Chris Evans on Pixar Making Us Cry and 'Lightyear's Sox Appeal

After a full year of being marooned on this plane, our first test flight is a go. But get everyone home. Good luck, Captain. We're counting on you! Roger that. This movie is a super fun sci-fi adventure movie, but about 25 minutes in, I'm sitting there crying in the theater because it's Pixar. What is their magic? What is their secret to getting us so emotional? God, I don't know how they do it. It's just that combination of story and character and music. I mean, they just nail it. I remember the first time I saw Up, I saw it with a buddy of mine. There were two 30-something guys watching a movie, and I didn't know it was going to be the best love story of all time in the first 10 minutes. And you're sobbing right away. I don't know what their magic is, but they just know how to do it. You know, I think, for me, it's edutainment, right? It's finding a way to tell interesting stories that also not just impact children, but impact the adults that are watching with the kids. It's that co-viewing experience where you both get something to take away from the project. I think that's definitely what Lightyear has to offer. I think they're not afraid to go there, either. You know, I think they do a really great job entrusting children with challenging topics and confronting, you know, emotional territory maybe perhaps sometimes others stay away from. I think it actually helps to enrich the story rather than scare or take away. I mean, like, all of these films, they just get you again and again. And you're like, I'm not going to fall for it. It's pull you in. And I think it's the worlds that they create super relatable characters and also very universal, relatable themes. And the same with this one, you know, don't let the mistakes of the past define you and hold you back. You know, you've got to let go of the past, stop living in the past. Pixar does a good job of creating characters and then putting them through the ringer. And I think that's really what you want in a film. As far as the tears, we have a whole wing at the studio for this kind of thing. When the film is ready, we're able to put it into this special algorithm for crying. And they tell us if it's sad enough. It's like a variation on Monsters, Inc. It's like not screams, not laughter. The tear factory, yeah, that's awesome. Probability of survival with an inexperienced crew is 38.2%. Seems a bit low. You're getting to see this, you know, pieces of this as they're making it. What did you think as you saw the sci-fi universe they were putting around this character? I mean, it was exciting. From the very first time I actually went in and had a meeting with them, they already had, you know, pictures on the wall and ideas of what the locations and characters would look like. And for me, I was just a kid in the candy store. I mean, it was all exciting. I was over the moon every step of the way. We definitely wanted to sort of avoid that clean, crisp CG, no, nobody's touched the surface kind of thing. I mean, it's, things have gotten very pristine. And so we were looking back towards the 80s and towards the 70s, using the use of practical models and the warmth that those have. So, you know, surfaces have to have curves to them and thickness to them and all this, the stuff that practical models provide that CG basically doesn't. You have to really work at it to make CG look that way. And so that was really our focus is to try to give it that tactile feeling. My mission is to help you and I'm not giving up on my mission. I'm not giving up either. Great, would you like a frosted snack cake to celebrate? The audience loves Socks. Did you know when you're coming up with a character like that, like, oh, this is coming together, that this character is really popping? Socks came together really early into the process and we immediately recognized the value of that. And that was never the problem. Socks was always like, oh, well, if we have a story problem, let's put Socks in there and have him solve it. A good key to actors is what the reaction in the film is to whatever that action is, you know? And Socks is the reactor. He's got an opinion about everything, right? And it's fun because that's kind of who we are as an audience. Socks is about big dudes like Puss in Boots. Yeah, yeah. Socks and everything, people, people, people. Yes. I mean, love him. I bought you five minutes ago. With a little... I mean, he had all the type of tools and gags. Yes. Hilarious. Love Socks. Wanna Socks. It's gonna be, I mean, you know, what happened with Grogu. It's gonna be on that level, I think. I mean, I've already got two, like, my daughter's one Socks each. And they're obsessed by this little guy. God, people love Socks. I mean, he's pretty great, isn't he? I'm obsessed with Socks, so I have no doubt the world will feel the same. To infinity. And.