Pixar movies are notorious for having some of the most original and creative storylines in the animation world.. and in the movie world as a whole, if we're being honest. How do they do it?

Let's start simple, with rule #4 of Pixar's rules of storytelling (I'll talk more about the others later). Here it is:

Once upon a time, there was ___. Every day, ___. One day, ____. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally, ____.

Once upon a time, there was a Scottish clan whose chief had a daughter. Every day, she'd go into the forest, shoot her bow, and enjoy her freedom. One day, she found out she'd been forced into an arranged marriage, where three rival clans would be competing for her hand in marriage. Because of that, she ran away to find a way to change her fate, ending up at a witch's hut and obtaining a spell to change her mother. Because of that, the spell turned her mother into a bear, and the girl had to try to fix what she'd done. Until finally, the girl fixed her bond with her family members, and her mother became human again.

Once upon a time, there was an old couple named Carl and Ellie. Every day, they talk about the adventures they'll have once they saved up enough. One day, Ellie became very sick, and passed away, leaving Carl alone with their shared dream of getting to Paradise Falls in South America. Because of that, Carl decides to use thousands of balloons to take their house by air to South America, unknowingly bringing along a stowaway, a young boy named Russell. Because of that, Carl and Russell come face to face with Carl's childhood hero, Charles Muntz, who threatens to capture the bird that had been following them, and a dangerous chase aboard Muntz's blimp, the Spirit of Adventure, ensues. Until finally, Muntz makes a bad move and falls to his death, leaving Carl and Russell to go on as many adventures they want to.

Obviously there are other parts to these stories, but these are the main driving points. Admittedly, I'm terrible at these, but you get the idea.

It is so generic, right? Not only any Pixar movie or short, but any story in general, whether it is in a book, movie, comic book, whatever, it can be broken down into this system. This can't be the way Pixar does what they do, right?

It's not. At least, not quite.

From the research I've done (which mainly consists of watching SuperCarlinBrothers on YouTube, the same people who inspired this bit), the story process can take anywhere from a year to five years. On average, movies take approximately four years to produce, so that can be a pretty huge chunk of the production time. Story has to come first, it's the foundation of everything else, right? Even from there though, there's somewhat of a production hierarchy. After the story, the script is usually completed, followed by the voice acting and sound effects, followed by the animation. In my mind, these are the four elements that make up an animated movie. It seems like I'm just pointing out the obvious, but I'm just trying to get every factor into the picture.

Fun fact, a large portion of animated characters are based on their voice actors in some way. For example, in Cars 3, Jackson Storm's words are visibly over pronounced, because Armie Hammer did the same thing when he was in the recording studio. I don't have another specific example, but animators also frequently watch the recordings of the voice actors so that they can incorporate any distinct actions the actors may have.

The tricky part, based on my own experience with writing, is getting the dialogue right. You could have the most original story anyone's ever heard of, but if you have crappy dialogue, your end result will probably be less than great. Dialogue is not my strong point, but I know it should have meaning. Not necessarily to anyone hearing the line on its own, but to your audience and characters. Exhibit A:

"I would like to award you the highest honour I can bestow: the Ellie badge."

"It really is quite a view."
"Yup. Unforgettable."

"Goodbye, Boo. Kitty has to go."

Out of context, these phrases might not have any significance, but in the movies they come from, they do have meaning, for both the audience and the characters. For the most part, meaningful lines like this come towards the end of the story, and usually include some reference to earlier moments in the film. Exhibit B:

"You know, I really missed you, Sally."
"Well, I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand, and blah blah blah..."

"Pretend it's a seed, okay?"

"Take her to the moon for me."

The main thing about meaningful dialogue is often utilizing motifs, having recurring phrases or objects or themes within your story. If it has meaning to your characters, it'll have meaning to your audience.

The last thing I want to mention about dialogue is this: don't stray from your character's personality. Imagine them in real life. What would they say in the situation you've put them in? As a general rule, avoid really common phrases, unless they've been used previously by another character who your main character really admires/admired. I'm kind of acting as Captain Obvious again, I know, but this is important stuff.

"You've gotta get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side." -Pa, The Good Dinosaur

"Anyone can cook." -Gusteau, Ratatouille

"That ain't racing. That wasn't even a Sunday drive, it was one lap. Racing is five hundred of those, everybody fighting to move up, inside, outside, lap after lap, inches apart, never touching... now that's racing!" -Doc Hudson, Cars 3

Now, onto the plot.

As I said before, Pixar movie plots tend to be pretty creative. Even when the plot isn't unheard of, Pixar makes it unique. For example, people have been creating movies about inanimate objects coming to life for decades. That's exactly what animation is about; bringing life into characters and objects.

Story plots, in my experience, are always the most easily criticized part of any story. Too often, a plot is compared to another story that is similar in any way, and is then called unoriginal, dull, cliché, the list goes on and on. The problem with this is that all the "greats", the movies that are universally revered, they all can be broken down the exact same way the mediocre movies are. If you break down the greats, they are all very similar, just as so many of the regular movies are.

Some of the greatest movies of recent years* are Batman: The Dark Knight, Memento, Gladiator, Almost Famous, and Remember The Titans.

*I did do several internet searches to create this list, there is zero of my own bias incorporated into this list. I've only even seen one of these movies.

There is a general set of "rules" that most stories follow. Firstly, and most importantly, the main character (and possibly other characters) should grow as a person (I use the term "person" loosely). That's what a story is about. Usually their goal is what helps them to do this. Growth may be intentional or unintentional.

Secondly, the antagonist or villain should be defeated in some way. Something I want to make clear is that while all villains can be considered antagonists, not all antagonists can be considered villains. The terms are not interchangeable, which is something that is frequently overlooked. Villains must be an actual person (again, this term is loosely used) that is physically (or mentally, emotionally??) trying to stop the protagonist from trying to achieve their goal. An antagonist is any factor that is preventing the main character from achieving their goal. An antagonist may or may not be a person. Antagonists and villains can coexist in a story.

As for how to tell the difference in the case that an antagonist and a villain are both people, generally, a villain's entire purpose in the story is to stop the hero. An antagonist may be a jerk to the hero, but they usually have a goal of their own. They're not set on stopping the main character. If the story gets a sequel, the antagonist may even become an ally of the protagonist.

The last thing I'm going to mention in this chapter is that a good movie should leave you feeling something. Anything at all. Joy. Sadness. Anger. Fear. I've never felt disgust after watching a movie, but the others are pretty common. Every story has a message, something to teach. Most have multiple themes like this, but there's usually one that really stands out.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians- There's always someone better than you. Don't get a big head.
Gravity Falls- You can trust other people, especially your family. Don't feel like you have to be on your own to be a strong person.
The Heroes of Olympus- For your friends and family, no sacrifice is too great. Not even walking through Tartarus.
Trials of Apollo- (From what I've read) Humility is important.

.. I'm a massive fan of Rick Riordan's.

That wraps up my analysis of the elements of a great story, and my first official part of this book. This was a long chapter, I know, and it wasn't even necessarily focused on Pixar, but not all of my upcoming chapters will be of this nature. Actually, very few will be. My next chapter will be a question/theory thing, so it may take a while to type up, especially if I really get into the idea like I did with this one.

These kinds of chapters are heavily inspired by LZRD WZRD on YouTube. He does analysises of writing and stories like this all the time, and I think it's amazing to be able to look into a story like that. These thoughts are my own though, and I did come up with the premise of this analysis.

Thank you so much for checking this book out, I hope you enjoyed this analysis, and that you stick around! I've got lots more ideas for this book, but I'm always happy to take requests (or constructive criticism). I'll be back in a few days!