When Peter Sohn, director of Pixar’s newest film The Good Dinosaur, was studying 2D animation at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in the mid 90s, there had to be a feature film made using the 3D computer technology that dominates animation today. In a recent interview with Dork Shelf, Sohn describes his feelings and circumstances in which he first saw the Pixar film that changed everything: Toy Story. Sohn also speaks about working on films like The Iron Giant and Osmosis Jones before learning 3D animation at Pixar, the changes he made when he was brought on to direct the already-in-production Good Dinosaur, the choice to have the character designs clash with their photorealistic environment, and of course, what’s on his Dork Shelf.
