Pixar’s Mighty Men of Faith
Well known for their Incredible movie-making, Pixar could also be known for something else: their mighty men of faith. Director Andrew Stanton (Wall-E and Finding Nemo) has discussed his Christian faith and it’s believed that Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) is also a Christian.
In a blogpost for Christianity Today Movies, Peter Chattaway refers to an interview with Radix magazine and Pete Docter, the director of Pixar’s newest film Up. Docter discusses his Christian faith and how having his son made him even more amazed by the Creation.
When asked if he would ever make an explicitly Christian movie, Docter said, “Not at this point.” He contends that it’s fine to have a moral to a story, but if you come out and say the moral, it has lost its power, and you have more ability to affect people if you’re not blatant about it.
He finishes with a great statement about art: “To me art is about expressing something that can’t be said in literal terms. You can say it in words, but it’s always just beyond the reach of actual words, and you’re doing whatever you can to communicate a sense of something that is beyond you.”
It’s the storyteller’s adage: show, don’t tell. By all standards, Pixar employs some of the best storytellers in today’s cinema, so take a page from their book and create a great story. Don’t worry about a message or about plugging in your faith. If it’s integral to your life, it will be integral to your filmmaking.
So the “mighty men of faith” are basically saying in their interview ” The power is in the Word of God, just as long as you dont say it.”
Probably squishy emergent types.
July 16th, 2010 at 6:06 pm