What's Mr. Purcell Doing?

edited May 2011 in Sam & Max
So here we are, in between seasons. It's almost TOO clear that there are no plans of a fourth season at the moment. So, what's Steve doing? Is he there at the office? You keep him there sitting? Is he with you there?

Hey Steve! How are you, my man! How you doin? What do you think of Dreamworks' Puss in Boots movie? Those guys are ridicilous, am I right? Could you rate me on how I look? I took on my best pose just for my main man!
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Comments

  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2011
    Since Telltale started, Steve's day job has been at Pixar. That's where he probably is most of the time to this very day. And/or he's kept in storage in the mystery space bonus office hidden in the back of our real office.
  • edited March 2011
    He was working on Cars 2 IIRC, that's going to be premiered soon
  • edited March 2011
    crfh wrote: »
    He was working on Cars 2 IIRC, that's going to be premiered soon

    Poor guy. I hated the first one.
  • edited March 2011
    Ergh, Cars. The one Pixar film I hate.
  • edited March 2011
    It's the one Pixar film everyone but me seems to hate. Incidentally, it's the only Pixar film I've never seen.

    My sister was in the hospital for a month the year we got it for Christmas, and my family watched it a few times over there without me, and it hasn't been viewed over here ever since.
  • edited March 2011
    All of the Pixar films can be enjoyed equally by children and adults... except Cars. Which seems to appeal very well to children (under 12) whereas adults thought it was pretty ordinary. But it's been very successful (especially in toy sales) so a sequel was inevitable.
  • edited March 2011
    Molokov wrote: »
    All of the Pixar films can be enjoyed equally by children and adults... except Cars. Which seems to appeal very well to children (under 12) whereas adults thought it was pretty ordinary. But it's been very successful (especially in toy sales) so a sequel was inevitable.

    But now it has Michael Caine so all's good.

    Seriously, my only problem with the film is that there are sidewalks for no reason.
  • edited March 2011
    plus then after that there's "brave"...

    But then we get Monster Inc 2, so thats cool!
  • edited March 2011
    Steve needs to convince those PIXAR kids that Sam and Max would make an excellent film.
  • edited March 2011
    Irishmile wrote: »
    Steve needs to convince those PIXAR kids that Sam and Max would make an excellent film.

    Steve has said before that he's not interested in letting Pixar adapt Sam and Max, because the Freelance Police wouldn't mix well with Pixar's style.

    But yeah, Steve has never been an official Telltale employee. His involvement with the games has been more as an advisor than anything else.

    He's said he'd like to do a new Sam and Max comic someday, but Pixar's keeping him pretty busy.
  • edited March 2011
    Steve has said before that he's not interested in letting Pixar adapt Sam and Max, because the Freelance Police wouldn't mix well with Telltale's style.

    wat
  • edited March 2011
    I love Cars... I am DYING to the see the next one.

    I'll just go away now and shut up forever 'cos I seem to go off topic with bloody everything.
  • edited March 2011
    D'oh. I meant Pixar's style. Damn typing on auto-pilot...
  • edited March 2011
    D'oh. I meant Pixar's style. Damn typing on auto-pilot...

    Well, that's something.

    That's sadly true. Flawless, beautiful animation comes with a price if we're talking about characters that don't fit the general archetype of a CGI movie character. But, you know, movie industry has always marked their accomplishments with doing things out of ordinary, who's to say a possible Pixar movie starring Sam and Max, that retains their humor that everyone loves, will not completely change the way we look at animation? I think that's a risk some people should try to take, and I can't think of any other fictional duo fitting such a role.
  • edited March 2011
    I always thought the "Pixar Style" Meant the children's movies they make. So a Sam and Max movie would be too risky with Pixar's reputation.
  • edited March 2011
    Remolay wrote: »
    I always thought the "Pixar Style" Meant the children's movies they make. So a Sam and Max movie would be too risky with Pixar's reputation.
    Falanca wrote: »
    But, you know, movie industry has always marked their accomplishments with doing things out of ordinary, who's to say a possible Pixar movie starring Sam and Max, that retains their humor that everyone loves, will not completely change the way we look at animation? I think that's a risk some people should try to take, and I can't think of any other fictional duo fitting such a role.

    I still say such self restrictions are harmful more than helpful for any company or individual. If it's good, it's good. Would it be controversial? Yes. Creative thinking always baffles people that aren't used to do so. But in my vision, it would be successful.
  • edited March 2011
    Remolay wrote: »
    I always thought the "Pixar Style" Meant the children's movies they make. So a Sam and Max movie would be too risky with Pixar's reputation.

    what?
  • edited March 2011
    Remolay wrote: »
    I always thought the "Pixar Style" Meant the children's movies they make. So a Sam and Max movie would be too risky with Pixar's reputation.

