WICKER PARK — If you've ever wondered what it feels like to be inside the whimsical world of a Pixar movie, you can try it out this week — just watch where you're walking so you don't run into anyone in real life (IRL) as you stare into your smartphone.
"It would be as if you are an animated character within a Pixar movie," said Neha Vaidya, a spokeswoman for "Windy Day," a five-day interactive storytelling event which runs from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at 1448 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park.
According to a news release, animators from Pixar and Chicago-based Motorola have teamed up to create "a virtual world using never-before-seen technology," whereby looking into a Moto X phone, users will see a 3D world populating in front of them that changes as they move.
Written by Jan Pinkava, co-director of the Pixar film Ratatouille, the "Windy City" tale revolves around a small mouse called Pepe, who wants to retrieve a sombrero.
Tech blog Next Web called "Windy Day" a "wildly unorthodox piece of fiction" and described it as "interactive entertainment, blending augmented reality with a moving graphic novel."
So far, only Chicago and New York City are hosting Windy Day events, with Wicker Park chosen because it's "a great area for a very innovative app," Vaidya said
The creators are promising that the app-driven story is "much more than a video game or a video."
"Your smartphone becomes a camera and invites you to explore the story as it unfolds," Vaidya said.
