Pixar Animation Studios

Pixar Animation Studios began as the Graphics Group at Lucasfilm, where Ed Catmull led computer-graphics research. In 1986, Steve Jobs bought the group from Lucasfilm and it became Pixar; Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith were central to its early technical direction. Before feature films, Pixar made short works that demonstrated its RenderMan software and animation methods. Luxo Jr., directed by John Lasseter, premiered in 1986 and earned an Academy Award nomination, while Tin Toy won the 1988 Academy Award for Animated Short Film. The desk-lamp character from Luxo Jr. later became Pixar's familiar production-logo symbol around the world today. In 1991 Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures made an agreement to develop and distribute animated features. Their first release, Toy Story, opened in 1995 as the first feature-length film made entirely with computer animation. Lasseter directed it, with Tom Hanks voicing Woody and Tim Allen voicing Buzz Lightyear. The film's success established a sequence of Pixar features with distinct settings: A Bug's Life in 1998, Monsters, Inc. in 2001, Finding Nemo in 2003, The Incredibles in 2004, Cars in 2006, Ratatouille in 2007, WALL-E in 2008, and Up in 2009. Each arrived during Pixar's first fourteen years making feature-length films worldwide. Pixar became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company after Disney acquired it in 2006. The studio's Emeryville, California campus remained its creative base. Its films have received Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside Out, Coco, Toy Story 4, and Soul. Up also became the second animated film nominated for Best Picture, after Beauty and the Beast. That nomination reflected a year in which it also won Best Animated Feature, as well as awards for original score and sound editing at the eighty-second Academy Awards ceremony. Pixar's storytelling has repeatedly returned to original characters while also extending franchises. Toy Story spawned three sequels, beginning with Toy Story 2 in 1999 and concluding with Toy Story 4 in 2019; a fifth film has been announced. Inside Out followed the emotions Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust inside Riley's mind, and its 2024 sequel introduced Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. Coco centered on Miguel Rivera's journey to the Land of the Dead and incorporated Mexican cultural consultants. In 2020, Soul followed middle-school band teacher Joe Gardner, voiced by Jamie Foxx, through an otherworldly adventure before his earthly return.