    Not really. Pixar's always sort of abided by Walt Disney's old philosophy of "making movies children aren't ashamed to take their parents to." There's a difference between being for children and being for all ages.

    Look at The Incredibles. That's a pretty adult movie. I don't mean "adult" in the sense of having lots of sex and violence (though it was pretty violent as far as PG movies go), but actually being adult. Before we get to see all the cool superhero fights kids came to watch, we have Mr. Incredible going through job issues, family issues, and just all-around being discontent with his life. And they've been going more and more in that direction. I can pretty much promise the adults watching Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 got more out of it than the kids did. Being too "adult" isn't a problem, especially since Sam and Max can be made light and kid-friendly with little effort. (See the cartoon and, to a lesser extent, Telltale's first two seasons.)

    I think it's more that Sam and Max clashes with what Pixar's aiming for. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Sam and Max, and I'm not saying it should try to be more deep and complex (although the ending to 305 proved such a thing can work). But Sam and Max just isn't about being complex. It's about two crazy characters living in an even crazier world and going on a never-ending series of increasingly deranged adventures. That isn't a bad thing at all, but Pixar doesn't want to be nothing but comedy. They want to prove that animation is art, and that you can feel for a cartoon character just as much as you can a live actor. I'm not Steve Purcell and I can't speak on his behalf, but I'm guessing that was what he meant.

    Then again, I'm sure a Sam and Max movie would be a step up from Cars 2. :p
  • edited March 2011
    Wow, everyone hated Cars? I hated Ratatouille the most (it's too long for its own good). Everything else Pixar made is great.

    Anyway, Pixar better give Steve Purcell some more free time so we can get a new Sam and Max comic!
  • edited March 2011
    So basically, Sam & Max might be a better fit for Dreamworks?

    ...Nah.
  • edited March 2011
    I think also it could be that all Pixar movies have a moral were Sam and Max rarely do.
  • edited March 2011
    monsters inc has always been my favorite pixar movie, A Sam & Max movie does sound pretty cool tho I must admit
  • edited March 2011
    Falanca wrote: »
    Well, that's something.

    That's sadly true. Flawless, beautiful animation comes with a price if we're talking about characters that don't fit the general archetype of a CGI movie character. But, you know, movie industry has always marked their accomplishments with doing things out of ordinary, who's to say a possible Pixar movie starring Sam and Max, that retains their humor that everyone loves, will not completely change the way we look at animation? I think that's a risk some people should try to take, and I can't think of any other fictional duo fitting such a role.

    Agreeing with most of your points. To be honest, I've been kind of hoping that Pixar would take itself in another direction when it came to storytelling. It's great at hooking in a diversity of audiences with themes that reach out to many people, and managing to keep concepts fresh (I'm astounded they managed to make a Toy Story 3) - but that's kind of turned into a bit of a comfort zone, and it'd be cool for them to push their boundaries a little, even if everyone won't exactly like it.

    Granted, the subjects don't have to be Sam and Max - though that would be quite cool, indeed. While Telltale has managed to succeed in putting a narrative that lasts hours to a series of shenanigans that eventually lead up to something, I am a bit skeptical of how anyone would pull of a complete feature film.

    If they could, though - that would be something to see.
  • edited March 2011
    1nky wrote: »
    Granted, the subjects don't have to be Sam and Max - though that would be quite cool, indeed. While Telltale has managed to succeed in putting a narrative that lasts hours to a series of shenanigans that eventually lead up to something, I am a bit skeptical of how anyone would pull of a complete feature film.

    If they could, though - that would be something to see.

    Well, if Pixar sets their minds on such a thing, I believe the first thing they would think of working on would be Sam and Max. Or... If they ever wanted to make a movie with a lot of cartoon violence and downright absurdity -without the use of crude imagery and language, or well, not TOO many of'em -, they would question if they could do it BECAUSE of the availability of Sam and Max to them. If we talk about Pixar, I can think of nothing else. I mean, what else they can work on, other than an IP? South Park? Beavis and Butthead? Those are just too risky and kind of pointless. Taking all these risks and working on an IP would also be just a waste of good marketing opportunity, as there are already many people who are fans of Sam and Max.

