Film Name: 玩具总动员：派对恐龙 / Partysaurus Rex / Toy Story Toons
Partysaurus Rex works as a fun addition to the main feature, but as a standalone short, it falls a bit short. The color palette is nice, but it lacks detail. For instance, with all that water in the room, it doesn’t seep out through the door’s crack—instead, it pours out in a steady stream. This short doesn’t continue the conflict between toys and humans; it’s just a toy party. If a human had appeared after the water overflowed, the tension would have felt more like the Toy Story series.
This film marks Mark Wash’s directorial debut. Here’s an interview I conducted with Mark Wash back in 2010 for reference!
Song: When did you join Pixar?
Mark: I joined Pixar in 1997, after Toy Story. I saw the film in theaters during college and was absolutely thrilled. After graduation, I joined another animation studio, but the people there weren’t great. Then I came to Pixar. Regardless of their financial situation at the time, the people there were truly wonderful! Everyone at Pixar was completely focused on making great films. They meticulously trained newcomers, and the Pixar culture was incredibly supportive for everyone.
Song: How did Pixar discover you?
Mark: I made a short film on my own, which caught Pixar’s attention. My friend at Pixar recommended me. When I first joined, Pixar had only 300 employees. Now it’s a major studio with 1,200 staff. Initially, we could only work on one film at a time; now we handle two or even three projects simultaneously. I never expected to work at Pixar, so to this day, I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of such an organization.
Song: Many Pixar directors, including John Lasseter, have consistently stated that Pixar makes films solely by pouring everything into crafting great stories, without considering commercial factors. I’d like to ask: Is this truly the case? Does Pixar genuinely disregard commercial viability when planning a film?
Mark: I believe we consider both aspects. Imagine if you made a bad movie, but everyone knew about it—then they wouldn’t come see your next film. But if you make a good movie that nobody knows about, not many people will see it either. So we’re incredibly fortunate to have a team focused on making great films, while also partnering with a company like Disney that has the power to distribute our movies and make sure every audience knows about them. But for Pixar, the philosophy of putting great storytelling first has never changed.
Song: I heard John Lasseter is a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki? (Note: John Lasseter is one of Pixar’s five founding directors, Chief Creative Officer of Disney and Pixar, and director of animated films like Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Cars.)
Mark: Yes (laughs). I’m also a huge fan of Miyazaki’s animations myself.
Song: But we know Pixar is a company focused on 3D animation, rarely attempting traditional 2D styles. Isn’t there a contradiction here? That is, John Lasseter admires something he never wants to do himself.
Mark: There’s no contradiction. Whether 3D or 2D, they’re both styles and tools for animation. As long as the story is told well, any style is valid. I also love 2D animation—I adore Disney’s classic 2D films and am thrilled to see Disney returning to traditional 2D animation recently. There’s nothing wrong with choosing either 3D or 2D.
Song: Why does Pixar rarely adapt classic stories from other countries like Disney does, instead focusing on completely original stories?
Mark: Let me think about Disney’s recent films: Bolt, I believe, is an original story; hmm, The Princess and the Frog was indeed adapted from a fairy tale… Even when adapting a fairy tale, Disney creates a lot of new material. A fairy tale might be just a page long, but a film runs 90 minutes. So Disney has to invent many new characters, define their motivations, create conflicts between them, and sometimes expand the plot with parallel storylines—which isn’t easy. Pixar has always focused on original stories from the start, and that hasn’t changed.
Song: What unique skills do you think 3D animation directors need compared to 2D directors?
Mark: 2D and 3D animation are indeed different. In 2D, the director draws keyframes for the storyboard, and animators fill in the frames between them. In 3D, those in-between frames are computer-generated, and each character is like a robot you manipulate. As Brad Bird (director of Ratatouille and The Iron Giant) said, when making 3D films, many aspects of 2D change. You must learn to move in 3D, master controlling your models, and alter certain elements so audiences perceive they’re watching 3D animation.
But directing 3D animation doesn’t always require special skills. Brad Bird started as a 2D animator but quickly became an outstanding 3D director. At Pixar, directors have extensive support. As an animation supervisor, I provide the specific movements a director requests for characters. Many staff members like me constantly communicate with directors, understanding their vision for shots, visuals, and sound effects, then work diligently to fulfill those needs. So the director just needs to be clear about what they want.
Song: So if Pixar were to make a 3D animation, they could even invite Hayao Miyazaki to direct, right?
Mark: Oh! I wish he would come, but I don’t think it’s very likely. It’s incredibly exciting, and as an animator, I’d be thrilled to collaborate with a director like Miyazaki. However, I’ve heard that when directing animation, Miyazaki handles many tasks himself—storyboards, character design, even key animation. At Pixar, each of us focuses on leveraging our greatest strengths; no one person takes on that much work.
Song: In recent years, countries like China and India have produced quite a few 3D animations, but the quality hasn’t been particularly high. Where do you think our bottleneck lies?
Mark: China, India, and indeed all Asian countries have many talented animators. So it’s not a lack of talent, but a lack of training. In the U.S., many schools offer animation programs with instructors who have extensive experience in 3D animation production. Students pay substantial sums to learn animation. In China and other Asian regions, such teaching resources may be relatively scarce.
Song: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me!
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