thedriveintheatre

On Saturday, February 11th 2012, TDIT won a record five Pixar Planet Awards for ‘Funniest Member’, ‘Most Informative Member’, ‘Best Critiquer’, ‘Best Video Maker’, and ‘Best Debater’. Here is his acceptance speech, posted 2 weeks later.

Sorry for the late reply, but better late than never! For those who don’t have the time or inclination to read this whole post, just skip to the last paragraph for a ‘TL:DR’ summary!

I’m so touched to receive so many awards this year, I don’t think I’ve had this many previously! To be nominated for Best Critiquer and Best Video Maker for the third and second year running respectively is just… woah. Being the inaugural winner for ‘Best Debater’ (I should be a politician, hurr hurr) and ‘Most Informative’ was cool too. I’m flattered to think I’m the ‘Funniest’, but if I make you laugh, I guess that’s the icing on the cake! Kudos to my fellow winners, you deserve your titles! And a big thank you to those who have voted for me and supported my fanwork all these years. You are the reason why I do what I do.

To those who didn’t win or weren’t nominated this year, I strongly encourage you to keep at what you do, and hopefully you’d improve enough to be recognised next year! There are some categories which I wished I had won, like fanfiction and fanart, which I have never achieved, but I don’t let that get me down. There are people who deserve this more than I do, and maybe someday, I can be as good as them, with enough courage and perseverance!

I’m proud to be a part of this community for close to five years (I joined in late 2008), and contribute to its rich history. Over the years, I’ve seen members come and go, events commence and conclude, and the fanworks of our dedicated Planeteers florish and bloom. I will never forget the old-timers and those nights (or mornings) we shared together watching our favourite Pixar films. I will also cherish the memories I have and will continue to have with the newcomers, and watch as they continue to bring the site into a brighter future.

I remember there was one time I did a rant about how the Brain Trust should move on and let the younger Pixarians take over and move the studio forward. I’m afraid now I’m going to have to live my own words, judging by the budding talents and hardworking staff we have on this forum. While this will not be the end of my contributions to the fandom, I’m afraid my ‘golden era’ is over, as I move on the next stage of my life and the responsibilities of adulthood.

I’ll still pop in here, though, from time to time. Well, I pretty much do every week, anyway. I’m not quite sure whether I will ever leave this place, but if some day I do, I just want y’all to know it’s been a great ride, and that you made it all the more awesome.

A big shout-out too, to TSS and little_chef for organising this year’s awards. I consider you both as two of my best buds here, and I’m thankful for all the love and friendship you have given me. Same goes to everyone else here; whether you realise it or not, you have shaped my life in one way or another, and I am grateful for that. It has been an honour.

TL:DR Summary - Thank you for the Awards, and congratulations to everyone for being a part of the greatest Pixar fansite on the Internet!

A bit late here (especially considering the ep was prematurely released), but seeing it’s Valentine’s Day, I might as well put in my few cents on the recent ep.

Usually I enjoy the CMC eps, it’s sort of the ‘beta’ group of friends to the Mane Six, and this episode’s no exception. I thought it would be incredibly annoying to watch them basically try to force two ponies into a relationship, but their reactions somehow come off so precious and earnest that it ended up being adorable for me. Of course, the road to hay is paved with good intentions, and we eventually see the meddlesome trio get their comeuppance in the end. ;)

And of course, it was fun watching Big Mac and Cherilee going googly-eyed at each other. It’s also astounding how easy it is to make a ‘roofie’ in the pony universe, not to mention how ripped Mac is pulling an entire house (and one pony) with ease.

I half-expected the trio to fail the attempt to keep them apart and try something else, but when it succeeded, I realised the episode was ending already and that [i]was[/i] the climax! Just goes to show time flies when you’re watching ponies.

“Also did anyone catch that Twist and the chubby male pony were hugging? And that a female classmate gave Diamond Tiara a card and DT approved in the same short shot? Nice little details there. Plus Caramel has a girl friend! And “Doctor Whooves” was with a certain crossed eyed pegasus on a bridge too.”
- Quote by a Planeteer

I caught Twist pinning the tail on Cherilee, but all the rest… HNNNGGG :shock: I must keep my eyes peeled, perfect excuse for a rewatch!

