Latest / Kidcast Daily / Ep260: Pixar Animation Studios

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Ep260: Pixar Animation Studios · Kidcast Daily

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  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
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  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder open
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  wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
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  cats. Daily starts your day.
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  Fun and laughter come your way. Sports and trivia games galore.
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  Welcome to Kick Cast Daily, where we bring news, trivia, fun
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  facts, and more just for curious kids like you.
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  Today we're diving into the colorful, creative, and super
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  cool world of Pixar Animation Studios.
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  Have you ever watched movies like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, or
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  Inside Out? All of those were made by Pixar,
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  but what exactly is Pixar and how do they make their amazing
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  movies? Let's find out together.
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  Pixar Animation Studios is a company that makes animated
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  movies using computers. That means instead of drawing
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  every picture by hand, they use special programs and technology
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  to create characters and worlds that move and look almost real.
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  Pixar is located in Emeryville, CA, which is a city near San
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  Francisco in the United States. The studio is known for creating
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  some of the most popular animated films ever made, and it
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  all started with a small team of people who loved combining art
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  and technology. Let's talk about where Pixar
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  began. The company started way back in
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  1979, but it wasn't called Pixar yet.
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  It was part of a computer division at a company called
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  Lucasfilm. If you know the Star Wars
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  movies, Lucasfilm is the company that made them.
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  In 1986, a man named Steve Jobs, who also helped create Apple
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  computers, bought the computer graphics division and made it an
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  independent company called Pixar.
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  Steve Jobs believed in the team's creativity and wanted
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  them to make something amazing. At first, Pixar didn't make full
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  length movies. They created short films to show
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  off what their computers could do.
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  One of their first famous short films was called Luxo Junior.
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  It's about two desk lamps, a big one and a little one playing
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  with a ball. It was so popular that the tiny
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  lamp became part of Pixar's logo.
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  You know that hopping lamp you see at the start of Pixar
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  movies? That's Luxo Junior.
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  Here's a fun trivia question. What was the first full length
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  movie made by Pixar Animation Studios?
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  Take a moment to think about it. The answer is Toy Story.
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  It was released in 1995 and became the very first feature
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  length film made completely with computer animation.
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  That means every single scene, character and background was
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  created with computers instead of traditional drawing or stop
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  motion techniques. Toy Story was a huge success.
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  People loved the adventures of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and all
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  the other toys. It showed everyone that computer
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  animation could make movies that were funny, exciting, and full
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  of heart. After Toy Story, Pixar kept
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  making more amazing movies. Each one used new technology and
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  creative ideas to make the animation even better.
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  Let's talk about how Pixar movies are made.
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  Making a Pixar movie takes a long time, sometimes up to five
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  years from start to finish. It all begins with a story.
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  Writers and artists work together to think of interesting
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  characters and a plot. They draw storyboards, which are
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  like comic strips that show what will happen in each scene.
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  This helps everyone on the team understand the flow of the
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  movie. Next, the artists design the
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  characters and the world they live in.
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  For example, when making Finding Nemo, the team studied real fish
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  and coral reefs to make the underwater world look realistic.
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  They even watched how fish swim and how light moves underwater.
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  The artists use special computer programs to build 3D models of
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  the characters. That means they make a digital
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  sculpture that can be moved and posed in different ways.
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  Now comes the animation part. Animators use the computer
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  models to make the characters move, talk, and show emotions.
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  They pay close attention to details, like making sure a
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  character's eyes blink naturally or their clothes move when they
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  walk. This takes a lot of time and
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  patience, but it's what makes Pixar movies look so alive.
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  Here's a yes or no question. Do you think Pixar uses real
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  cameras to film their movies? The answer is no, because
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  everything is created on computers.
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  There are no real cameras. Instead, Pixar uses virtual
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  cameras inside their computer programs.
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  This lets them choose different angles, zoom in or out, and move
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  the camera just like in a live action movie.
