"I just cant- I just can't- I just can't seem to get
started, don't have the heart to live in the fast
lane, all that is past and gone"

Song for this picture: Lee Ann Womack - Forever Every Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OMV.....CAsDdntwHBzuTw

Now I bring you the first part of Pinky the Convertible's past. This is at least MY interpretation of what her past may have been like. Unlike Callie and Bobby-Lee who had quite a few lyrics which were quite descriptive as well as following a very stereotypical lifestyle to boot, Pinky has maybe 20-30 seconds of screen time and only a few vague lyrics. The most we learn is that she's unable to start anymore and doesn't or can't muster the heart to live in the fast-lane.

Before going into the picture really, to put my own analysis in here. The whole bit about the fast-lane I believe is due to her being a car from the 50s. Back in the 50s the world was a lot calmer and slower then today. Gas was cheap, cars were made luxuriously, so families would go out and cruise just for the fun of doing so. However these days of course people drive to get things done and go to and from work, its all very time sensitive and hurried. I believe this is what she 'doesn't have the heart' for.

OH, and before I forget, Pinky is fan speculated to be a 1955 Ford Fairlane Sunliner. Like many of the cars from the movie, her appearance doesn't match the real-life car EXACTLY, but it's the closest match I've found:

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Fo.....V-10-MB_01.jpg
http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Fo.....-10-MB_d04.jpg

Now to get to the picture

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So this was Pinky's family, the Brooks, your average late 50s/early 60s single daughter family. I have to admit, I drew this before fully thinking about my timescale (which is important for later as you'll see) originally this was meant to be definitely in the 50s. However I will go right out and say that this 'memory' is from 1963.

The little girl here is Violet, she's 3 years old here and you'll be following her and Pinky throughout all their associated pictures. Their relationship is very much that of one between a mother and daughter. While Violet of course HAS a mother, Pinky (being relatively new at the time of Violet's birth) was the car who drove her mother to the hospital and back when she was born and has been there watching her grow up. The two of them are best friends and Pinky cares for her like her own er..metal and oil.. it's not uncommon to see the two of them sharing secrets, reading child stories, playing hide and seek.. things like that in the back yard together.

At Violet's young age, she's able to see that Pinky and probably every other appliances is alive. I'm kinda perhaps tweaking mechanics of the movie's universe here, but even in the movie it at least seemed to maybe hint that young Rob had a friendship with the main characters. I'm working off of that idea that maybe children are able to see things that adults can't because of their broad and totally unbiased view of the world around them. I'm going on the idea that perhaps the force that makes all the appliances go into the object state when seen by adults is tied into the person's perception somehow. Like that the appliances are forced into being inanimate because of the person's own preconceptions that they should be. It's all very complicated and probably falls apart when looked at on the bit par level, but I think for this simple story it works. Just the idea that kids see things. :)

I based it somewhat off the crap-tastic sequel to TBLT, "The Brave Little Toaster Goes To Mars" in which the Master Roband his girlfriend Krys from the first movie have a baby together and the baby can see all the appliances are alive and plays with them: (the best example of it I can find on youtube ><; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXMndlusiio ) While they don't go into much detail about the aspects of how old a child gets before they 'forget' that they're alive. My personal view is its when you get to be THAT age, you know the one I mean. When you stop believing in fairy tales? When you find out Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren't real? When your rational mind begins to take over and you become the bitter jaded person you'll grow old being.

So really the setting here is intended to be both silly but adorable at the same time, I hope I pulled it off. Though it's probably obvious I'll explain anyway. Violet has just came back down to the parking lot with her family after picking up their food. Being the girl's sorta 'imaginary best friend' and effectively second mother.. the sweet little girl offers to share her fries with Pinky. While Pinky obviously can't eat it, she's pleasantly at her kind offering. Meanwhile her parents funnily enough are left wondering what their crazy little girl is doing trying to feed the car french fries. X3

While trying to make a really defined 50's look I wanted to pic a background that encompassed something that truely looked the era. I'd always loved all the heavy use of neon in the old buildings, and I like fast food, so I decided to have this memory be of a nice family outing to Mc Donalds. (XD) While most of the building is hidden behind the bushes, this is the old kind, where you actually walked up to a window outside to make your order. As with all these 'Tales from Ernie's Disposal' pictures I made sure to use reference and do my research on the eras and settings depicted. As proof here's two of my reference material:

http://www.vintagepostcards.org/blo.....s-roadside.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018.....23e79d2217.jpg

Lastly, I'm not incredibly happy with how this came out. I actually erased the 'paper' texture from the lineart. I felt it made the colors too dark and kinda took the cheeriness out of the scene. However in hindsight I notice that without the graininess of the paper texture the picture looks a little flat. ^^; I'll try to avoid making that mistake in the future.