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Pixar Animation Studios Business Information, Profile, and History

1001 W. Cutting Blvd.
Richmond, California 94804
U.S.A.

Company Perspectives:

Pixar is an Academy Award-winning computer animation studio with the technical, creative and production capabilities to create a new generation of animated feature films, merchandise and other related products. Pixar's objective is to combine proprietary technology and world-class creative talent to develop computer-animated feature films with a new three-dimensional appearance, memorable characters and heartwarming stories that appeal to audiences of all ages.

History of Pixar Animation Studios

Pixar Animation Studios burst onto the big screen with the release of Toy Story, the first ever feature-length animated film created solely through computerized graphics. Yet Pixar's background is one of considerable pedigree, from roots at the University of Utah and the New York Institute of Technology before becoming part of George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd. of San Rafael, California. Purchased in 1986 by computer wunderkind Steven P. Jobs, cofounder of Apple Computer and NeXT Inc., the newly independent company was named after its primary product, the Pixar computer. After several one-of-a-kind, award-winning computer graphics and animation software packages (including the patented RenderMan, Ringmaster, Marionette, and CAPS), Pixar's creative geniuses produced some memorable television commercials before joining forces with Walt Disney to design and produce feature-length animated films. These works, Toy Story and its successor, Toy Story 2, as well as A Bug's Life, were huge hits for both Disney and Pixar, beloved by audiences and critics alike. Pixar's talent lineup has been the recipient of nine Academy Awards to date.

Origin of the Species: 1970s-80s

Pixar's tenuous evolution began in the 1970s when millionaire Alexander Schare, then president of the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), was looking for someone to create an animated film from a sound recording of Tubby the Tuba. Enter a computer scientist named Ed Catmull with a Ph.D. from the University of Utah, who along with several others set up house (at Schare's expense) at NYIT's Long Island campus to work with computer graphics. Though Tubby the Tuba was never made, the team successfully produced video artwork. When creative mogul George Lucas proposed moving the team to the West Coast in 1979 as part of Lucasfilm Ltd., the breeding ground of the original Star Wars trilogy, Catmull and his colleagues agreed.

Over the next few years, Catmull and his ensemble created innovative graphics programs and equipment for Lucas, including an imaging computer called the 'Pixar.' The Pixar was then used to develop high-tech graphics and animation sequences for Lucasfilm projects. Unlike other computers, Pixar's software constructed high-resolution, three-dimensional color images of virtually anything, from buildings and cars to tornadoes and aliens. Remarkably, Pixar was also capable of helping medical professionals at Johns Hopkins diagnose diseases from 3D renderings of CAT-scans and x-rays; giving weather technicians new images from satellites; and even helping prospectors locate oil from enhanced seismic readings--all at a speed some 200 times faster than previous computer programs.

In 1984, John Lasseter, who had met Catmull at a computer graphics conference and was employed by Walt Disney Studios, visited Lucasfilm for a month-long stint. Lasseter, who had graduated from the California Institute of the Arts where he had won two Student Academy Awards for animated film, decided to stay. Meanwhile, after spinning off a joint venture called Droid Works, George Lucas started shopping around Pixar with hopes of a second spinoff. Pixar caught the interest of several companies, including EDS, then a division of General Motors, Philips N.V., and computer whiz-kid Steve Jobs, cofounder and chairman of Apple Computer Inc. Unable to convince Apple's board of directors to invest in or purchase the fledgling graphics company, Jobs reluctantly abandoned his hopes for Pixar.

Yet circumstances changed drastically for Jobs in 1985. Stripped of his responsibilities and deposed from his Apple kingdom (at about the same time the first Pixar computer went on the market for $105,000), Jobs sold the majority of his Apple stock and started over. Plunging $12 million into a new computer enterprise named NeXT Inc., specializing in personal computers for colleges and universities, Jobs approached Lucas in 1986 and paid $10 million for the San Raphael-based Pixar and created an independent company. Though Catmull, Lasseter, and crew regarded Jobs as kin in their quest for high-tech fun and games given his laidback reputation and status as a computer wonder boy--the new boss instructed them to put aside their dreams of animation and film and to instead concentrate on technical graphics they could sell.

