Frenzy Firelight

Am so gonna watch Toy Story 3 this weekend. *fiuhhh, get some me-time at last* As usual, kinda a ritual for me, rite before watching any Pixar’s movie in the cinema, I just have to watch Pixar’s previously released short animations. I love them all, but the best of the best for me is still For the Birds, hehe…

But here’s another good Pixar’s short that ‘opened’ The Incredibles: Boundin’. I put it on top of my fave list because of Bud Luckey.

Who is Bud Luckey? This 76-year-old is describable in 3 words: REMARKABLE. POETIC. ANIMATOR.

Bud Luckey directed the Oscar-nominated Boundin’. Previously worked for Sesame Street, he’s one of the first animators hired at Pixar.

Luckey is also the one who decided that Woody would be a cowboy. *YEEE-HAAAAA…
He in fact designed about 200 versions of Woody, and one of them is picked by John Lasseter. The one that we’ve all known today. Yep, he’s a remarkable animator.

But what I love most about Luckey is his poetic talent. Not only directed Boundin’, he also designed and voiced all of its characters, composed the music, wrote the story and of course sang the song (though I read somewhere that he agreed to sing for the short only after two singers he expected passed away, CMIIW).

The Western rhythm in Boundin’ might not be enjoyable by everyone, but I do praise the poem. Gosh, it’s so motivational and inspirational. It is the true philosophy of Pixar, which has of course been inspired by Ghibli. *oh yes, I’m such a Ghibli fangirl, LOL*

Boundin’ poem written by Bud Luckey

Here’s a story on how strange is life with its changes,
and it happened not long ago.
On a high mountain plain where the sagebrush arranges
a playground south of the snow
lived a lamb with a coat of remarkable sheen
it would glint in the sunlight all sparkly and clean.
Such a source of great pride that it caused him to preen,
and he’d break out in high steps and dance.

He would dance for his neighbors across the way.
I must say that they found his dancing enhancing
for they’d also join in the play.

Then one day…

*this is the part where the proud sheep is kidnapped and dumped back after being sheered, LOL*

Then a boundin’ up the slope
came a great American jackalope.
This sage of the sage, this rare hare of hope
caused to pause and check out the lamb.

“Hey, Kid, why the mope?”

“I used to be something all covered with fluff,
and I’d dance in the sunlight and show off my stuff.
Then they hauled me away in a manner quite rough
and they sheared me and dropped me back here in the buff.
And if that’s not enough, now my friends all laugh at me
’cause they think I look ridiculous, funny and pink.”

“Pink? Pink?! Well, what’s wrong with pink?
Seems you’ve got a pink kink in your think.
Does it matter what color? Well, that gets ‘nope.’
Be it pink, purple or heliotrope.
Now sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down,
When you find that you’re down, well just look around;
You still got a body, good legs and fine feet.
Get your head in the right place and hey, you’re complete!

“Now as for the dancin’, you can do more.
You can reach great heights, in fact you can soar.
You just get a leg up and you slap it on down,
and you’ll find you’re up in what’s called a bound.
Bound, bound and rebound,
bound and you’re up right next to the sky.
And I think you can do it if you give it a try.
First get a leg up, slap it on down.”

So every year, ‘long about May,
they’d load him up and they’d haul him away,
and they’d shave him and dump him all naked and bare.
He learned to live with it, he didn’t care.
He just bound, bound, bound and rebound.

Now in this world of ups and downs,
so nice to know there are jackalopes around.

Another good read:

About Jackalope