A couple of weeks ago I was in San Francisco and on my way to Pixar Animation Studios for The Good Dinosaur press event. Driving up to the Pixar sign seriously made me giddy as a child, who thinks that in their every day life that they would get to visit Pixar?
As we exited the van I could see Luxo and the Pixar ball in the distance and then spent the next half hour taking various photos as one must do while touring the Pixar 22-acre Emeryville campus. Speaking of the word “campus” it is very much like a beautiful college campus in the way it looks and is laid out, lots of trees and even geese!
The Steve Jobs Building houses all of the creative minds behind all of the amazing Pixar films and was built after the success of a Bug’s Life.
When you walk through the doors the vastness of the lobby and the floor to ceiling Good Dinosaur pendants takes your breath a little. Not to mention the lifesize Toy Story, Incredibles and Cars figures throughout. I didn’t know where to aim my camera first!
Steve Jobs was behind the HUGE atrium. He wanted the employees to all have a central place that they had to go through to get to things like the cafe and or bathrooms, so they had to see and speak with one another. More of a communal type of workspace.
During my first trip to LA in 2013 I was fortunate enough to visit Disney Animation Studios to learn all about Wreck it Ralph, and then Disney Toon Studios for Plane Fire & Rescue. The main thing that impressed me while there is how they transform the working spaces with the current movie they are working on. This held true for Pixar as there were The Good Dinosaur themed artworks everywhere, and since Inside Out wasn’t that long ago we were able to see some of the artwork for that too. We couldn’t take photos of a lot of the awesome The Good Dinosaur displays since the movie is still in production.
One of the highlights of visiting the campus was getting to shop in the official Pixar Store, Holy Pixar fan paradise! I didn’t know what to buy first but I knew I had to get my husband and boys mementos, how could I not. I ended up getting Pixar Animations Studios coffee mugs for my husband, step-son and I, and then tee shirts and a few little trinkets for my boys. I also grabbed these amazing The Good Dinosaur post cards that are made from wood!
To complete our visit we were given an amazing tour of the building. Along each hallway were tons of artworks and information about The Good Dinosaur and also a bit about Inside Out. We were able to glimpse inside some of the offices to see where the ideas come to life. I’ll have more on how The Good Dinosaur was made in future posts, you won’t want to miss it.
We also saw a few familiar faces down one long hallway….
That reminds me, Finding Dory hits theaters next year!
This entire experience was one that I won’t soon forget! Oh, and I almost forgot. While I was standing in the lobby, a gentleman came in the front door and it was JOHN LASSETER! The man himself walked right by me. It was so cool to see him just stroll on in and how everyone was in awe, even if they looked like they were trying to keep their composure like I was.
Bucket List – PIXAR – CHECK!
The Good Dinosaur opens in theaters on November 25th
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Tumblr
Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense trip to San Francisco by Walt Disney Studios to attend various events. All opinions are 100% my own.
Dianna Ranere