Matt Nolte looks like he works at Pixar. He stood in front of the audience of SCI 106 rocking a Star Wars vintage tee and a baseball cap. At once, it was clear this guy is affable and humble. Not only was he cracking jokes all the way up to the podium, but one of the first things out of his mouth was: “I’m sick of hearing myself talk about myself. I’m just gonna go ahead and show you what Pixar wants me to show you.” 

Nolte jumped right into it -- giving the audience an exclusive look at Pixar’s upcoming film "The Good Dinosaur" —of which he serves as the character art director. 

The film revolves around 11-year-old Arlo, an adorably awkward and frightened young dino who lives on a sprawling farm at the base of a mountain with his Family. In the film, Arlo gets separated from his family and world when he is swept downstream in a vicious current.

Knocked unconscious by the strength of the waves, Arlo wakes up in a strange place and meets an unlikely friend Spot, a human child who acts like a dog. Although it seems they do not have much in common, the pair quickly develop a deep friendship.

Throughout the course of the film, they go on a series of adventures involving a family of cowboy T-Rexes, evil raptors and all kinds of interesting creatures and personalities. 

Though this was not a screening of the entire film, so much of the tone of "Good Dinosaur" was conveyed in the few short clips Nolte showed. The clips are also an amazing display of how technological advancements in the industry make the animation seem more realistic than ever before. Nolte showed screen tests of both Arlo and Spot, displaying their emotions and facial expressions. It was interesting to observe him watching the screen tests, as he was visibly proud and excited that his imagination had truly been brought to life.

Neon Tommy's Sarah Kassel caught up with Nolte after the screening to find out more about the amazing creative work he does at Pixar. 

Neon Tommy: I cried watching the scene of "Dinosaur" where Arlo and Spot bond over the loss of family members. Pixar movies are consistently emotionally poignant. How do you convey that level of emotion through your drawing? 

Matt Nolte: First of all, it’s a huge team effort. But when designing the characters I personally work on them very emotionally. The story itself has emotion and I inject the characters with that same emotion. It’s the animator’s job to create the illusion of life. That is literally magic. When someone cries (shows that level of emotion) at something that isn’t real, that’s magic. 

NT: You say it’s a team effort, how are you able to trust the process of passing on and handing down your work to the animator’s, especially in crunch time?

MN: Animation is the most collaborative art form out there. Having all the weight not on one person’s shoulders helps a lot but it’s also that the director picks people to work on the project who they know are passionate. Everybody shares the weight; if one person did everything it wouldn’t be fun, it would be torture. It’s cool to get to see the finished product after it leaves my desk and you see that someone else did something awesome to your work. 

NT: What’s a typical day for you?

MN: I draw for hours a day, I’ll go in and start drawing right away. I do a lot of research. When I worked on Brave I would go look at horses. I also have reviews where I get together with other artists and the director and get feedback and this continues until the product starts to look/feel like director’s (Pete Sohn) vision for the film. He can do all our jobs, but he lets us help.

NT: Exceptionally good storytelling to me is what differentiates a Pixar film from other animated features. How does pixar manage to tell consistently good stories? 

MN: People are used to telling stories through animation. Fairytales are ingrained in our culture. Toy Story was an original and it was personal for the team that worked on it. Pixar stays aways from cliches, and actually observes the world through it’s own eyes. We’re not trying to interpret something through an obscured lens. The Good Dinosaur was essentially pete’s heart and soul on screen. We followed something that came from his observation. 

NT: What would be your advice for a creative person trying to find their passion? 

MN: I wish I was a philosopher to answer this question. I was very much supported by my family. But I guess my “advice” would be always follow your gut. Most successful people…the people like say, Steve Jobs—icons of what people call success—they ignore negative influence or doubt because they felt something in their spirit. I had a lot of of self doubt about what I was doing but I liked it anyway. You have to go with your gut. 

"The Good Dinosaur" opens in theaters Nov. 25. Watch the trailer below.

Reach Staff Reporter Sarah Kassel here.