"Presto" is a short film that was added to "WALL.E" before it was released in theaters. Perhaps because "WALL.E" is more like a drama than Pixar's previous feature films, and it is slightly more traditional and retro, so, in order to be more retro, A short film with a gag before the release. In the early days of its birth, cartoons appeared in the form of short films added before live-action movies. It was Disney's "Snow White" that proved the first time that cartoons can also be made into feature films.
Pixar has always had a tradition of making short films. Starting from the earlier "RED'S DREAM" and "Jumping Lights", their short films have been attracting attention and won several Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and nominations. What makes Pixar really stand out is not the newness of presentation and the alternative of thought (except for the early technical experiments), but a firm grasp of two points: the story is wonderful and the production is well-made. When they have mastered advanced 3D technology, they did not fall into the rut of only technology, but made the animation produced by 3D more in line with the audience's conventional understanding of animation. In this way, Pixar directly inherits a large number of audiences who love traditional Disney cartoons, reducing the resistance of two-dimensional animation survivors to new technologies. Pixar's short films can be basically divided into two categories, one is directly related to related feature films, such as "Big Eye's New Car", "Offline and Ghost Fire", and "Xiaojie's Attack", and the other is independent , such as "Little Snowman Action", "Kidnapping Lesson", "One Person Band", etc., I prefer the latter one, and the screenwriting skills are more wonderful in those short films. If the usual theatrical pattern is a circular closed structure, Pixar can make two circles. That is, there is no direct ending after the climax, but another climax. Moreover, the role performances in "One Man Band" and "Kidnapping Lesson" are also extremely exciting.
And "Presto" broke the mold of Pixar short films, which is a story that doesn't have much Pixar flavor other than 3D. It's even a lot like Tom and Jerry played over and over again. But behind the almost complete loss of personality in "Presto", in addition to matching the retro tone of "WALL.E", its plot can also be used as a metaphor for the relationship between Disney and Pixar.
It is said that the word Presto can be interpreted as "suddenly, quickly", and it is also a term used by magicians when they do magic, just as people like to start with "a long, long time ago" when telling fairy tales. And the magician in this film, whose name is "Presto", shows how he was born for magic, how upright and noble he is - and we will naturally think of how traditional and stubborn he is. His body language can also be seen. Before the opening, when he took out his magic prop hat for performance testing, he waved the handkerchief with a well-trained gesture. After taking the stage, Presto still used the traditional bluff that was not fresh. way of performing. It's a lot like Disney.
Rabbit Alec and Presto have been working together for a long time, but his low status, especially his lack of food, makes him unbearable and decides to take revenge.
In the early days of the cooperation between Pixar and Disney, Disney took a fancy to Pixar, which is a solid and up-and-coming technology. In May 1991, Pixar and Disney signed an agreement to produce three animated feature films. According to the agreement, Pixar was responsible for the production and Disney was responsible for the distribution. The two parties shared the production fee and box office revenue, and Pixar also paid Disney an additional part of the distribution fee. All three feature films sold well, so Disney renewed the contract to five films, adding Toy Story 2, for a total of six films. But after the contract expired, Pixar and Disney disagreed on the issue of continued cooperation. Apart from the disagreement between Disney's then-president Eisner and Pixar's president Steve Jobs, the key issue was the division. Jobs wanted to share all rights to the film with Disney, but Eisner refused. At this time, Pixar is like a little rabbit who can't eat carrots. So the rabbit began to take revenge on the magician.
Pixar has temporarily left Disney to wait and see what happens.
At this time, Disney thought it would be okay if there was no Pixar, but the box office of the first 3D feature film "Four Eyed Chicken" independently produced by Disney did not get the expected revenue. 》 There is still a gap of nearly 100 million US dollars. Pixar understands Disney, just like the little rabbit understands the magician. The little rabbit pulls out the poker, handkerchief, ribbon and other props hidden in the magician's sleeve from the magic hat and throws them away, making the magician make a fool of himself on stage. (The audience was very impressed with the magician's various wonderful appearances, and kept applauding.)
Disney's two episodes of interpreting the old fairy tale will no longer work. But there is no irreconcilable hatred between the little rabbit and the magician, so Alec didn't watch Presto fall from the stage and fell to his death, but caught him with a magic hat, and then Presto emerged from the top hat, very professional Put on a good pose. The whole performance was a complete success under the director of Rabbit. From now on, there is no longer only Presto on the poster, but Alec the rabbit. What a perfect win-win! Now there should be no dust in the magician's baby magic hat!
After Eisner left office, Iger, who had a good personal relationship with Jobs, was replaced as the new head of Disney. Disney bought Pixar shortly after, and Jobs became Disney's majority shareholder. Pixar's soul, John Lasseter, became chief creative director of Disney's animation division, while overseeing the development of new theme park projects. After the acquisition of Pixar, "Cars", "Food Story" and "WALL.E" in 2008 have achieved good box office results. It's a win-win for Disney and Pixar.
On the poster of "Presto", the magician holds a little rabbit in his hand, expressing his appreciation, gratitude, humility and pride. Disney bought Pixar and lived happily ever after...
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