunity Separated from his family during a farmer’s raid, Remy falls into the sewage, traveling thousands of miles, until, at last he finds himself underneath Gusteau’s very Parisian restaurant!

 The choice of locale is deliberate, of course. Paris, long the home of big government and bien-pensant, is also the home of gourmands, haute cuisine, and critique, so Remy’s passion might yet find outlet. Alas, in France, the hopes of the entrepreneur are subordinated to the plans of others. The word for the French economic system, “dirigiste,” means to direct and the French love nothing more than to direct their citizenry, and that, of course, includes who is and who is not among the crème de la crème par excellence. While his keen sense of smell saves the family from rat poisoned garbage, Remy knows it still stinks to be a rat who loves food amongst those who couldn’t care less. He is his family’s bête noire. Quelle horreur! (more…)

“They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”

- Bob Parr/ Mr. Incredible

Children across America are getting awards.  All the time.  These accolades are not for academic excellence or superior athletic achievements.  They are receiving certificates and applause for handing in their homework on time, paying attention in class, and walking in line without kicking another kid.  They are celebrating the stuff that we expect them to do, not the exceptional feats that overwhelm us emotionally and make us update our Facebook status.  Perhaps the writer of The Incredibles was as disturbed by this trend as I was and delivered an adventure for those who recognize true greatness.

I used to love going to the movies–but that has changed.  Frankly, not since The Lord of the Rings trilogy have I felt the ride was worth the price of admission.  Regardless of how I felt about the decline of the art form, I had to curtail my movie going, anyway.  My husband and I have an autistic son with sensory issues that prevent him from being able to enjoy the experience.  So we started a tradition in our house called “Movie Night.”  We pull out the sofa bed, make popcorn, get in our pajamas and pick a movie to watch together.  We have made some terrible mistakes.  Where the Wild Things Are barely resembled the book I loved as a child and certainly was not a family film.  It is a depressing story with no resolution or hope.  I don’t want my family films to be depressing.  I want to be motivated, transported, and moved.   (more…)

AUTHOR UPDATE: It’s been brought to my attention by a commenter that this excellent article on Pixar in the June issue of Wired magazine, written by Jonah Lehrer, begins by riffing off of the exact same William Goldman quote that I used for the beginning of this blog post. I’m mortified at the similarity, and have no excuse other than I plum didn’t know of their article — it certainly didn’t come up in the (apparently grossly inadequate) Google research I did on Pixar. Very embarrassing. All apologies to Mr. Lehrer and Wired for my inadvertent plagiarizing of their nifty use of Goldman’s legendary quote. And please do go to their site and read Mr. Lehrer’s own article in its entirety, it’s very fine.

In a town where screenwriter William Goldman famously stated, “Nobody knows anything,” Pixar evidently knows something. It began its life in the early 1980s as part of Lucasfilm’s struggling computer division, then later was spun off into the hands of Apple visionary Steve Jobs. The debut of Toy Story in 1995 finally rocketed the fledgling studio into the public’s consciousness, and since then every one of its eleven films has become a monster hit, both critically and commercially. It’s a winning streak unmatched by any other studio in Hollywood history.

Countless articles and interviews have attempted to divine the alchemy that turns everything Pixar touches into box-office gold. Some see an increasingly tired formula at work under the hood of each film, in which only the surface trappings change. Others see a genuine creative ethos guiding the minds responsible for each picture, something almost akin to a filmmaking religion, complete with its own commandments and proscriptions.

What’s their secret? There’s as many answers to that as there are movie-loving blowhards blogging on the Internet, but here’s my take: (more…)

Yesterday the Guardian, a left-leaning British newspaper, ran a column accusing Pixar of the unforgivable crime of hypocrisy.

When it comes to Toy Story and WALL-E, the Guardian has a point. After all, any movie that preaches the evils of consumerism and, at the same time, expects its audience to snap up Buzz Lightyear and EVE dolls, has a serious case of split personality.

The problem is, the article lumped all Pixar films together. But there are notable exceptions: the movies of Brad Bird. He wrote and directed such classics of free expression as The Incredibles and Ratatouille. These movies celebrate individualism and, dare I say it, free markets. (more…)