    Filling 90 minutes with a Sam and Max kind of storyline, characters and dialouges would be the easiest thing, I believe. I wonder why you are skeptical about that, above all other things.
  • edited March 2011
    How about Sam and Max in a Pixar short? That might work.
  • edited March 2011
    I'd love that :D
  • edited March 2011
    I think what 1nky means is similar to a quote from Purcell that Sam and Max work best in short doses, which capture the surealism of the original without having to explain Non sequiturs in exposition. I don't believe this is always true as Sam and Max are so flexable. Probably my first option for a film story would be a standard crime story with a villain or number two would be a road trip.
  • edited March 2011
    I think what 1nky means is similar to a quote from Purcell that Sam and Max work best in short doses, which capture the surealism of the original without having to explain Non sequiturs in exposition. I don't believe this is always true as Sam and Max are so flexable. Probably my first option for a film story would be a standard crime story with a villain or number two would be a road trip.

    It always varies within the motives of whoever the villain is. The surroundings Sam and Max has to go through depends on the plan of the villain. Sam and Max is there to narrate and make jokes about the places and the bad guy. So in the end, get a creative bad guy and write him an elaborate yet totally ABSURD goal, and you'll get a good movie scenario for Sam and Max.
  • edited March 2011
    So basically, Sam & Max might be a better fit for Dreamworks?

    ...Nah.

    dream works sucks. "monsters vs aliens"? wtf kind of movie title is that?
  • edited March 2011
    dream works sucks. "monsters vs aliens"? wtf kind of movie title is that?

    I know right? I can't even think of anything that can be successful bearing a title very similar to this!
  • edited March 2011
    dream works sucks. "monsters vs aliens"? wtf kind of movie title is that?

    The title sucked, but I really enjoyed the movie. At any rate, "Monsters vs. Aliens" is better than "Cowboys & Aliens".
  • edited March 2011
    well sam & max worked for a kids cartoon, then maybe...

    nah
  • mDtmDt
    edited March 2011
    mathman77 wrote: »
    Wow, everyone hated Cars? I hated Ratatouille the most (it's too long for its own good). Everything else Pixar made is great.

    YOU'RE DEAD TO ME, CAN OPENER!

    I loved Ratatouille. Maybe it's because I love Patton Oswalt or maybe I like how it's animals and a human world.

    I think what I hated about Cars the most was the obvious car jokes (Bar-har-har, dipstick reference, bar-har-har), the inclusion of Larry The Cable Guy (Look, I know he's "based" on, or in tribute of, the guy who worked for Pixar who died in a bridge accident, but it came at such a time where I was entirely sick of redneck jokes), and the fact that it was a world where cars are the humans. I not really a guy for realism or anything, I'll watch a lot of the animal world Dreamworks stuff like Madagascar and Kung-Fu Panda, but at least animals are already equipped with character and personality. Even Toy Story, almost all the toys had faces, and if they didn't, it's not like suddenly a set of eyes and a mouth were sprouting on them when Andy wasn't around. If it was an inanimate object that came to life, the properties of that object didn't change when he left. I think the only movie I enjoyed that did that was most likely Brave Little Toaster, and part of that was probably because I have fonder memories of it as a child. Cars seems like a caricature, and there's something about the style of it that I didn't like.

    What's funny is that there's a webcomic (I'll post it if I can find it) where it shows stick figure guys pitching all the ideas for Pixar movies, weaving them as deeply-knit stories, but when it shows what's happening at Dreamworks, it's just "Animals are doing things that animals don't normally do. And they all make this one face." "Brilliant." That's what Cars feels like to me - Cars doing things that Cars aren't normally supposed to do. And Lightning McQueen MAKES the face (Half a smile, one eyebrow up). To me, How To Train Your Dragon should have been Pixar, and Cars should have been Dreamworks.

    EDIT:

    30jtvs6.jpg

    This comic also brings up Wall-E which I didn't really see too many people mention in this thread - that's not entirely a squeaky-clean movie. The world has gotten so careless and lazy, depending on machines, that they destroy their planet and live in a space station where they all ride hovering scooter beds and have little to no experience walking anymore? That's pretty bleak, even by Disney standards.

    There was an interview with Maurice Sendek on the Where The Wild Things Are DVD where he said he only signed off on the movie because he knew Spike Jonze understood that the movie had to be
    "dangerous." That's what I like about some of the Pixar flicks, and why I think it's still pretty cool that Purcell is over there right now, even though I hate the Cars franchise. I think Pixar still understands that in order to make something that both children and adults can enjoy, you can't keep everything too sheltered. You have to push boundaries.

