He also shared with us the time-consuming nature of creating films.  Each movie takes four to six years, with the exception of “Brave,” which took seven. It’s amazing how easily we watch simple 90-minute movies without realizing the dedication, planning and hard work that went in to creating every single frame. Tanaka started working at Pixar during the production of the first “Cars” movie. He said he watched the transformation of the film from start to finish.

“Over the course of a year, I saw chicken scratches of storyboards evolve into beautifully rendered cars, the lighting came on the polish of the vehicles, the background became a road with pavement and I was just in awe.”

Tanaka said Pixar stays true to its values, and puts the audience above all else. Pixar’s values of happiness, thoroughness in detail, and love of movies were exhibited throughout the building. Our fantasies bubble to life at Pixar, knowing we are in the midst of the creators of some of the most classic and best-loved movies ever. It’s a fantasy that one day we will get to work there and help create new movies with characters that haven’t been created yet. If we succeed in bringing this fantasy to reality,  then we will help make other kids’ dreams come to life someday.