ABSTRACT
The story being told is the justification for the characters that tell it. That is why an acting analysis cannot fully be isolated from story analysis. In the case of Inside Out, an unusual story structure highlights a behindthe-scenes challenge for the way that Pixar rather famously develops its scripts. If you Google “Pixar Braintrust,” you’ll get 31,200 hits. Studio cofounder Ed Catmull has been a particularly enthusiastic cheerleader for the Braintrust process. In an article he wrote for FastCompany.com in 2015, he explained it like this:
The Braintrust developed organically out of the rare working relationship among the five men who led and edited the production of Toy Story. . . . They were funny, focused, smart, and relentlessly candid when arguing with each other. . . . the Braintrust evolved from a tight, well-defined group working on a single film into a larger, more fluid group. Over the years, its ranks have grown to include . . . directors, writers, and heads of story – whose only requirement is that they display a knack for storytelling. . . . We believe that the most promising stories are not assigned to filmmakers but emerge from within. With few exceptions, our directors make movies they have conceived of and are burning to make.
