Post by pitbulllady on Jun 16, 2009 19:03:14 GMT -5
We might still have time to sway them towards having something positive happen with Randall, folks. IMDb(for those who don't know, that's the "Internet Movie Database, the largest online movie information site) has already opened its Monsters, Inc. 2 site, and has the movie's status listed as "Pitched", which means it's still being written and ideas are still being discussed and "bantered" or "pitched" back-and-forth among the creative team at Pixar, which means that it's not set in stone just yet. Once again, Peter Docter is confirmed as the director, and he and Andrew Stanton, who wrote the screenplay for the original, are set as the main writers. We need as many of us as possible to write letters in care of Mr. Docter, explaining why we would like to see Randall undergo a character arc or positive character developement, rather than have him typecast as a "bad guy" once again.
Here is my own letter, which I mailed out via "snail mail" today:
Mr. Peter Docter
Pixar Animation Studios
1200 Park Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
Dear Mr. Docter,
I am honestly not quite sure how to begin this letter, although I do hope you’ll take the time to read it. I will start out by stating that I have been a fan of Pixar animation since its inception, and I still consider myself a fan, but then, I’m certain that most of the correspondence you receive IS from fans.
I’m not writing just to tell you that, though, but to try to have a voice in some concerns that I have, especially since the “official rumor”, for lack of a better term, has gotten out all over the internet and the entertainment community that you will be directing a sequel to your 2001 block-buster, Monsters, Inc. I am a big fan of that movie, probably more so than any other theatrical release of Pixar’s, and that is saying a lot! However, odd as it might seem, my fondness for that movie in particular is largely centered upon my connection, if you will, with one particular character, and before stating anything further I should tell you that you and the studio should consider it a great honor, and a sign of great story-telling, that you can create fictional characters, human or otherwise, that movie-goers of all ages can relate to on a really personal level. That said, I know that you will probably find it rather odd, to say the least, that I, a middle-aged school teacher from the heart of the “Bible Belt” would have, as my favorite character from that movie, the movie’s overt “Bad Guy”, Randall Boggs, of all people! For reasons I will only briefly touch upon, though, some of them deeply personal, some not, I was able to-at the risk of sounding so cliché’-relate to this character immediately, as I have never been able to do with any other movie character, animated or otherwise. At least I have the consolation of knowing that I’m not alone, that there are many fans who are especially fond of this character, who feel strongly that there he just had a lot more story to tell, and who do not subscribe to the jaded belief that we are all either 100% good or 100% bad, with no shades of gray in between. Sounds rather silly, perhaps, but even the late Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King agreed with me, when he stated, “there is some good in the worst of us, and some evil in the best of us”.
As for where I’m going with this, I don’t know whether or not this character, Randall, will make an appearance in the sequel or not. You yourself might not have even finalized that at this point. However, IF you do decide to include him in the “cast”, I’m asking you to please reconsider that tired old “Good Guys vs. Bad Guys, Good Guys Beat Up Bad Guys, Good Guys Can Do No Wrong” formula. That worked for many a Saturday morning kiddie cartoon, designed to babysit young children in front of the tv set while Dad mowed the lawn and Mom went shopping, but honestly, I do hold you and your studio to higher expectations than that. I can recall a tv special, which aired right before the release of Finding Nemo in the US, in which Mr. John Lassetter displayed a framed set of “Pixar Rules” on his desk, a formula for making great movies, and one of them was “NO VILLIANS”. While conflict itself can make for a very strong story, you don’t need to resort to that Saturday morning kiddie cartoon formula to accomplish that, as many of Pixar’s movies have proven. IF you are going to include this character, Randall Boggs, in the sequel, how about considering some real character development, a character arc, if you will, instead of once again having him simply be there as a threat, as evil by default? Quite frankly, it was rather disappointing that the one scaly, reptilian character in the movie was depicted as the “Bad Guy”, reinforcing a negative stereotype that I’ve fought against for virtually my entire life, that anything with scales that’s not a fish is “evil” or “bad”. I see a potential, with this character, to buck that negative stereotype trend, and to really explore two themes that I don’t believe Pixar has really paid much attention to: forgiveness and second chances. It’s because of the importance of those two things in my own life, that I’ve been able to connect with this particular animated character. I sincerely, deeply believe that doing this, as opposed to having a plot in which there’s a “bad” character who eventually “gets his” from the “good” characters, would result in a much-stronger storyline, and certainly one that has not been “done to death” already, not in animation, anyway. Young fans, especially, need to see that people CAN change for the better, and that getting even with someone, even someone who has done wrong, is seldom a solution to solving problems. I believe that in showing this, taking on these themes, that you’d have a challenge, indeed, BUT I have no doubts that you and your story-writers and animators and artists are up to that challenge, and that the end result would be nothing less than the superb quality of story I’ve come to expect from Pixar.
