John Lasseter Set for 27th Tokyo International Film Festival Special Event

John Lasseter's dear friend, Mr. Toshio Suzuki from Studio Ghibli asked him to give a talk on 'Cool Japan' at TIFF, to which 'I replied 'yes', because I love Japan,' began Mr. Lasseter. The first thing he did was to go through all the trips he made to Japan and all the photographs he took. As he did so, he came to realize that speaking at TIFF is an emotional experience because of the huge influence Japan and hisfriend, Hayao Miyazaki, has had on him.

Mr. Lasseter's earliest exposure to Japanese culture was cartoons, and when he read the book, The Art of Animationby Bob Thomas in high school, he already knew he wanted to create animations. And the timing was perfect. When graduating from high school, Disney was starting a character animation program at the California Institute of Arts (CalArts) where classes were taught by retired animators. John Lasseter describes this as 'an amazing experience studying with classmates inspired by the same works of Walt Disney and Chuck Jones.' This was also a revolutionary stage in American animation cinema with the release of Star Wars. 'Star Wars entertained a large audience and I wanted to do the same with animation. Animation is for everybody and that's what Walt Disney and Chuck Jones created.'After he graduated CalArts and went to work for Disney, he saw that the animation industry in Hollywood treatedanimation as entertainment just for kids. 'Animation was on TV only during the kids' hours on Saturday mornings and after school. I was very disappointed.' Mr. Lasseter recalls.

But it was at Disney that he discovered Japanese animation. In 1981, a Japanese animation producer, Yutaka Fujioka had a studio called TMS in Japan and came to visit American animation studios to learn more about art. He brought a number of artists with him, one of whom was Hayao Miyazaki. Mr. Lasseter clearly remembers this moment: 'Mr. Fujioka showed me clips of his last movie which was Hayao Miyazaki's first animated feature film called The Castle of Cagliostro. I was absolutely blown away by this movie!' After seeing about three sequences of the film, they had left a strong effect on him, and for many years to come. 'The Castle of Cagliostro was the first animated feature film that was made with a vision to entertain all ages. I could tell that clearly, this film was made by a filmmaker who wasn't thinking of making something just for children. It proved what I was feeling, that I wasn't alone in the world.' Following this, Mr. Lasseter showed on screen the very sequence from The Castle of Cagliostro, which he was deeply fascinated by; the car chase sequence.

'That is awesome!!' exclaimed John Lasseter, as if recalling the first time he saw that sequence. 'I studied this sequence again and again and there was no way that that was made for kids-it's for every age group, for everybody!' He further describes it as, 'it's smart, it's clever'. One who knows animation will see that there is cleverness in which it was produced and the economy to get this incredible action sequence is amazing, he adds but doesn't stop there. 'Part of the scene is animated background, part of it is just sliding painted background. The depth and the excitement... it was so smart, it was smart filmmaking.'

Around this time, Mr. Lasseter moved to San Francisco to work in the computer division. There was a computer graphics conference in the summer of 1985 where he met his wife Nancy. He recalls the first date they had. 'After the date, I invited her to my apartment and I showed her my toys! I then played the car chase sequence from The Castle of Cagliostro to see what she would think. And she loved it. So, I wooed my wife with Hayao Miyazaki's animation! This movie, this scene has had a profound effect on my life, my career, art... and my wife.'

His first trip to Japan was November 1987. Pixar was formed a year and a half earlier and Mr. Lasseter had just completed a short film, and came to lecture at Nicograph, a computer graphics conference in Tokyo. And almost naturally, he fell in love with Tokyo. 'The lights at night, the scale was amazing. I was loving everything that I was seeing. I couldn't believe all of the vending machines where you could buy a fifth of whiskey! I was crazy for the plastic food! It was fantastic!'

This was also during this time that he was thinking of doing a story of a toy being alive and when he came across a beautiful book on Japanese tin toys written by Teruhisa Kitahara. Right away, Mr. Lasseter knew that tin toys would look really great in computer animation. So on his first visit to Japan, he visited Mr. Kitahara's tin toy museum in Yokohama. 'I was inspired by each and every tin toy; the way they were printed, the way they moved, how Kitahara-san displayed them. The details were so cool. There was a retro-vintage nature to them that felt very fresh.' This tin toy collection became his inspiration to make a short film at Pixar, Tin Toy, the predecessor to his big hit, Toy Story which won the Academy Award in 1988-the first Oscar ever to be given to a 3D animation film.

