Friday, January 20, 2006

Pixar Goodies

Quite possibly my worst investment decision so far in the 21st century was selling the bulk of my PIXAR stock − then around $30, now closer to $60 and going up fast on takeover speculation. (A sale to Disney for a rumoured $6.8bn would make Steve Jobs a director and major shareholder in the Magic Kingdom.)

Owning those shares was fun, not just because of the steady capital gains, but because every year they sent their shareholders a little gift of Pixar goodies, such as limited edition Toy Story posters!

We recently watched two Pixar animations on DVD for the first time. Monsters Inc. may not have quite the same level of voice talent as Finding Nemo, but it is on balance I think the more enjoyable of the pair; for adults at least. The old fashioned fishy quest (based on John Ford's The Searchers) has a more detailed and beautiful animated setting, but Monsters has more of the daring originality of conception that characterises Pixar's most outstanding animations: The Incredibles and the Toy Story series.

Toy Story 3 is due out in 2008: Buzz Lightyear gets sent back to Taiwan for repair!

The Observer 's Philip French sees Monsters Inc. as an allegory about modern America whose blue collar heroes help shady capitalists accumulate profit from the affliction of outsiders, people for whom they in turn have come to harbour an irrational fear!

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