The following was posted on Pixar Planet, Christmas Day Singapore time:

Hello again, my fellow Planeteers! Been a long time since I’ve been here, but just wanna drop by and wish y’all a very Merry Christmas, Hannukah, Saturnalia, and New Year! :) If there’s one thing great about this day (besides the birth of a very significant historical figure), it’s the one time of the year where we spend time with our friends and family, and count our blessings.

I’m grateful that I’ve started my first job out of uni barely two months after my graduation in this difficult job market. I’m glad my brother is back from his exchange in Paris and Manchester to spend the holidays with us. I’m relieved my dad made it through another operation and his back’s better (though he’s still grumpy as ever). I’m thankful to have met not one, but two Brony communities (New South Wales and Singapore) IRL and lived to tell the tale! I’m excited my siblings and I are gonna jump on the bandwagon and get iPads for Christmas, and this after I’ve already got a new iPhone 4S (Thanks, dad).

But most of all, I’m just happy to have known all of you for so many years, even though I’ve only met one in real-life and only a handful have ‘found me on Facebook. I really treasure the amazing times we had together, and I truly hope they last for many more years to come. Thank you everyone, for being my friend and fellow Planeteer, and may the Omniescent Deity Upstairs bless you all.

Season’s greetings,
Andre

:D

It seems I have gotten some interesting responses from my ‘TDIT’s thoughts on Cars 2 Rotten Rating’ post on my fan forums, and I want to clarify some of my statements.

First off, I apologise if I have offended any Cars fans with my last post. It was not my intention to revel in the negative reviews, in fact, those who were present on Twitter yesterday afternoon would bear witness to my metldown over the dismal score. I basically posted a Tweet declaring Pixar as ‘done for’ and that it’s ‘game over’. I then made a concessionary Tweet saying I may have overreacted, but that I was deeply suspiscious of Pixar fans jumping to the movie’s defense without being objective. But there were many reasons for my anger, some of it personal (in a nutshell, I had a pretty bad day yesterday) that boiled over into my comments.

However, I still stand by my stance that as a fan of a studio, your views are immediately ‘compromised’ when reviewing any of its productions. Some people are better at maintaining an objective stance than more unconditionally-enamoured fans. I admit I am guilty of this to an extent, but when I see something that can be improved, I am not afraid to call it out. I have done this with many of my fandoms. This doesn’t mean I actively seek out faults when none exist, but that if I notice something ‘off’ or that can be better, I will say so.

A member on Pixar Planet also pointed out that I have been largely commenting on critics’ comments. And after some thought, I realize that’s is not a very strong argument on my part. I mean, I have the right to voice that opinion, but it’s a flawed and weak one. I am performing a second-degree commentary. Perhaps after seeing the movie, I would be more equipped to perform a second-degree commentary after experiencing it first-hand.

Having said that, I would just like to say that if a critic has prejudices or biases, we should always be aware of it, and maybe inform others about it. At no point do I say I think all Cars fans don’t have the right to be themselves. I implied that there are some Cars fans who are hypocritical. By hypocritical, I mean:

1) Fans who deride non-Pixar animated films such as Kung Fu Panda, Rango, LOTG, for being unoriginal, for being fun fluff, for having little ‘serious’ drama that will make you cry, etc. And then when Pixar creates a movie which bears these hallmarks (or something to that extent), these same fans ask us to overlook these aspects. They savagely attack the competition (“Shrek 4 is unoriginal, Rio’s story is predictable, Rango is a copy of every Western myth made”) and then turn a blind eye when these same flaws appear in Pixar’s movies. The sad thing is I have also seen this happen with a few professional film critics I follow.

2) Fans who complain that the critics are crazy, insane, biased, harsh, etc. (I’ve seen these words) When in actuality, these critics are perfectly well-adjusted people capable of writing a 500-word opinion piece, and have praised Pixar films before. So really, why do they condemn the film critics and then demand that the opinions be respected? There are some who are level-headed and say “You know, I fully respect the critics, but I have to disagree.” And then there are those who aggresively discredit constructive criticism and say “All the critics are crazy. Haters gonna hate!” There’s a difference.

I realize I have no right to attack fans for liking their fandoms, That was very silly of me, I mean, who’s to say that you can’t like something (unless it’s something abominable like racism or sexism)? But it sickens me that the same people who jeer at Dreamworks and other studios before are now crying foul when they get a taste of their own medicine.