Also on his first trip to Japan, one of his hosts at Nicograph had worked at Studio Ghibli which gave him the chance to meet Hayao Miyazaki. Mr. Lasseter's recollection of what he first saw there was that 'when I visited Miyazaki san, he had pictures posted all over his wall... He was working on My Neighbor Totoro!' Another memory is of when Mr. Miyazaki showed him all over the studio, 'I remember I picked up a drawing of a bus that was actually a cat! I turned to him and he was standing there with a big grin on his face, the same grin as the cat bus.' Mr. Lasseter still hold this moment in his heart as he explains this day as when he learned that Hayao Miyazaki puts his heart and soul into every one of his films. 'They are an extension of himself. He inspired me deeply to how to properly make movies.' During this trip, Mr. Lasseter bought two laser disks of Ghibli's first two movies: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Laputa-Castle in the Sky which his children have watched over and over again. At this point, Mr. Lasseter was starting to think on his first feature film, Toy Story. He already knew he wanted to create a film that touched audiences using new technology but that had a very strong story. After his visit to Japan and meeting Miyazaki, he was deeply influenced to express his love of toys, film and animation into this film.

Mr. Lasseter's second trip to Japan was for the international publicity for Toy Story. 'I visited Studio Ghibli again to show my film to Mr. Miyazaki. I was told that he wasn't a big fan of computer animation but he loved the story.' Lasseter explains that 'Hayao Miyazaki saw past the medium of the film and just saw the story.' The two have had many meetings in Japan thereafter as 'every trip I made to Japan since then, I'd visit Miyazaki-san and spend a day with him at Studio Ghibli.'

Mr. Lasseter began to feel that he wanted to help Mr. Miyazaki share his movies to the world, so starting with Spirited Away, he's helped with the English language version. Up until then, Mr. Lasseter wasn't happy with the English language version of Ghibli films and he felt he 'wanted to protect Miyazaki san's artistic vision.' Lasseter's goal was so that the English speaking audience would understand each film at the same level as the Japanese audiences were. 'As you know, Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the second year that they gave out that award. It really is a fantastic special honor,' he proudly recalls.

'The most special Miyazaki film for me is probably My Neighbor Totoro.' My Neighbor Totoro touches the audience so deeply which has a profound effect on the young and the old.' The one sequence that Lasseter finds most creative is when Mei and Satsuki are waiting at the bus stop for their father to return. He explains, 'Hayao Miyazaki celebrates the quiet moments in films. In this sequence, all the time it takes to lead up with these gorgeous screenshots, where virtually nothing is happening, are so special.' And as a Miyazaki a Miyazaki fan would know, he has these in every movie and he takes time with things, '...which is the opposite of Hollywood filmmaking', adds Lasseter. Miyazaki also has the ability to define character so clearly through action. 'He has an incredible eye for detail of what makes a character uniquely different. And he communicates so much with so little.' But what Lasseter loves the most is the magic in Miyazaki's films. 'The cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro is a cat, and that's very cool. But then the door opens and it's a live creature! And later in this sequence when Mei and Satsuki climb in the creature closes up around them...well yes! That's what a seat inside a bus that is actually a cat would be like, if there was one! And the little mice that hang on to the cat bus are lights! It's just magnificent.' Not only is it the magic but also the action in Miyazaki-created Ghibli films that amazes Lasseter. 'In Laputa-Castle in the Sky in the rescue scene at the castle inspired a rescue scene in my movie, A Bug's Life' He further shared that 'when we get stuck on an idea at Pixar, I often will get a Miyazaki film and we'd watch it just to get inspired.'

It is not only Lasseter but his brother who was profoundly influenced by Japan. 'My brother was a great designer and he was most inspired by Japanese society. He'd always say this one thing to me: You design something and then you start taking things away until you can take away no more. And that is the essence of Japanese design.'

With his brother's words deeply engraved in his mind, Lasseter recounts that as he travels in Japan, his one deep and lasting impression is that he loves the juxtaposition of the modern and the traditional. 'I love the aspect of Japanese culture that holds on to the heritage while moving forward. In Japan you have the modern and the traditional life side by side. You have the most super modern neighborhoods near the traditional temples and gardens. You have awesome vending machines and you also have beautiful bamboo fountains.' As an animator trained as a traditional principles animator at Walt Disney, he describes such Japanese aesthetics as resonating in him. 'When I started doing computer animation, I never forgot the traditional principles of animation.'

Mr. Lasseter's new movie that just had the world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival is Big Hero 6. 'This is a love letter to Tokyo. We wanted to make up a city where we can combine our two favorite cites in the world, San Francisco and Tokyo-and we created San Fransokyo.'

Image via Tokyo International Film Festival official website.

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