Highs and Lows: Late 1980s to 1991

'If I knew in 1986 how much it was going to cost to keep Pixar going, I doubt if I would've bought the company,' Jobs later told Fortune magazine. 'The problem was, for many years the cost of the computers required to make animation we could sell was tremendously high.' Luckily, Pixar's crew came up with several software innovations, which they used to create a myriad of products. In 1986 came the first of many Oscar nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a short animated film called Luxo Jr. Next came Red's Dream in 1987, then the development of RenderMan, for which the company applied for and received a patent. A revolutionary graphics program that allowed computer artists to add color and create texture to onscreen 3D objects, RenderMan produced stunningly realistic photo images almost indistinguishable from actual photographs. RenderMan's brand of images paid off when Tin Toy, written and directed by Lasseter as the first computer-generated animation, won an Academy Award as Best Animated Short Film in 1988.

As CEO of Pixar, Jobs expanded the company's leading edge graphics and animation capabilities by joining forces in July 1989 with the San Francisco-based Colossal Pictures, a live action, animation, and special effects studio, for collaboration purposes and to broker Pixar for television commercials and promotional films. With Colossal's background and experience in broadcast media and Pixar's unique computer capabilities, the partnership was poised for tremendous success. By 1990 when more than a dozen RenderMan products were introduced, RenderMan licensing fees finally began to pay off. Not only were many hardware and software packagers incorporating the graphics program into their products, but RenderMan was endorsed by such industry heavyweights as Digital Equipment, IBM, Intel Corporation, and Sun Microsystems. In addition, Pixar created two commercials in its association with Colossal. The second commercial, for Life Savers 'Holes' bite-size candies (which took 12 weeks to produce using RenderMan's software), aired in March and was a hit with audiences.

In April 1990 Pixar signed a letter of intent to sell its valuable yet stagnating hardware operations, including all proprietary hardware technology and imaging software, to Vicom Systems of Freemont, California. The move, which included the transfer of 18 of Pixar's 100 employees, was finalized several weeks later and allowed Pixar to devote the company's full energy to further development of its rendering capabilities. Before the end of the year, Pixar moved from San Rafael to new $15 million digs in the Point Richmond Tech Center of Richmond, California, and reached revenues of just under $3.4 million, though still not reporting a profit.

While Jobs's other company, NeXT Inc., seemed to prosper and was expected to reach $100 million in computer sales, Pixar still struggled to make ends meet in 1991. In February, 30 employees were laid off, including President Charles Kolstad. Jobs, sometimes criticized as a mercurial spinmeister with too little substance to back up his visions and words, was brought to task in the media for the shortcomings of both companies. Yet salvation came to Pixar in the name of Toy Story, the first full-length computer-animated feature film, as a collaboration between Pixar and Lasseter's old stomping grounds, Walt Disney Studios. Signing a contract to produce quality 'digital entertainment,' Pixar was responsible for the content and animation of three full-length films; Disney provided the funding for production and promotional costs, owning the marketing and licensing fees of the films and their characters. Though Disney retained the lion's share of revenue and profit, Pixar negotiated for a slice of the gross revenues from the box office and subsequent video sales. At this juncture, neither Disney nor Pixar knew the potential of their alliance--one that proved successful beyond their wildest expectations.

