Production babies are children born to anyone involved in the making of a film during its
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
. The phrase generally refers to a section of the
closing credits of films, listing the babies'
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
s. The custom of publishing lists of production babies began with
animated film
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
s, and is still chiefly found in that medium, reflecting the influence of family experiences on storytelling in such films.
Concept and examples
Film
The first list of production babies was included by Pixar in the credits of their first full-length movie '' Toy Story'' in 1995.
Lee Unkrich
Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American film director, film editor, screenwriter, and animator. He was a longtime member of the creative team at Pixar, where he started in 1994 as a film editor. He later began directing, first as ...
, a film director with Pixar, explains that the production team and film crew indelibly associate the birth of each of their children with the film they were working on at the time. The listing in the end credits becomes a way for them to share these essential memories more widely. "It's like our family lives are permanently woven into the movies."Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
'', the babies are listed as "Recent You Seminar Graduates", in keeping with the theme of the film.
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film director Byron Howard
Byron P. Howard (born December 26, 1968) is an American animator, character designer, story artist, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of the Walt Disney Animation Studios films '' Bolt'' (2008), ' ...
cites the listing of production babies as a pointer to the depth of personal relationships established during collaboration on an animated movie.
A star next to a baby's name honors a baby who died before production was complete. One example can be found in the end credits of '' Moana'' for a baby named Cooper.
In 2009, Ari Folman dedicated his Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
to the eight production babies born during the making of '' Waltz with Bashir'', an animated anti-war documentary, and expressed hope that their lives would have no contact with the realities of conflict depicted in the film.
Reviewers have noted that "production babies" credits indicate the creativity of film people in giving some unusual names to their children.
Video games
An early, isolated instance in video games occurred with an easter egg message embedded in the ROM for the 1988 game ''Spiker! Super Pro Volleyball'' for Mattel Intellivision
The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel, Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. I ...
. The modern custom spread to video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
credits in the 2005 game '' Call of Duty 2'', and the 2009 game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', which also listed the other parents.
References
Film and video terminology
Human names
Animation terminology
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