PIXAR’S AMERICA The Re-Animation of American Myths and Symbols DIETMAR MEINEL Pixar’s America Dietmar   Meinel Pixar’s America The Re-Animation of American Myths and Symbols Dietmar   Meinel Department of Anglophone Studies University of Duisburg-Essen Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany ISBN 978-3-319-31633-8 ISBN 978-3-319-31634-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-31634-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016950070 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland For my Friends A CKNOWLEDGMENTS In many ways, the following words of gratitude cannot do justice to the immense support, encouragement, and inspiration I have received from so many people in the writing of this book. While writing is a rather solitary endeavor, the intellectual work behind it never is. The assistance, care, and sustenance of an amazing community brought the following pages, indeed the writer of these lines, into being. I am grateful and indebted to all of you. First and foremost, I thank Winfried Fluck. His thinking shaped the very idea of the book and his intellectual rigor enabled me to develop a voice of my own. In particular his insistent encouragement to explore the aesthetic and narrative complexity of the cinematic material became an essential tenet of this book and my work in general. Similarly, with her keen observations and her sharp theoretical thinking, Laura Bieger pro- foundly infl uenced the content of this book, from its structure to its close readings. As a scholar and an instructor Laura fostered my intellectual vocation—from my very fi rst seminar as an undergraduate to the comple- tion of this book. I am also grateful to Donald Pease whose sense of pro- fession taught me an unprecedented passion for intellectual exchange. His generosity in wholeheartedly engaging with my work from the beginning of the project onward provided me with confi dence during moments of doubt; his dedication to my journey also offered me opportunities and experiences which I hold dear. Ahu Tanrisever and Sonja Longolius read and commented on indi- vidual chapters at our wonderful reading group meetings; my cohort at the Graduate School of North American Studies—Ben Robbins, Dorian vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Kantor, Florian Plum, Kate Schweißhelm, Lina Tegtmeyer, Natalia Klimina, Nathan Vanderpool, Rebecca Brückmann, and Ruth Steinhoff— lifted me up when spirit, health, or faith were low. The Graduate School of North American Studies and the John F. Kennedy Institute gave me the opportunity to write my thesis in an intellectually stimulating environ- ment in Berlin, Germany, and abroad. With her heart-warming presence and her patience, Gabi Bodmeier often saved me from my bureaucratic incompetence. At the Department of Anglophone Studies of the University of Duisburg-Essen, I am indebted to Barbara Buchenau for her faith in and support of my work. Of my friends and colleagues at the University of Duisburg-Essen, to all of whom I am grateful for creating a stimulating and supportive environment, I particularly acknowledge Elena Furlanetto, Zohra Hassan, and Courtney Moffett-Bateau. Their astuteness, knowl- edge, and openness have taught me to thrive as an intellectual and as a person. At Palgrave Macmillan I have been lucky to fi nd highly profes- sional support for the book, and thank in particular Lina Aboujieb and Hariharan Venugopal. I am especially grateful for the thoughtful and per- ceptive comments provided by the anonymous reviewers. Earlier versions of Chaps. 6, 7, and 8 were previously published in Animation Studies, Volume 8 (2013), NECSUS European Journal for Media Studies (Spring 2014), and European Journal of American Culture, Volume 33, Issue 3 (2014), respectively. A section of the introduction appeared in the volume Rereading the Machine in the Garden (2014) edited by Eric Erbacher, Nicole Maruo-Schröder, and Florian Sedlmeier. I am grateful for the per- mission to reproduce material here. The friendship of many wonderful people has inspired and uplifted me during the research and writing. I deeply appreciate their belief in me. My parents and my sister supported me even when my path appeared hazard- ous and disheartening. I thank Hajo and Kay, for without you, none of this would exist. C ONTENTS 1 Exceptional Animation: An Introduction 1 From Failure to Fame: The Pixar Studio and Digital Animation 3 Animating Revolt or Monstrous Beings? 9 All Ages Admitted 19 “Every Line Drawn, Object Moved, and Shape Changed” 20 Animating the Myths and Symbols of American Culture 22 Remediating the Myths and Symbols of American Culture 28 2 “You Better Play Nice”: Digital Enchantment and the Performance of Toyness in Toy Story (1995) 45 Fearful Sheriff Dolls and Oblivious Space-Ranger Action Figures 47 Stupid, Little, Insignifi cant Toys 50 The Space-Traveling American Adam 52 The Enchanting Performance of Toyness 55 3 An Animated Toast to the Ephemeral: The Multicultural Logic of Late Capitalism in Toy Story 2 (1999) 61 The Multicultural Myth of Woody, Buzz, and Bill 63 A Postmodern Toy Story 66 The Digital Logic of Late Capitalism 70 A Toast to the Ephemeral 71 ix