The Right Mix of Magic and Mastery: 1992-95

In 1992, the joint project between Pixar and Disney, called CAPS (computer animated production system) was another stellar development, winning Pixar's second Academy Award (shared with Disney). The following year, Jobs's NeXT Inc., like Pixar before it, was forced to lay off workers and sell its hardware division to concentrate on software development and applications. Yet 1993 was a banner year for Pixar, with RenderMan winning the company's third Academy Award and a Gold Clio (for advertising excellence) for the funky animated Listerine 'Arrows' commercial. The next year, Pixar won its second Gold Clio for the Lifesavers 'Conga' commercial, a colorful romp with a contagious beat. Despite such heavy accolades from critics and peers, Pixar still had not managed a profit since its spinoff in 1986, and reported a loss of $2.4 million on revenue of $5.6 million for 1994.

The following year, in 1995, Pixar was wrapping up its work on Toy Story and everyone was anxious for the finished result to hit theaters in November. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, and Annie Potts had signed on to voice major characters, and Randy Newman was composing the film's musical score. By the end of the third quarter with more than 100,000 copies of RenderMan sold and a huge licensing deal with Bill Gates and Microsoft, Pixar announced its first-ever profit of $3.1 million on revenues of $10.6 million.

For Pixar, 1995 was a string of accelerating successes: first came Toy Story's pre-Thanksgiving release, grossing over $40 million its first weekend, with rave reviews from critics and families alike. Leading box office receipts, both Disney and Pixar hoped Toy Story could best Pochahontas's $140 million take earlier in the year. Next came Pixar's IPO of 6.9 million shares in November on the NASDAQ; the market closed at $22 per share, up from its initial offering of $12 to $14 each, giving Pixar a market value of some $800 million. Jobs, who since his purchase of Pixar for $10 million had sunk an additional $50 million into the enterprise, recouped a handsome paper profit of more than $600 million for his 80 percent stake (the shares eventually hit a high of $45.50 on November 30th).

Another boon came when Toy Story garnered several award nominations, including Randy Newman's score for two Golden Globes and an Oscar; an Oscar for Catmull and Thomas Porter, director of effects animation or digital scanning technology; and an additional Special Achievement Oscar for Lasseter's writing, direction, and technical wizardry for Toy Story.

Multiple Lightning Strikes: 1996-99

After the release of Toy Story while part of Pixar's crew worked on a CD-ROM game of the animated film, others were busy working on several Coca-Cola commercials for the Creative Arts Agency, hired by Michael Ovitz. Pixar was also immersed in its next Disney film, A Bug's Life, which was scheduled for release in two years. By February 1996, Toy Story had grossed over $177 million at the box office and in March Lasseter attended the Academy Awards to receive his Oscar. He brought along Woody and Buzz Lightyear, who were part of several sketches and fodder for running gags during the live telecast. Pixar completed the year with a huge leap in revenues, up to $38.2 million (from 1995's $12.1 million), extraordinary net income of $25.3 million, and stock prices hitting a high of $49 per share in the fourth quarter.

Though it had been said by Bob Bennett of Autodesk, Inc., a client and competitor of Pixar, that 'Pixar is the best in the world at what it does,' continued advances in computer and graphics technology brought considerable competition. Everyone it seemed--from Digital Domain and Industrial Light & Magic to Microsoft and Silicon Graphics--was trying their hand at graphics software development. After the stellar success of Toy Story, all the major motion picture studios were creating computerized animation, including DreamWorks SKG, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros., and even Disney.

Other developments surrounded Jobs, as Apple stumbled horribly and the company came close to financial ruin. Still attached to the company he had cofounded and brought to enormous success, Jobs came to its rescue in 1997 shortly after Apple bought his NeXT Inc. Few doubted Jobs's ability to juggle both Pixar and Apple, and they were right. Not only did Jobs bring Apple back to the forefront of the computer industry with the flashy iMac, but Pixar went on to rule the box office with A Bug's Life. During the magic 'holiday' window of October, November, and December 1997, A Bug's Life was up against four animated films, including another insect-related story by Dreamworks SKG, entitled Antz. Dreamworks had also released The Prince of Egypt and Nickelodeon brought The Rugrats Movie to the big screen as well. Yet Pixar beat the pack and went on to ring up over $360 million in worldwide box office receipts, even topping Toy Story.

