Pixar Animation Studios

Pixar Animation Studios began as the Computer Graphics Division of Lucasfilm, where Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith pursued high-end digital imaging and animation. In 1986, Steve Jobs purchased that division from George Lucas, and it became an independent company named Pixar. Early business depended not only on filmmaking but also on the Pixar Image Computer, while the studio developed computer-animation techniques. John Lasseter, formerly of Disney, became central to its creative identity after joining in the 1980s. His short film Luxo Jr., premiered in 1986, introduced the desk-lamp character that later inspired Pixar’s logo and remains a defining image of the studio. Pixar’s first feature, Toy Story, reached cinemas in 1995 through a distribution agreement with Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Lasseter, it was the first feature-length film made entirely with computer animation and followed toys Woody and Buzz Lightyear when humans were absent. Its success established a feature pipeline that continued with A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and Inside Out. These films are not interchangeable exercises in animation: Ratatouille places a rat, Remy, in a Paris restaurant, while WALL-E centers on a waste-collecting robot left on an uninhabitable Earth. Up opens with Carl Fredricksen taking his house aloft using balloons. Technical development remains part of Pixar’s record. The company’s RenderMan software has been used for visual effects and rendering, including productions beyond Pixar, and Pixar received a Scientific and Technical Academy Award for RenderMan in 2001. Its own films have earned numerous Academy Awards; Finding Nemo won the animated-feature Oscar for films released in 2003, and The Incredibles won the animated-feature Oscar at the 2005 ceremony. In 2006, The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $7.4 billion. Catmull became president of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, while Lasseter served as chief creative officer. Pixar operates from Emeryville, California, and its releases are distributed by Disney. The studio has expanded familiar series with films such as Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4, Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, and Cars 3, while also introducing Coco, Soul, Luca, Turning Red, and Elemental. Coco follows Miguel, a boy drawn into the Land of the Dead; Soul concerns musician Joe Gardner; and Turning Red depicts Meilin Lee’s transformation into a giant red panda. Pixar’s history therefore combines technology, films, production, and a lasting Disney relationship.