emails to pixar

[conteremo]

So I've been thinking about emailing Pixar just to say how much I love their work, especially the Monsters movies, and that Randall is my favorite character of theirs.

Have any of you guys emailed Pixar before? What did you say? Did you keep it short and general, or make it long and detailed? And do they enjoy getting emails from fans?

[pitbulllady]

Most of us have emailed Pixar, or sent hand-written letters back in the day when they didn't give out their email. I don't know of anyone who has ever gotten a reply, though. I don't know how many emails or letters they actually do read, given that they probably receive literally millions per week, and I cannot even begin to say if they enjoy getting emails from fans or not. It is always best to keep emails brief, let them know how much you enjoy their work, perhaps mention that your favorite character is __________ and why you like that character, but don't go too much into suggesting what you want to see happen with that character later. I'm sure that these folks don't really have time to thoroughly read each and every fan contact, though. Social media sites and fansites probably get more results than individual emails or letters because that's really how most studios keep tabs on the "pulse" of a fan base nowadays.

pitbulllady

[randallsnape7]

Um... yeah, I actually HAVE mailed (not e-mailed) Pixar twice - not about Randall, but about Stinky Pete from Toy Story 2. I think he, too, is redeemable, and have thought so ever since I walked out of seeing 'Toy Story 2' in theaters. I actually tried submitting a completed 'Toy Story 3' script to them in 2008, which I began when I was around 10-11 years old, and I can tell you from personal experience: DO NOT, I repeat, DO... NOT e-mail suggestions or proposals to Pixar. If you do, you'll get your mail (or manuscript) sent back to you with a letter that goes something like this:

Dear Pixar fan,

         We are glad that you took time to write to Mr. Stanton at Pixar. While we are always pleased to hear from viewers, you should be aware that Pixar Animation Studios has a long-standing company policy of not accepting unsolicited material. Once we realized that your letter to Mr. Stanton included unsolicited material, our department sent it back without further review. We understand that this policy, at times, may be a difficult one, especially when a fan such as yourself simply wants to share his or her own creative ideas, but experience has taught us that if we abandon our policy for just one person, we will soon have no policy at all. Therefore, we ask for your understanding as to why we sent your mail back, but please be aware that Pixar doesn't mean this as a comment on your thoughts, personally, it is just something that our policy requires us to do.

          We have enclosed both your work and your letter to Pixar in your returned mail. Thank you once again for writing to Pixar, and we wish you well in your creative endeavors.

Sincerely,

Pixar Animation Studios (or whatever name)


I'm aware that it has to do with Pixar's legal department as they don't want to risk being sued and all, but I regret to say that I learned this the hard way. Since I am planning to work at Pixar one day after college, I personally am through sending mail to them.

WORD OF ADVICE: If anybody e-mails Pixar, keep it STRICTLY on fan-based terms. The ONLY way to get past the unsolicited material barrier is to go to film school, major in film/video, get hired by the company you wish to work for, study the employee positions, and aim and hope for the position that will enable you to finally work within the professional circle that makes those decisions. Another determining factor is this: "It's not what you know, it's WHO you know.". Connections with the right people can also accelerate the process... with a bit of faith, and good timing, I might add.

While this may be a corny example, consider how in Star Wars, Palpatine became Emperor: He initially wasn't in the position to just jump to that position. No, Naboo's craftiest native first became Senator, then he became Chancellor, then he became Emperor. How did he succeed? He waited in the sidelines and bided his time with a smile, all the while, crawling up that political ladder. His patience proved to be a valuable asset to him, because he knew how to line up his ducks in a row in such a way as to get the outcome he wanted. The whole process lasted about 13 years over the course of Episode I, II, and III, but he DID it, didn't he?

[seafoamonster]

I like that Star Wars ref.

Yeah, I want to work for Pixar, too! I think I should mail them just for the heck of it.

Any suggestions?