Once again Pixar was nominated for and won big at the Academy Awards: two separate awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement (for the Marionette 3D Animation System, and for digital painting), as well as another for Best Animated Short Film (Geri's Game). Pixar also finally received a sizeable financial boost in 1997, as revenues and net income reached $34.7 million and $22.1 million, respectively. The box office and critical triumphs of both Toy Story and A Bug's Life also brought a new deal with Disney to produce an additional five pictures within the next ten years, with both companies as equal partners. The agreement eclipsed the previous deal; the former's remaining two films became the first two of the new five-picture negotiation. Lastly, Pixar would sell Disney up to five percent of its common stock at $15 per share.

In early 1998 A Bug's Life was released on video and DVD simultaneously and Pixar's top guns worked feverishly on the sequel to Toy Story, slated for release in November. The sequel was a gamble, since only one animated feature film had ever spawned a theater-released follow-up, Disney's The Rescuers Down Under. Most sequels or prequels were released directly to video; Pixar was ready to buck the trend. Dollars from its venture with Disney continued to slowly trickle in and Pixar finished the year with $14.3 million in revenue and net earnings of $7.8 million.

The last year of the century brought more kudos for Pixar: David DiFrancesco won the company's ninth Academy Award (for Technical Achievement), Toy Story 2 opened in November to sweeping box office dominance (even higher receipts than Star Wars: The Phantom Menace's first few weeks of release the year before), and the company celebrated its fifth consecutive profitable year, with revenues of $121 million and earnings topping $50 million.

The New Century: 2000 and Beyond

Pixar was as busy as ever in the 21st century: the company was preparing to move into its new 225,000-square-foot headquarters in Emeryville, California, due for completion in mid-2000 and were hard at work on its next full-length animated film in collaboration with Disney. The new feature was scheduled for release in 2001, under the working title of 'Monsters, Inc.' The company's fifth film was tentatively slated for release in 2002, was a top-secret project to be directed by Andrew Stanton, who had worked on both Toy Story and A Bug's Life. Despite a slow, financially difficult beginning, Pixar Animation Studios had landed on the fast track and was known throughout the world. With its technological breakthroughs and brilliantly crafted animated films, the sky was the limit in the coming decade and beyond. As stated in its 1996 annual report, Pixar succeeded because it was well aware of the pitfalls of filmmaking: 'Though Pixar is the pioneer of computer animation, the essence of our business is to create compelling stories and memorable characters. It is chiseled in stone at our studios that no amount of technology can turn a bad story into a good one.'

Principal Competitors: DreamWorks SKG; Fox Entertainment; Lucasfilm, Ltd.; Warner Bros.

Related information about Pixar



 Pixar Animation Studios is an award-winning American computer animation studio based in Emeryville, California (USA). It is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

Though best known for its production of computer-animated feature films, Pixar also develops and markets high-end 3D computer graphics technology. Most notably, Pixar is the developer of the industry-standard rendering software RenderMan, which is used to generate high-quality, photorealistic images.

On January 24, 2006, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Pixar for $7.4 billion through an all-stock transaction. The acquisition was completed on May 5, 2006 (swapping one Pixar share for 2.3 shares of Disney), making Pixar a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney.

History

Early history

Pixar was founded as the Graphics Group, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm that was launched in 1979 with the hiring of Edwin Catmull from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). After years of remarkable research success, and key milestones in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Young Sherlock Holmes, the group was purchased in 1986 by current Apple Computer, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs after he left the company he founded with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. He paid US$5 million to George Lucas and put US$5 million as capital into the company. A contributing factor was cash flow difficulties following Lucas' 1983 divorce from Marcia Lucas, concurrent with the sudden drop off in revenues from Star Wars licenses following the release of Return of the Jedi. Lucas also felt that a lot of the work being done by Pixar was redundant, with Industrial Light and Magic doing similar work.