I have nothing against open-minded, accepting fans who apply the same ruthless (or lenient) rules of criticism to every movie they review. I also have nothing against fans who unequivocally love Cars 2 that they are willing to overlook its faults (or not voice them if they notice it), as long as they don’t take a dump on other studios who put in just as much hard work into their movies but are limited by their talent pool and resources.

I know such kind, fair and respectful people exist, even on the fan forums. And I respect these people and always enjoy reading their reviews, while I ignore the more close-minded ones.

One last point- I am not certain if Cars 2 is truly a bad movie until I see it. But what I am calling for is an acceptance of the Rotten rating instead of dismissing it. Acceptance doesn’t mean endorsement. I can accept that 70% of children don’t like brocolli. That doesn’t mean I endorse these 70% children’s opinion of brocolli. But I don’t deny their view, or belittle it. I can try to poke holes in their arguments (“Some folks say that veggies are good for you”). I can try to reason with them. Or I can say, “You know what, you could be right. But I’m gonna taste that brocolli for myself and see if I agree with you.”

A lot of Pixar fans would’ve seen Cars 2 for themselves, and would’ve known in their hearts whether it met their expectations. And if they loved it, I’m happy for them. Their positive reviews fill me with hope that maybe I and a lot of the other cynics who haven’t seen it yet have a possibility of our preconceptions be proven wrong.

‘Doc Hudson’ - yamihoole/lennonluvr9

The following was posted by Pixar Planeteer x3haijessiex3 that bears reading and contemplation, not just by Planeteers or Cars fans, but for Pixar fans in general, too:

Some of us have stayed with each other through the harsh and the beautiful. We’ve made lovely relationships with each other, plans to meet each other, and we shared our dreams. Some of us here have even received the chance to meet the person of our dreams. A person who may stay with us forever. A person who may soon grow apart.

But when we think back to why we became friends in the first place, we need to remember. It was Pixar who made us love our lives. Though there are people out there who make fun of us for liking their movies, for watching their movies, even being obsessed, Pixar has kept us together. We, a little group of close buddies called the Pixarteers, have kept each other strong. We, Planeteers, have kept each other strong. We’re Pixar Planet members and we’re proud.

But we came about for a couple of reasons. We were all in high school. We all shared a loved for these four-wheeled creatures we call cars.

Cars with teeth. Cars with tongues. Cars with different eyes. Cars with different accents. Cars with different voices. Cars with genders. Cars beautiful in his or her own way. Cars that have beautiful moments like we do in the Summer. Cars that have harsh moments like we do when Winter strikes. Cars with bright minds. Cars with slow minds. Cars with fast speeds. Cars with slow speeds. Cars in a rainbow of colors. Cars the worst of enemies. Cars the best of friends. Cars with souls.

It was this movie, Cars, that made us all have a connection. It was this lovely group of underrated characters, that made us unique from the rest of the world. It was this story that reminded us to slow down for just a second. The movie that told us that for one minute, the world can wait.

This year will mark half of a decade sharing our lives with these characters. Though they’re not alive in the physical sense, they’re alive in the child inside of all of us. They’re alive in our fan fictions. They’re alive in our minds. They’re alive in our fan art. They’re alive in our poems.

It only took a little less than two hours to tell the story of Cars. A second of walking out of the theater with our hearts throbbing. A lifetime of smiling.

It was Pixar that did this. It was Pixar that made us believe that (not only the characters of Cars) the characters of these movies are alive and real. It’s Pixar that’s able to make us stare into computer animated eyes and feel real feelings.

For that second of looking into the eyes of our favorite characters, we feel five again. We feel like running outside and playing on the playground again; pretend to be our favorite characters. We feel like being Lightning McQueen while our other friends are Chick, The King, everyone. We feel like being Sulley and we call our best friend our Mike. We feel like Russel from UP. We feel like Boo. We feel like the little baby car staring up at her idol in the crowd of the race.

Though Cars isn’t one of the best Pixar movies; harshly criticized, we stayed together. We didn’t just change our likes just because everyone else didn’t like it. We stayed true to ourselves. We stayed true to each other.

It’s moments like these when I think back and realize: It all started with one movie. One studio. Millions of computer animated souls.

That seems so magical to me. So thank you, Pixar Planet. Thank you for connecting me with people who are just like me. Thank you for making me feel part of something. Thank you for making me feel normal. Thank you for giving me the biggest laughs and some of the worst tears. In the end, I believe it’s all worth it. All of this. Every single moment we all shared, not just the Pixarteers, but Pixar Planet as a whole - worth it. Thank you for existing, Pixar Planet. And thank you fellow Pixarteers, Cars fans, and Pixar fans, for being in my life.

