Education Quote by John Lasseter

Bad jokes are a kind of social dare: they risk silence, groans, even secondhand embarrassment. Lasseter’s line argues that the “badness” is the point. A corny pun is deliberately flimsy material, and that flimsiness creates a low-stakes stage where performance can do the real work. If the setup is obviously stupid, the audience stops judging the writing and starts watching the person. Comedy shifts from craft on the page to craft in the room.

The intent is practical, almost studio-floor wisdom: delivery can alchemize weak ingredients into a shared moment. Timing, commitment, and rhythm turn the punchline into a cue for connection. The subtext is about control and empathy. “If you knew how to deliver them” quietly separates the amateurs (who apologize for the joke) from the pros (who sell it like it matters). The laugh often comes not from the pun’s logic but from the performer’s confidence, the tiny pause before the groan, the self-aware glance that invites the audience to join the bit rather than endure it.

Context matters: Lasseter comes out of animation, where character is conveyed through micro-choices - cadence, expression, timing. Pixar’s early culture prized play as a tool, not an indulgence, and groaners function like creative warm-ups: they defuse ego, keep a room loose, and remind smart people to stay a little childish. The “worse” the joke, the clearer the signal: we’re safe here to try things that might not work. That’s not just comedy; it’s a philosophy of making.