The newly independent company was headed by Dr. Edwin Catmull, President and CEO, and Dr. Alvy Ray Smith, Executive Vice President and Director. Jobs served as Chairman of the Board.

Initially, Pixar was a high-end hardware company whose core product was the Pixar Image Computer, a system which was primarily sold to government agencies and the medical community. One of the leading buyers of Pixar Image Computers was Disney studios, which was using the device as part of their secretive CAPS project, using the machine and custom software to migrate the laborious Ink and Paint part of the 2D animation process to a more automated and thus efficient method. Pixar employee John Lasseter, who had long been creating short demonstration animations, such as Tropicana, Listerine, and LifeSavers. During this period, Pixar continued its relationship with Walt Disney Feature Animation, a studio whose corporate parent would ultimately become its most important partner. Pixar was a key technical participant in the development of Disney's CAPS, a computer-assisted animation post-production software system. Pixar was re-incorporated on December 9, 1995. However, others recognize that Pixar got the best deal given that it lacked credibility as an animation studio, while Disney's own studios were recognized as being at the top of the industry.

The two companies attempted to reach a new agreement in early 2004. As part of any distribution agreement with Disney, Pixar demanded control over films already in production under their old agreement, including The Incredibles and Cars. This was unacceptable to Disney, but Pixar would not concede.

Bad blood between Pixar head Jobs and Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner made the negotiations more difficult than they otherwise might have been. After a lengthy hiatus, negotiations between the two companies resumed following the departure of Eisner from Disney in September of 2005.

In preparation for potential fallout between Pixar and Disney, Jobs announced in late 2004 Business Week article with Pixar release date change info that Pixar would no longer release movies at the Disney-dictated November timeframe, but during the more lucrative early summer months. An added benefit of delaying Cars was to extend the timeframe remaining on the Pixar-Disney contract to see how things would play out between the two companies.

Pending the Disney acquisition of Pixar, the two companies created a distribution deal for Pixar's intended 2007 release of Ratatouille, ensuring that if the acquisition plan had fallen through for any reason, this one film would still be released through the Disney distribution channels.

Disney's acquisition of Pixar


On January 24, 2006, Disney announced that it had agreed to buy Pixar for approximately $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal. Jobs' new Disney holdings outpace holdings belonging to ex-CEO Eisner, the previous top shareholder who still held 1.7%, and Disney Director Emeritus Roy E. Disney, whose criticisms of Eisner included the soured Pixar relationship and accelerated his ouster, who held almost 1% of the corporation's shares.

As part of the deal, John Lasseter, Pixar Executive Vice President and founder, became Chief Creative Officer ( now reports to President and CEO Bob Iger and consults Disney Director Roy E Disney) of the Disney and Pixar animation studios as well as the Principal Creative Adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs and builds the company's theme parks. Pixar President Ed Catmull became President of the Disney and Pixar animation studios, reporting to Robert Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studio Entertainment. In fact, additional conditions were laid out as part of the deal to ensure that Pixar remains a separate entity, a concern that many analysts had about the Disney deal SEC filing containing Disney-Pixar merger details.

Some other points of interest concerning the deal:

  • If Pixar had pulled out of the deal, they would have been required to pay Disney a penalty of US$210 million.
  • John Lasseter has the authority to approve films for both Disney and Pixar studios, with Disney CEO Robert Iger and Disney Director Roy E. This includes Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Brad Bird, Bob Peterson, Brenda Chapman, Lee Unkrich, and Gary Rydstrom.
  • There will be a steering committee that will oversee animation for both Disney and Pixar studios, with a mission to maintain and spread the Pixar culture. They will meet at Pixar headquarters at least once every two months.
  • Pixar HR policies will remain intact, including the lack of employment contracts.
  • Ensures the Pixar name will continue, and that the studio will remain in its current Emeryville, California location with the "Pixar" sign.
  • Branding of films made post-merger will be "Disney Pixar" (starting with Cars)

Executive leadership

Steve Jobs continued to serve as Pixar's top executive until May 2006, when the company merged with Disney. Today, Ed Catmull serves as president of the combined Disney-Pixar animation studios, and John Lasseter serves as the studios' Chief Creative Officer. Catmull reports to Walt Disney Company President & CEO Bob Iger as well as Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook. Lasseter, who has greenlight authority, reports to Disney's President & CEO Bob Iger and consults with Disney Director Roy E Disney.

