When Toy Story and A Bug’s Life became enormous hits, Pixar and Catmull faced the new
challenge of staggering success. Catmull made certain that Pixar’s “artists and technical
people” always regarded one another as equals, and he never treated either group as a
favorite. By always asking people what was bothering them at work, Catmull learned that
“being on the lookout for problems…was not the same as seeing problems.” He also saw
that doing meaningful work went beyond making hits. Fostering “a creative culture that
would continually ask questions” mattered more. Making Toy Story generated Pixar’s two
defining, enduring “creative principles”: “Story Is King” and “Trust the Process.” Every film goes through numerous, tortuous rewrites, an intrinsic part of the process, which
includes rigorous discussion and dismantling every shot and scene.