{"id":2107,"date":"2026-03-09T17:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?p=2107"},"modified":"2026-03-09T17:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:26:16","slug":"andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrew Stanton on the Art of the Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Andrew Stanton is something of a storytelling savant. As vice president of creative at Pixar, he has helped write every \u201cToy Story\u201d film\u2014including the upcoming fifth installment\u2014along with \u201cMonsters, Inc.,\u201d \u201cA Bug\u2019s Life,\u201d \u201cFinding Nemo,\u201d \u201cFinding Dory,\u201d and \u201cWALL-E\u201d (the latter three he also directed).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Stanton has moved into live-action work, overseeing episodes of \u201c3 Body Problem,\u201d \u201cBetter Call Saul,\u201d \u201cLegion,\u201d and \u201cStranger Things,\u201d as well as the Disney sci-fi blockbuster movie \u201cJohn Carter.\u201d In March 2012, he gave an inspiring TED Talk entitled \u201cThe clues to a great story<\/a>,\u201d which broke down his storytelling secrets in a hilarious and informative manner.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Stanton\u2019s latest film, \u201cIn the Blink of an Eye\u201d (streaming on Hulu), may be his most ambitious project yet. The multi-narrative sci-fi drama is set thousands of years apart, connecting a Neanderthal family, present-day scientists, and astronauts on a spaceship centuries into the future. At its heart, the film asks what similarities and humanity we all share\u2014no matter where we are in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What attracted Stanton to the project was the way Colby Day\u2019s script subtly tried to answer that question. \u201cI tried really hard to capture that in film form,\u201d he says. Here, Stanton shares what four decades of storytelling have taught him.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be rigid<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When asked what elements make a story work, Stanton can\u2019t help but laugh, \u201cOh, gosh! You\u2019re gonna make me quantify it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He admits that in the decades since he established himself in Hollywood, his approach to writing has evolved. \u201cTen or 20 years ago, I\u2019d have been very rigid about what to do. But I\u2019m not like that now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having spent years absorbing everything he could about storytelling and structure, Stanton now prefers to write instinctively. \u201cI want to play the instrument and see what comes out intuitively. I get a little bored if I map it out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, leaning too hard on that experience and knowledge backfires\u2014overanalyzing a script can kill the very inspiration that got him interested in the project in the first place. \u201cWe call that analysis paralysis,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I do that, I just need to get excited again and discover something else about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Cinematographer Ole Bratt Birkeland and Director Andrew Stanton on the set of IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. Credit: Searchlight Pictures\/Kimberley French<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Part of the appeal of working in live-action for Stanton is the room it creates for spontaneous inspiration while filming. He\u2019ll often move the camera or change course mid-scene to try and spark a moment that he hadn\u2019t envisioned. \u201cObviously working at Pixar, I get carte blanche, but it\u2019s like trying to turn an aircraft carrier. With filming, you can pivot in the moment on set. It\u2019s very different ways to try and get the same result, which is having a story that captures you and keeps you glued.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence can be golden<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the mantras that Stanton has lived by as a storyteller is the power of \u201ctwo plus two.\u201d Rather than telling audiences the answers to questions, he wants them to come to the conclusion on their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stanton says his film that sums up this approach most purely is \u201cWALL-E,\u201d the 2008 romantic, sci-fi, animated film that has minimal dialogue in its opening 30 minutes. \u201cI was watching so much silent cinema as research and seeing what they did so well.\u201d It was during this research that Stanton realized silence \u201cwas more impactful than a David Mamet movie where everybody talks. They\u2019re both amazing, but, when it\u2019s done right, there is just so much power to silent cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost two decades later, people still stop Stanton to talk to him about what he achieved with the opening half hour of the film. For Stanton, it only reinforces what he always believed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something only cinema can do. It can make you have all these complex thoughts and feelings just by watching something. Sometimes dialogue can complement that. But cinema is a visual medium. I just want to play with it in all the different ways I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs in IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. Credit: Searchlight Pictures\/Kimberley French<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The power of the human face<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

For Stanton, one of the most undervalued weapons in cinematic storytelling is hiding in plain sight: the human face. Viewers, he says, always gravitate to the eyes of whoever is onscreen, which means a director\u2019s most important job is to make sure something true is happening there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all you do when you watch the finished product. I feel like my job on set is to just stare at the actor\u2019s eyes and make sure they\u2019re completely engaged the whole time. Everyone else can worry about the camera, lights, and focus and tell me if something is off. But I\u2019m just focused on that. That\u2019s the power of the face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give audiences something new<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, whether they\u2019re reading a book, listening to a story, or watching a film, Stanton believes what audiences are after is always the same thing:\u00a0 \u201cSomething that sweeps them away, makes them forget where they are, and makes their brain guess what\u2019s going to happen next. People are willing to watch a year\u2019s worth of crap just to find that high again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the way audiences watch films, television shows, and other content continues to evolve, Stanton applauds any creative person who can make their story feel fresh. \u201cI make no predictions about how that can be achieved. I just hope that it makes a color that I haven\u2019t seen before. That\u2019s all I\u2019m trying to create on my side.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pixar legend and \u201cIn the Blink of an Eye\u201d director shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":2110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAndrew Stanton on What Makes a Story Work<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Pixar creative shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Andrew Stanton on What Makes a Story Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pixar creative shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmFreeway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T17:26:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T17:26:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jalen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gregory Wakeman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jalen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1\"},\"headline\":\"Andrew Stanton on the Art of the Story\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-09T17:26:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T17:26:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":977,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/\",\"name\":\"Andrew Stanton on What Makes a Story Work\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-09T17:26:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T17:26:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1\"},\"description\":\"The Pixar creative shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440,\"caption\":\"Searchlight Pictures\\\/Kimberley French\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Andrew Stanton on the Art of the Story\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"FilmFreeway\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/filmfreeway.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1\",\"name\":\"jalen\",\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Andrew Stanton on What Makes a Story Work","description":"The Pixar creative shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Andrew Stanton on What Makes a Story Work","og_description":"The Pixar creative shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.","og_url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/","og_site_name":"FilmFreeway","article_published_time":"2026-03-09T17:26:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-09T17:26:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"jalen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gregory Wakeman","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/"},"author":{"name":"jalen","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1"},"headline":"Andrew Stanton on the Art of the Story","datePublished":"2026-03-09T17:26:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T17:26:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/"},"wordCount":977,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/","url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/","name":"Andrew Stanton on What Makes a Story Work","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-09T17:26:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T17:26:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1"},"description":"The Pixar creative shares lessons from four decades of storytelling.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/IBE_SG_11046_v2-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440,"caption":"Searchlight Pictures\/Kimberley French"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/andrew-stanton-on-the-art-of-the-story\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Andrew Stanton on the Art of the Story"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/","name":"FilmFreeway","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/591baa98fd782d61dc5f30b220dba9c1","name":"jalen","url":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2107"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2113,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions\/2113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}