Feature films

Released

  • Toy Story (1995) (Academy Award winner)
  • A Bug's Life (1998) (Academy Award nominee)
  • Toy Story 2 (1999) (Academy Award nominee)
  • Monsters, Inc. (2001) (Academy Award winner)
  • Finding Nemo (2003) (Academy Award winner)
  • The Incredibles (2004) (Academy Award winner)
  • Cars (2006)

In production

  • Ratatouille - In theatres June 29, 2007.
  • Toy Story 3 - Originally a Disney production, but production was halted by John Lasseter. www.darkhorizons.com/news06/060126a.phpnews.independent.co.uk/business/news/article341627.ece It has since been revealed that it is back in pre-production, this time at Pixar. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will reprise their roles of Woody and Buzz.

    Toy Story is also the only Pixar film to be extended onto television, with the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command film and TV series.

    The issue of sequels is a particularly sticky one with Pixar. Following the release of Toy Story 2, Pixar and Disney had a gentlemen's agreement that Disney would not make any sequels without Pixar's involvement, despite their right to do so. In 2004, after Pixar announced their failure to make a new deal, Disney announced that they would go ahead with sequels to Pixar's films with or without Pixar, although they stated they would prefer Pixar to agree to work on them. Toy Story 3 was put into pre-production at the new CGI division of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Circle 7 Animation.

    When John Lasseter was placed in charge of all Disney and Pixar animation following the merger, he stated that all sequels were immediately to be put on hold, with Disney going so far as to actually state that Toy Story 3 had been cancelled. class=ilnk>The Adventures of Andr辿 and Wally B. (1984)
    • a Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Project film, prior to the creation of Pixar
  • Luxo Jr. (1986)
    • Became the source of the current Pixar logo, theatrically released with Toy Story 2
  • Red's Dream (1987)
    • Academy Award winner
  • Tin Toy (1988)
    • Academy Award winner, included on the Toy Story Golden Edition VHS and Ultimate Toy Box DVD
  • Light & Heavy (1991)
    • Short starring Luxo Jr. produced for Sesame Street
  • Knick Knack (1989)
    • A new, edited version was released theatrically in 2003 with Finding Nemo
  • Geri's Game (1997)
    • Academy Award winner; theatrically released with Monsters, Inc.
  • Boundin' (2003)
    • Theatrically released with The Incredibles
  • One Man Band (2005)
    • Theatrically released with Cars
  • Lifted (2006)
    • Expected to be theatrically released with Ratatouillefact

DVD exclusives

  • Mike's New Car (2002)
    • Based on characters in Monsters, Inc.; Both of these releases contain the original version of Knick Knack.

      The only Pixar short film yet to be released alongside a Pixar film remains Red's Dream.

      As of 2006, all of the short films except Mike's New Car, Jack-Jack Attack, and The Adventures of Andr辿 and Wally B. are available to purchase on Apple's iTunes. was created under Lucasfilm (before Jobs bought Pixar) and Mike's New Car & Jack-Jack Attack are DVD exclusives (see below).