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  After the animation is finished, another team adds colors,
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  textures, and lighting. This makes the characters and
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  backgrounds look bright, shiny, or even fuzzy if they have for
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  like Sully from Monsters Incorporated.
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  Finally, sound designers add voices, music, and sound effects
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  to bring the movie to life. Sometimes famous actors lend
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  their voices to the characters. For example, Tom Hanks is the
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  voice of Woody and Toy Story, and Ellen DeGeneres is Dory and
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  Finding Nemo. Did you know that Pixar has won
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  many awards for their work? Their movies have won many
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  Academy Awards, which are some of the most important prizes in
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  the movie industry. People praise Pixar for making
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  stories that are funny, touching, and great for both
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  kids and adults. Let's try another trivia
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  question. Which Pixar movie was about a
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  rat who becomes a chef in a restaurant in Paris?
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  That's right, it's Ratatouille. The main character is Remy, a
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  rat who dreams of cooking delicious food.
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  Pixar's artists even learned about real French cooking to
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  make the kitchen scenes look true to life.
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  Pixar is not just about movies. They also create short films,
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  which are mini movies that play before the main feature in
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  theaters. Some of their most famous shorts
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  include For The Birds and Bow. These shorts let Pixar try out
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  new ideas and animation techniques.
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  Sometimes the shorts even win awards of their own.
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  Here's a yes or no question for you.
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  Have you ever noticed hidden details or Easter eggs in Pixar
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  movies? If you said yes, you're right.
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  Pixar loves to hide little surprises in their films.
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  For example, the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story appears in
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  almost every Pixar movie. Also, the number A113, which was
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  the number of a classroom at an art school many Pixar artists
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  attended, pops up in different places throughout their movies.
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  Another interesting thing about Pixar is how they work as a
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  team. The studio is famous for
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  encouraging creativity and sharing ideas.
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  Everyone's opinion matters, from the directors to the artists to
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  the people who design the computer programs.
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  This helps Pixar come up with original stories and solve
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  tricky animation problems. Let's do another trivia
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  question. Which movie is about the
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  emotions inside a young girl's mind, including joy, sadness,
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  anger, fear, and disgust? The answer is Inside Out.
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  This movie shows how our feelings can work together and
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  sometimes get tangled up. It's not only entertaining but
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  also helps people understand more about emotions.
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  Pixar also tries to make their movies meaningful with messages
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  about friendship, family, and believing in yourself.
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  For example, in Coco, a boy named Miguel learns about the
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  importance of remembering his family.
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  In Up, an old man and a young boy go on an unexpected
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  adventure in a flying house, discovering friendship and
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  adventure. Here's a yes or no question.
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  Do you think Pixar ever works with other studios?
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  The answer is yes. In 2006, the Walt Disney Company
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  agreed to purchase Pixar, and now they work together to make
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  and share their movies. This partnership allows Pixar to
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  reach even more people around the world.
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  Pixar also cares about new technology.
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  They invent new tools all the time to make their animation
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  better. For example, for Monsters
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  Incorporated, they created a special program to animate
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  Sully's fur, making each strand move realistically.
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  For Brave, they invented new ways to animate Merida's curly
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  hair. To recap what we've learned
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  today, Pixar Animation Studios started as a small group focused
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  on computer graphics, became famous with Toy Story, and has
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  made many popular movies. Using advanced technology and
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  teamwork, they create both feature films and short films,
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  hide fun surprises in their movies, and always look for new
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  ways to tell stories. Pixar's movies are loved by kids
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  and adults everywhere because they combine amazing animation
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  with stories that make us laugh, think, and sometimes even cry.
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  Thanks for listening to Kick Ass Daily.
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  Now, the next time you watch a Pixar movie, you'll know a
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  little bit more about the creative minds and hard work
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  behind the scenes. Stay curious, keep asking
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  questions, and we'll see you next time for more fun facts and
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  stories just for you grab. Your breakfast feeling fine,
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  adventures waiting. Don't be late, Today's the day
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  we celebrate. Kick Ass Daily starts your day.