It's nearly as much fun to read about the evolution of Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and other films. This fanatical attention to detail, combined with top-notch talent and a certain amount of humility on the part of the team when it comes to accepting that some creative ideas must be thrown out in service of quality, demonstrates itself again on subsequent projects. For example, to find the dynamic between Woody and Buzz, they watched a series of buddy movies and studied the mannerisms of the voice actors.

The book's real treat, though, comes when Price discusses the development of the groundbreaking movie Toy Story, a project that underwent many changes from conception to final version, driven by the stubborn commitment of John Lasseter and other leads to get everything right.

We see its tumultuous history with the cantankerous Apple founder and an increasingly corporate Disney. We learn about Pixar's early days trying to find its way as a subsidiary of Lucasfilm, and its struggles to stay afloat after being purchased by Steve Jobs. Price begins in the 1970s with the backstories of the company's key members, and proceeds forward, providing an engaging condensed history of computer graphics and animation along the way. I think anyone who's a fan of Pixar's films will enjoy this well-researched, thoroughly readable book.

The Pixar Touch by David A. Price