    As for what individual people at Pixar have done... has anybody else seen "Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown?"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=codEc4P016E

    ^ Made by Jim Reardon, who worked for The Simpsons, Tiny Toon Adventures, and also co-wrote Wall-E, when he was a student at CalArts.
  • edited March 2011
    Falanca wrote: »
    Well, if Pixar sets their minds on such a thing, I believe the first thing they would think of working on would be Sam and Max. Or... If they ever wanted to make a movie with a lot of cartoon violence and downright absurdity -without the use of crude imagery and language, or well, not TOO many of'em -, they would question if they could do it BECAUSE of the availability of Sam and Max to them. If we talk about Pixar, I can think of nothing else. I mean, what else they can work on, other than an IP? South Park? Beavis and Butthead? Those are just too risky and kind of pointless. Taking all these risks and working on an IP would also be just a waste of good marketing opportunity, as there are already many people who are fans of Sam and Max.

    Filling 90 minutes with a Sam and Max kind of storyline, characters and dialouges would be the easiest thing, I believe. I wonder why you are skeptical about that, above all other things.

    Whoa, wait - I don't think that if Pixar had to move in this direction, they'd pick Sam and Max - they would pick a new idea altogether. What I'm saying is that I guess it's doable, considering what other people have manged to pull off, using subject matter that's usually spontaneous and all over the place.

    I honestly don't think it would be that easy, though. It could just be me used to certain formats, however...
  • edited March 2011
    1nky wrote: »
    Whoa, wait - I don't think that if Pixar had to move in this direction, they'd pick Sam and Max - they would pick a new idea altogether. What I'm saying is that I guess it's doable, considering what other people have manged to pull off, using subject matter that's usually spontaneous and all over the place.

    Well, everything said after this point can just be assumptions. But I don't know, they have Steve Purcell over there and they have a moderately sized fanbase over here. It just seems easy to me, definitely more than "doable".
    mDt wrote: »
    [...]awesome comic[...]

    I love the Pixar stickmen in that comic. Especially the one in the far right, opening his arms like "see the world from my eyes for one second". Oh my god so adorable.

    I'd like to add Puss in Boots to that "Dreamworks generalization" by the way.
  • edited March 2011
    The title sucked, but I really enjoyed the movie. At any rate, "Monsters vs. Aliens" is better than "Cowboys & Aliens".

    sorry but i really lost interest in dream works after Shrek 3
  • edited March 2011
    sorry but i really lost interest in dream works after Shrek 3

    Ah...i thought the same thing...shrek 3 was horrible. Simply horrible. Anywho, steve will continue the comic when he feels up to it i presume.
  • edited March 2011
    I dont think a cartoon of Sam and max made by Pixar would be any good. Besides Purcell himself said so. I wouldn't mind a new cartoon show of Sam and max, as long as it can be somewhat faithful to the original comics. Also. I would be furious if Dreamworks adapts Sam and Max. I don't want them to do it just to pop culturdize it and add stuff into it thats not even part of the original comics.
  • edited March 2011
    Pixar should talk to Valve about a TF2 movie :P

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxMtGXdndzU

    2 hours film could be fun :D
  • edited March 2011
    It's the one Pixar film everyone but me seems to hate. Incidentally, it's the only Pixar film I've never seen.

    My sister was in the hospital for a month the year we got it for Christmas, and my family watched it a few times over there without me, and it hasn't been viewed over here ever since.

    I seem to be part of a small minority of this issue, actually. A lot of people hated this film, and I don't know why. It wasn't great, but it certainly wasn't bad.

    On a side note, Sam and Max would make a wonderful pixar film, if it weren't for one small problem. The rating. Apparently, it's against the law or something to have Pixar release a film that's over the PG rating. They have to convince kids to watch this, remember?

    Sam and Max for kids has been done before, but there's a limited scope of what they could accomplish in terms of groundbreaking Pixar movies. The whole point of a Sam and Max movie would be that it's an excellent way to get away with the things that they can't do on television or in the video games. If you took away that privilege, it would just seemed like an extended episode of the TV show.

    Also, I think that it would be pretty hard to sell the idea of a six-foot-tall anthropomorphic dog and a three-foot-tall hyper-kinetic rabbity-thing to a six-year-old sitting in the theater with his overprotective mother.

    In short, I don't think a Sam and Max Pixar movie would work out. It would probably just end up being a huge disappointment to both fans of the series, and to incoming moviegoers who don't even know what a lagomorph is.
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