CHARACTER MAGIC : Joy
BY TRISHA DAAB
GREETINGS FROM A DISTANCE : Joy loves skipping , dancing , and waving in the sunshine around Imagination Pavilion at EPCOT . Look for her sparkly blue hair among the crowds .
MEET JOY : Once the EPCOT Play Pavilion opens , Joy is slated to meet in an imaginative space . For now , she ’ s most recently been spotted inside the Imagination Pavilion , but we ’ ve also caught her out in the garden before .
We ’ re hoping Disney brings back a Riley Headquarters-themed space with colorchanging memory spheres and Joy ’ s voice of reason , Sadness .
NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY ? Start dancing . Joy ’ s been spotted doing the disco , Charleston , pirouettes , and even the Cabbage Patch .
MAKE SURE TO : Check her meet times . Joy makes sure Riley gets her sleep , so Joy ’ s meet times are limited .
BEYOND THE AUTOGRAPH BOOK : Once Joy can give joyful autographs again ( there ’ s a smiley face in the “ O ” and a star in the “ J ”), bring a cotton candy-scented Bing Bong plush for her to sign .
Try a toy wagon or a bumper sticker to decorate your favorite wagon . Overcome Fear and bring a picture of your tween years for Joy to sign . You ’ ll likely get a reaction from Joy and any nearby Cast Members .
FUN FACT : See what real people do with an Inside Out-like emotions console in Pixar in Real Life on Disney +.
At the time of publication , Disney announced that character greetings will return to the parks beginning April 18 , 2022 . Check our blog or the My Disney Experience app for the latest updates .
PHOTO BY COURTNEY REYNOLDS
“ Western Opening ” by Daisuke “ Dice ” Tsutsumi , on display at The Science Behind Pixar .
Monsters ,” showcases all the secondary characters animators could use to populate scenes in Monsters University .
Other pieces of work to look out for include :
• A stunning Brave family tapestry
• A reproduction of a marker-andpencil concept piece of Woody and Buzz
• A cubism-inspired piece showcasing the Incredible family ( before entering the exhibit )
• A digital painting done as a lighting study for WALL • E , called “ Space Travel ,” and a digital painting done for Coco called “ City of the Dead ,” both in the gift shop after you ’ ve left the exhibit
But the reproduction of a Lou Romano gouache concept piece for UP , titled " Tepui ", may just be the most breathtaking of them all .
INFORMATION OVERLOAD “ I am the coming together of all quantized fields of the universe , appearing in a form your feeble human brain can comprehend .”
Jerry ’ s iconic line from Soul stayed with
PHOTO BY TIMOTHY MOORE
me as I encountered a lot of headscratching science and math in the Pixar exhibit . While it ’ s certainly an exhibit kids will love ( they can build WALL • E- esque robots and create their own frame-by-frame movie of Luxo hopping over the Pixar ball ), the actual content of the exhibit is so complex that I ’ m not even sure what all I learned .
But that ’ s kind of the point of Pixar , and the animators say as much at the exhibit . Leave the science to them , and we can be swept up in the stunning artwork and brilliant storytelling .
“ TO CINCINNATI … AND BEYOND ” The Science Behind Pixar is a touring exhibit ; there are two simultaneous versions , one touring nationally and one internationally . While I was exploring the world of Pixar in Ohio , others were able to check it out in Shanghai . It ’ s already edutained museum-goers in places like Chicago , Vancouver , Portland , and Tokyo — and it ’ s likely to reach even more cities in the coming years .
But if you can ’ t wait for the exhibit to reach a city near you , you can experience portions of it online . Check out sciencebehindpixar . org / explore .