Today is International Day Against Homophobia, and to commemorate the occasion, I’d like to talk about this important issue for this post.

First of all, I’m a heterosexual, straight-as-an-arrow male. I had a pretty early sexual awakening thanks to a picture of Carrie Fisher in her Princess Leia slave girl outfit I saw in a newspaper when I was ten (True story!). I’m as blokey as it gets, I love stupid action films (preferably with tons of explosions and fight scenes), I like to talk about automobiles and things that go fast, I’m not a huge fan of romantic comedy, I don’t shave, and I sneak peeks at lad mags when I’m in the bookstore.

Unfortunately, I also don’t play lots of sports, never had a girlfriend (not the romantic kind) and I’m terrible at any DIY projects. So I know how it is not to be a ‘full bloke’ in a sense. More importantly, I was once a victim of bullying on multiple occasions, so I know how the weak and oppressed feel.

I must admit, I used to be homophobic when I was in my teens. I had a classmate in high school, fat guy and slightly effeminate. In the innocence of my youth, I had a fear of him touching me or my things (partly due to my slight OCD back then) and I was scared of his ‘gay germs’. It looks kinda silly looking back on it now, but I was terrified of him.

The worst part was for my second year in that high school (Secondary 2, or the Singaporean equivalent of Grade 8), I was assigned to sit next to him! I would always position my chair as far away as possible from him, because the desks of our partners in our class were always together, with no gap in between.

One day, my Maths (and homeroom) teacher noticed my awkward sitting position and asked me whether I was alright in front of the whole class. I embarrassingly said “No” and looked at my partner next to me. He had a mix of confusion and hurt on his face. That was when I realised this was all very stupid. I was making a fool out of myself. He was a nice guy. He never treated me badly, or did anything wrong to him. How can I judge him, just because he acts like a ‘pondan’ (sissy)?

From then on, I sat ‘normally’ and talked with him more, and he eventually became one of my good friends. Even now in uni, I have a gay acquaintance (I wouldn’t call him a friend, because he’s kinda ‘bitchy’ sometimes) and I have a suspicion my best friend is bi (though he hasn’t come out of the closet yet).

Homophobia is a condition which should not exist in the 21st century. You don’t necessarily have to agree with them, although homosexuality has been proven to occur in nature. You simply have to accept them as human beings, and this doesn’t mean that you have to accept their way of life.

It hurts me that people still think queers can be ‘corrected’ or ‘fixed’. My mum, I’m sad to say, is homophobic. We have a family friend who has a daughter who is a lesbian, and she forbids us to meet her. We hardly even visit the family friend anymore because of my mum’s irrational fear that we will be ‘influenced’ or ‘tainted’ by the gay girl. And my mum also happens to be afraid of a Christian evangelist aunt of mine for the same reason.

We are stronger and smarter than being subject to the ‘influence’ of others. We should let others live the way they live, as long as they don’t hurt, abuse, or mistreat anyone else.

Being homosexual is different from bestiality or anthropomorphic-love, simply for the fact that both parties are consensual. A dog or a chair might never be able to voice its approval to the relationship, but another grown-up human being can.

What right do we have to say two consensual adults can’t love each other, and be in a committed relationship for the rest of their life? Who’s to say that we should impose our views on other people? Why should we limit the freedom and liberty of others in the interests of our own religion and belief system? How does bullying and abusing those who are different from us make us any better than a tyrant or dictator?

This is different from more contentious topics like euthanasia or abortion, because they involve the taking of human life, sometimes without permission. How does letting two people of the same sex love each other affect your daily life? Who has the right to define what is love?

You have a choice: to love or to hate.

What would you chose?

It Gets Better - Pixar
It Gets Better - Google Chrome

Critics are raving…

Over the last two weeks, I went to the movies for a grand total of five times, and watched five diverse movies, one of them twice and another for the second and last time.

I rewatched Rio with a bud for the second time on Wednesday, and it looked just as awesome in 2D on a smaller screen. I’ll post a detailed review if I have the time, but this is simply my favourite film of the year, mainly because it appealed to my ‘inner child’ and every character is utterly lovable. Rango is just as good, only it is more daring and less sentimental. As I’ve mentioned on Twitter, if Rango is a technical masterpiece in the likes of Legend of the Guardians, then Rio is a storytelling charmer in the vein of How to Train Your Dragon.

