Pixar's John Lasseter Suggests Wooing Ladies With Anime

Forget flowers. If you want to win a girl's heart you might want to give anime a try.

That's the advice from Pixar Animation Studios' chief creative officer John Lasseter. He shared the story of how scenes from Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro ultimately lead Lasseter marrying his wife, Nancy. Lasster recounted the story as an opener for a two-day theatrical screening of the 1979 film in celebration of the franchise's 50th anniversary. You can watch the video above.

As Lasseter explains, after meeting Nancy at a computer graphics conference in 1985, he invited her over to his San Francisco apartment where he showed her scenes from the film. Nancy enjoyed the scenes and the two formed a relationship that would lead the couple to marry and have five sons.

Lasseter, who counts Hayao Miyazaki as one of his friends, also cites the movie as being a big inspiration for him in his career. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro was the first feature Miyazaki directed and follows Lupin and Jigen as they search for a counterfeiter who cheated them. The pair ends up in the secluded country of Cagliostro where find themselves caught up in rescuing a princess from an arranged marriage with a wicked count.