Please take this into consideration. It would really pain me to not only see this character once again portrayed as unredeemable evil, since I do not honestly believe in such a thing, with few exceptions, but to also see Pixar resort to the sort of writing and storylines that I’ve come to associate with cheap Saturday morning children’s “entertainment”. You’ve got a character that has a large and loyal fan base, who has a lot of potential for real and positive character development. The ball is in your court, now I’ll be waiting to see which way you play it.
Sincerely,
06/16/09
Here is my own letter, which I mailed out via "snail mail" today:
Mr. Peter Docter
Pixar Animation Studios
1200 Park Avenue
Emeryville, CA 94608
Dear Mr. Docter,
I am honestly not quite sure how to begin this letter, although I do hope you’ll take the time to read it. I will start out by stating that I have been a fan of Pixar animation since its inception, and I still consider myself a fan, but then, I’m certain that most of the correspondence you receive IS from fans.
I’m not writing just to tell you that, though, but to try to have a voice in some concerns that I have, especially since the “official rumor”, for lack of a better term, has gotten out all over the internet and the entertainment community that you will be directing a sequel to your 2001 block-buster, Monsters, Inc. I am a big fan of that movie, probably more so than any other theatrical release of Pixar’s, and that is saying a lot! However, odd as it might seem, my fondness for that movie in particular is largely centered upon my connection, if you will, with one particular character, and before stating anything further I should tell you that you and the studio should consider it a great honor, and a sign of great story-telling, that you can create fictional characters, human or otherwise, that movie-goers of all ages can relate to on a really personal level. That said, I know that you will probably find it rather odd, to say the least, that I, a middle-aged school teacher from the heart of the “Bible Belt” would have, as my favorite character from that movie, the movie’s overt “Bad Guy”, Randall Boggs, of all people! For reasons I will only briefly touch upon, though, some of them deeply personal, some not, I was able to-at the risk of sounding so cliché’-relate to this character immediately, as I have never been able to do with any other movie character, animated or otherwise. At least I have the consolation of knowing that I’m not alone, that there are many fans who are especially fond of this character, who feel strongly that there he just had a lot more story to tell, and who do not subscribe to the jaded belief that we are all either 100% good or 100% bad, with no shades of gray in between. Sounds rather silly, perhaps, but even the late Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King agreed with me, when he stated, “there is some good in the worst of us, and some evil in the best of us”.
As for where I’m going with this, I don’t know whether or not this character, Randall, will make an appearance in the sequel or not. You yourself might not have even finalized that at this point. However, IF you do decide to include him in the “cast”, I’m asking you to please reconsider that tired old “Good Guys vs. Bad Guys, Good Guys Beat Up Bad Guys, Good Guys Can Do No Wrong” formula. That worked for many a Saturday morning kiddie cartoon, designed to babysit young children in front of the tv set while Dad mowed the lawn and Mom went shopping, but honestly, I do hold you and your studio to higher expectations than that. I can recall a tv special, which aired right before the release of Finding Nemo in the US, in which Mr. John Lassetter displayed a framed set of “Pixar Rules” on his desk, a formula for making great movies, and one of them was “NO VILLIANS”. While conflict itself can make for a very strong story, you don’t need to resort to that Saturday morning kiddie cartoon formula to accomplish that, as many of Pixar’s movies have proven. IF you are going to include this character, Randall Boggs, in the sequel, how about considering some real character development, a character arc, if you will, instead of once again having him simply be there as a threat, as evil by default? Quite frankly, it was rather disappointing that the one scaly, reptilian character in the movie was depicted as the “Bad Guy”, reinforcing a negative stereotype that I’ve fought against for virtually my entire life, that anything with scales that’s not a fish is “evil” or “bad”. I see a potential, with this character, to buck that negative stereotype trend, and to really explore two themes that I don’t believe Pixar has really paid much attention to: forgiveness and second chances. It’s because of the importance of those two things in my own life, that I’ve been able to connect with this particular animated character. I sincerely, deeply believe that doing this, as opposed to having a plot in which there’s a “bad” character who eventually “gets his” from the “good” characters, would result in a much-stronger storyline, and certainly one that has not been “done to death” already, not in animation, anyway. Young fans, especially, need to see that people CAN change for the better, and that getting even with someone, even someone who has done wrong, is seldom a solution to solving problems. I believe that in showing this, taking on these themes, that you’d have a challenge, indeed, BUT I have no doubts that you and your story-writers and animators and artists are up to that challenge, and that the end result would be nothing less than the superb quality of story I’ve come to expect from Pixar.
Please take this into consideration. It would really pain me to not only see this character once again portrayed as unredeemable evil, since I do not honestly believe in such a thing, with few exceptions, but to also see Pixar resort to the sort of writing and storylines that I’ve come to associate with cheap Saturday morning children’s “entertainment”. You’ve got a character that has a large and loyal fan base, who has a lot of potential for real and positive character development. The ball is in your court, now I’ll be waiting to see which way you play it.
Sincerely,
06/16/09
