Pixar exhibition celebrates 25 years Woody devotees, Nemo zealots and WALL-E fanatics are all making their way to Amsterdam to visit a new celebratory exhibition, entitled "Pixar: 25 Years of Animation." With more than 500 original pieces from the Pixar Animation Studios archives in California, it looks to reveal the stories behind the stories. And as Belinda van Valkenberg, Pixar's Shading Director explains, illustrators start early with months researching everything they end up drawing:"Every little thing has to be designed. From the tiniest cup to the smallest doorknob. For "Ratatouille" we took cooking classes, and studied pots and pans. For "Finding Nemo," we went to Hawaii for diving lessons. "Toy Story 3" was less fun. We stood in the middle of a garbage dump at night. It was windy, dirt got in our teeth... so yeah, we can go pretty far. The exhibition reveals where the initial ideas for Pixar's animated classics came from and includes original models, unique animation installations, storyboards, sketches and clay figures. For Elyse Klaidman, Director of Pixar University and Archive Curator, the exhibition is offering fans a rare behind-the-scenes insight into the movies they love: "In our films, you don't get anything for free. Everything has to designed, everything! So you have that idea, the director starts talking about what this idea should be and the team of artists start bring into life visually the characters, the worlds, the colour, the light. And that's what you see in this exhibition. Pixar's celebratory exhibition has been touring Europe but will be based in Amsterdam until October 27. More about: Animation film, Exhibition