Steve's Other Company

There's no secret that I love kids' movies. The best animated movies make the world seem magical in a way that very few live action movies can manage. For years now, the best company in animation has been Pixar--and from the sounds of things, The Incredibles continues the trend.

I'll be seeing it next weekend, and my expectations are pretty high. NRO reviews the movie today and I think they hit on one of the reasons that I like Pixar films so much.

Most kids' entertainment is about kids. Pixar movies are about adults. They show children what adults are supposed to do — to be brave and self-sacrificing, to defend children even at risk to themselves, to give even in the face of ingratitude. This is wise because, after all, children aren't going to remain children. Just as we encourage them daily to grow in the practical skills of adulthood, they'll need these kind of skills too if they are going to be faithful, responsible spouses and parents.

Many kids sitting in theater seats don't have a daddy like Nemo's, who would go to the end of the ocean to save their lives. They don't have a daddy like Dash and Violet's, who can be crushed only by the thought that he has lost them, and whose strength rebounds instantly when he learns they need his help. These kids don't have daddy-figures like Woody and Mike and Sullivan, who love and guard the children who enter their care. They don't have a daddy like that, but one day they may be a daddy like that, or have a clear idea of the kind of future daddy they need to marry. If this is all that Pixar has done, it has done a most eminent thing.

That sounds about right to me. When it's pretty easy to find self-indulgent, selfish, and shallow movie stars, musicians, and sports figures to act as role models, these Pixar creations are a wonderful reminder of what people are capable of when they rise above the worst parts of themselves.

Steve Jobs is famous for his leadership of Apple Computers, but Pixar, his other company, is something of which he can be truly proud.

Posted by zombyboy at November 8, 2004 11:14 AM