      Pixar feature film traditions

      The Pixar format

      All Pixar features tend to have a common theme. (Also, in a preview shown before the first Harry Potter film, Sulley is shown playing charades with Mike, but Mike is unable to guess the phrase 'Harry Potter'. The clip never specifically mentions Harry Potter & Star Wars, but the end states that Monsters, Inc. is playing right next door.)
    • Finding Nemo: Marlin asks a school of fish for directions and Dory scares them away.
    • The Incredibles: An out-of-shape Mr. Incredible struggles to get his belt on (hence, none of the Incredible Family members wear a belt in the film, and instead sport elastic waist straps).
    • Cars: Mater talks to Lightning McQueen after hitting a baby bumblebee (the bee is possibly a reference to

    John Ratzenberger


    John Ratzenberger (most widely known as the mailman character Cliff Clavin from the television sitcom Cheers) has appeared as a voice actor in every Pixar feature film, and is referred to by the studio as their "good luck charm". The following is a list of his roles in the first seven Pixar movies:

    • Toy Story and Toy Story 2 - Hamm the Piggy Bank
    • A Bug's Life - P.T. Flea
    • Monsters, Inc. - The Abominable Snowman
    • Finding Nemo - a school of moonfish that Marlin and Dory meet on the way to Sydney
    • The Incredibles - The Underminer (an obese and unclean supervillain who appears at the end)
    • Cars - Mack?Lightning McQueen's transport, and car versions of Hamm, Yeti, and P.T. While some have said that John Ratzenberger was "Pixar's Good Luck Charm", there are many who say that Joe was "the heart and soul of Pixar".Joe Ranft Obituary from Luxo: a Pixar blog
      • Toy Story - Lenny the Binoculars
      • A Bug's Life - Heimlich
      • Toy Story 2 - Wheezy the Penguin
      • Monsters, Inc - additional voices
      • Finding Nemo - Jacques the Shrimp
      • The Incredibles - additional voices
      • Cars - Red (Radiator Springs's silent firefighter) and a Peterbilt that Lightning encounters en route to Radiator Springs

      Pizza Planet


      Pizza Planet is a fictional pizza restaurant in Toy Story.

      A113


      Similar to George Lucas' 1138 and Al Hirschfeld's "Nina", the letter-number sequence A113 is an animation in-joke which appears in all Pixar films to date. It is a reference to one of the room numbers at CalArts (which several of the employees attended).

      • In Toy Story, Andy's Minivan has a license plate reading A-113.
      • In A Bug's Life, a cereal box that Flik passes by has the code A113.
      • In Toy Story 2, an announcement is made over the Intercom for Lasset-Air Flight A113.
      • In Monsters Inc., a sign above Smitty and Needleman during the trash compactor scene reads A113.
      • In Finding Nemo, the model code of the scuba diver's camera reads A113.
      • In The Incredibles, Mirage tells Mr. Incredible to report to conference room A113. The train that nearly obliterates Lightning McQueen also has the number A113.

      Cameo appearances

      Every Pixar film has included cameo appearances of characters or objects from their other movies or short films.

Chronology

  • Key Dates:

  • 1979: George Lucas brings Ed Catmull and associates from the New York Institute of Technology to the West Coast as part of Lucasfilm Ltd.
  • 1984: John Lasseter leaves Disney for Lucasfilm.
  • 1986: Lucas spins off Pixar computer graphics unit, which is bought and incorporated by Steve Jobs; first Academy Award nomination for Luxo Jr.
  • 1988: Company receives first Academy Award for Tin Toy.
  • 1992: CAPS (Computer Animated Production System) wins joint Academy Award for Pixar and Disney.
  • 1993: Pixar earns third Academy Award, for RenderMan.
  • 1995: Toy Story debuts and conquers box office; fourth Academy Award, for digital scanning technology, is received.
  • 1997: A Bug's Life opens at the box office; company garners two more Academy Awards for Marionette 3D Animation Systems and animated short film Geri's Game.
  • 1999: Toy Story 2 debuts and breaks box office records; Pixar claims a ninth Academy Award for Technical Achievement.
  • 2000: Company moves to new headquarters in Emeryville, California.

Additional topics

Company HistoryFilm & Audio Production

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