I also had a similar sensation comparing Source Code with Fast Five. Source Code is very intellectual, and you have to pay attention or you won’t understand the ending. Fast Five is just a ‘put your brain on cruise control and just let it rip’ kind of movie, and it is a very well-done genre picture (by genre, I mean action racing movies). But both movies have very emphatic characters that you will care about; Source Code being a ‘love story across time’ like Deja Vu (one of my favourite movies) and Fast Five being a tale about family, trust, and friendship, much like Rio (except with plenty more explosions). Both also have equally exciting action setpieces; Source Code literally being Speed on a train-meets-Groundhog Day, and Fast Five boasting the most spectacular vehicular destruction I have ever seen in my entire life (it’s even better than The Bourne Supremacy and Bad Boys 2 in gutwrenching carnage).

Hoodwinked is a passable spy spoof, but we already have another one by a more well-known studio coming out in June, so why bother with this one? For starters, it’s a decent sequel, if a little underwhelming in comparison to its superior predecessor, which had a clever ‘Rashomon’ narrative of multiple perspectives and subjective truth. Here, the espionage genre is sent up mercilessly, as well as various movies that you won’t know about unless you were born before the 90s or you’re a film buff. I chuckled many more times than my less pop-culturally aware friends, but I didn’t experience as much pathos or emotional connection as I had for the other movies I’ve seen lately. Pixar fans, though, would be delighted to know that there is a Ratatouille cameo in there. Yes, I’m not kidding, pay attention during an antagonists’ flashback sequence and you might just spot one of the characters in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.

I watched Thor for the first time with my bro the Saturday before last, and a second time with two of my mates when we snuck into another theatre after Source Code on Sunday (shh… it’s illegal, you know). Thor’s also a pretty good alternative, but it tries to be grand and kitsch at the same time, instead of going for all-out cuteness like Rio or all-out drama like Rango. And that kinda threw me off a bit. You see Thor throwing ice giants around and smashing them with his hammer, and then in the second act, he’s eating cornflakes and walking around topless. It makes for nice contrast between his world and ours, but I just felt they could’ve grounded his realm in more believability instead of making it a spotless, right-angled, not-a-single-trash-piece in sight Utopia. It’s like they sent a platoon of M-Os to clean up Asgard.

Needless to say, I spent my two-week school holiday fruitfully in terms of cinematic outings. In fact, I think this might have been the most number of movies I’ve seen in theatres in a fortnight.

Rio (rewatch) - 9/10
Source Code - 8/10
Fast Five - 8/10
Hoodwinked Too! - 4/10
Thor - 6/10

Ya think?

The following was posted in the ‘Ever Changed Your Mind about a Pixar Film’ thread last year (2010), but it bears reposting because it sums up my exact sentiments about Pixar at the moment:

I’ve mentioned this before, but before Cars, I used to despise Pixar because I saw them as the death of traditional animation. Cars was the beginning of my love affair for the studio because the film was like a dream come true for me (and its sequel Cars 2 is like a bigger piece of awesome cake because they’ve now thrown my favourite film genre into the mix).

After falling in love with Cars, I reexamined all their previous films and came to view them in a new light. Until recently, I had full confidence in their ability and talent.

What I’m going to say next may sound a little contrarian, but I’ll be honest about it. Toy Story 3 has been my first disappointment with Pixar since Cars. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, and it’s a wonderful film, much better than any live-action this year. It’s just that I felt the ending was melodramatic and the scope was less ambitious (both storywise and technically) than the preceeding films (Up, Wall-E, Ratatouille, etc.). Also, other great animated films like HTTYD, Despicable Me and LOTG made me realise the studio doesn’t have a monopoly on quality, not anymore anyway. A few more close-minded Pixar fans I’ve encountered has also made me realise how being enamoured with one studio can blind you to the progress of others.

So, yes, my opinion has been changed for a Pixar film. I was really looking forward to Toy Story 3, and while I did enjoy it on my first viewing, it started to pale on further reflection in comparison to its competitors. Maybe it’ll grow on me with subsequent viewings.

On a positive note, I have to admit I was semi-skeptical for Cars 2, but the recent trailer blew my preconceptions to smithereens, and while I’m still a little worried about the production progress and character screentimes, I have more confidence Pixar will regain my faith next year.