I am accidently ripping off Pixar!

#1

I am in the middle of production on a new short film entitled: Annabelle’s Bistro. It is a film about a dog who lives in a french bistro and the daily adventures she encounters. An original song is being written for the film, which makes this a musical of sorts. I wrote the story back in 2003, and have worked on it here and there since then. I kicked into full force production on the film in December 2005.

I find out today that Pixar is working on a film about a rat who lives in a french resturant and the daily adventures he encounters.

So, I have a difficult choice. I do not want to be viewed as “ripping off” the Greatest Animation house out there, so I should probibly abandon the Idea and come up with a new one…

…At the same time, I have put a considerable amount of work into it so far and I really like the idea.

I need the communities advice. What should I do about this sticky situation I now find myself in?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

-Matt Forcum

#2

rename the movie to luigis pasta pot and set it in an italian restaurant lol…but seriously i understand the problem you are in, its a tough thing i encountered the same thing while making a comic and then a movie with like a million of SAME stuff got out i went nuts, hope you succeed in solving this situation

#3

aww that sucks.

Something like that happened to me. For my class I made a little animation about suburbia development where little houses come and crush the farmland and distroy the trees and all that… I found this awesome song that I used for my soundtrack by Melvina Reynolds “Little boxes… on the hillside little boxes made of ticky tacky, little boxes on the hillside little boxes all the same” which is PERFECT for my animation right? … Well after presenting my work some student pipes up saying that it reminds him of this new show called “Weeds”. I had not heard about the show so I check it out and to my dismay the intro to the show they have little houses in suburbia and they use the exact same song I used! :argh:

I thought my idea was original but now it looks like I copied the intro to this show. I still put it in my online gallery of student work, but to avoid any comparisons or copyright issues I decided to not use the song and have my friend mix some loops and soundeffects in the backround. Oh well… I really dont know what to say about your situation, it would suck for you to quit a project you have been working on for so long, you know? I hope someone here can shine some light on what is the appropiate thing for you to do. :hmm:

#4

Antz and Bugs Life
Nemo and Sharks Tale
Madagscar and The Wild

These all got away with it! :slight_smile:
seriously as long as it’s not plagarism you can get away with a coincidence or two!

#5

I know that similar films are often made at the same times for finacial reasons or just sheer luck, but I don’t have the pull of a major animation house. And I am looking for some attention in the form of film festivals and professional work.

The last thing I want is to be considered a “copier”

I am looking for release dates for Ratatouille. From what I can tell its still Summer 2007. Which means I will be completing my film within months of the release. Thats pretty close together.

Well, At least I know that I can come up with ideas good enough that Pixar wants to make them into films!

#6

Thats a good way to look at it :smiley:

#7

well unless you’re planning a worldwide theatrical release of your film, then your worries are pretty ridiculous. your project will be so much further under the radar than pixar’s that i’m sure no one will really even notice. besides, i doubt the main story points are even remotely the same.

#8

No matter what you do, even if an idea is really unique, there will be someone who will be able to find a comparison to something else. It does not even take much usually.

I mean, I often hear people comparing certain orchestral tracks… they hear one track, and then they hear another that happens to have the same instrument in it and they will come to the conclusion that the two are alike, regardless of melody or orchestration differances.

I would not worry too much, the setting could be the same but just make sure the story does not bear too much resemblance throughout :smiley:

#9

I HATE that. I’ve had that happen to me in multiple areas. I come up with a great story idea and find out it’s already taken. I start to write a piece of music only to hear one of the themes in someone else’s work.

I try to take the same viewpoint you mentioned: if your ideas are getting thought of in the professional world, they must be good ones–which means you’ll eventually come up with some great ideas that no one has thought of. :smiley:

#10

Man, have I got thát t-shirt!

Every now & then I have this problem.

I don’t mind too much, and just finish my work, I can work on it with a clear conscience.

Comparisons however áre nasty. People don’t take you seriously when you say you thought of it yourself…as if no more than one guy could create something.

I for one always consider, when I see something that might be a ripoff, that the creators could’ve actually thought of it themselves and were being original.
Then I just judge their work like I do with any other.

Benefit of the doubt.
[i]
-anecdote-

(recently saw a short -about a balloon- posted on this forum. The people who made it live only few miles away from me -same little country-, and the fist minute of it is EXACTLY like a cartoon I made a decade ago. This cartoon never left my drawer and I haven’t even told anyone about it!! Same camera angles, same jokes…really freaky…but not inexplicable…
maybe we’ve seen the same t.v. show 15 years ago or something and forgot about it.)
[/i]

But anyway, I wouldn’t worry too much. Any smart guy would give you the benefit of the doubt.

Don’t get me wrong, as I like your concept, but it’s not something noone else could ever think of.
Sensible people will understand.
(man am I calling myself sensible right now…>?! this is getting terrible, goodbye!)

#11

That’s happened with me with matrix: I was writing a similar novel when matrix appeared in the theathers.
More recently, I came up with an idea for a fantasy novel but then I noticed some similarities with LOTR. I don’t care: I’m currently working on the novel, trying to differentiate when I can.

#12

dont worrry the idea that nothing is original is something that rings true… every love story can be summed up or even compaired to romeo and juliet…

i would run with it… even tounge and cheek it where you explain your time line the coiencidence and the fact that yours is better :slight_smile: but anyways as long as it aint a frame by frame copy you should be fine cause i am sure that idea has been used in children’s books before

#13

Thanks for your comments and suggestions guys. For now, I am going to just run with it and see what happens.

I will be exploring other options for stories, but for now, its just to good of a story to throw away.

The next year or so will be quite interesting as Pixar and I rush to get our respective films completed :). It will be interesting to see just how many similarites or differences there are between the two. I will be sure to keep up on the development on my blog. (just to keep the record straight that I am not purposly stealing their idea.:D)

thanks again!

-Matt Forcum

#14

Think Nike will get mad?

#15

im sure i read somewhere - There are a limited amount of stories, but an unlimited way of telling them’ - something like that.

#16

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