Company History

Early History


Pixar Animation Studios started out as a division of Lucasfilm called The Graphics Group in 1979.1 The studio hired Dr. Ed Catmull who was in charge of the Computer Graphics lab at the New York Institute of Technology.1 In 1984, John Lasseter left his job at Disney to come work for The Graphics Group.2 In 1986, Steve Jobs left Apple Computer and bought the company from Lucas.1 The new independent company was named Pixar and Ed Catmull was installed as co-founder and chief technical officer.3 Luxo Jr. made its debut this year at SIGGRAPH, which is the world’s largest convention for computer graphics.1 In order to raise money, Pixar began to make animated commercials for movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and companies such as Trident, Volkswagen, Listerine, and Pillsbury. 1,4 In 1990 Pixar moved to Point Richmond, CA from San Rafael.1 Earlier that year, Jobs sold Pixar’s hardware division to Viacom Systems.1 He transferred 18 of the 100 Pixar’s roughly employees.1 Still losing money i n 1991, Pixar formed a partnership with Disney to produce 3 full length animated films, as well as commercials.5 The first of these films would be Toy Story.1 == Acquisition by Disney ==

 In 2006, Disney paid $7.4 billion in stock to acquire Pixar Animation Studios.6 Ed Catmaull, president of Pixar was named president of a combined Pixar and Disney Animation Studio.6 Lasseter was named Chief Creative Officer.6 In addition to his duties in that position, Lasseter was also named serve as principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, a position that entails helping to design Disney theme parks. Steve Jobs' position as CEO of Pixar was eliminated and he was named to the Disney Board of Directors.1

 The deal almost never came to pass. For instance, in 2004 Jobs and Disney’s CEO Michael Eisner traded barbs during negotiations.6 During this attempt at negotiations there numerous disagreements over control and profits from the films.1 Pixar announced that would be seeking deals with other companies but the company never actively pursued these searches.1 However, talks resumed when Eisner departed from Disney in 2005 and Robert Iger was named the new CEO.1 On January 24, 2006, Disney acquired Pixar Studios.1 The deal contained certain measures to make certain that Pixar would still remain a separate entity.1 For instance, the Pixar name would remain unchanged and its studio would stay, with its “Pixar” sign, in Emeryville, California.1 Beginning with Cars, the films would be branded as “Disney•Pixar.”1

Recent History
In 2010, Pixar opened a new studio on Vancouver.1 The studio searched for local animators and technical artists for the studio.7 The studio is concentrating on producing primarily short films.7 The subject of these films are mostly legacy characters from previous films such as Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story and Lightning McQueen from Cars.7 The shorts will primarily be shown online and on Disney channels.7 The first production by the studio was “Air Mater,” an episode of Mater’s Tall Tales.1

Key Dates at a Glance8
1979 - Ed Catmull joins George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. is started

1984 - John Lasseter formerly from Disney joins Lucasfilm Ltd.

1986 - Steve Jobs purchases Lucasfilms Ltd. and Pixar is officially formed

1988 - Pixar receives their first Academy Award for the short film Tin Toy

1990 - Pixar's hardware division is sold to Viacom Systems

1992 - A joint project with Disney CAPS (computer animated production system) wins Pixar their second Academy Award

1993 - Pixar wins another Academy Award for their RenderMan software

1995 - Pixar's first full-length film, Toy Story, debuts and is a hit

1998 - A Bug's Life is released in theaters

1999 - Toy Story 2 opens and breaks box office records

2000 - Pixar moves to Emeryville, California

2001 - Monsters, Inc. is released and become the highest grossing animated film worldwide

2003 - Finding Nemo debuts

2004 - The Incredibles opens in theaters

2006 - The Walt Disney Company purchases Pixar and Cars is released

2007 - Ratatouille debuts

2008 - WALL-E is released and received six Academy Award nominations

2009 - Up opens in theaters

2010 - Toy Story 3 debuts and breaks opening weekend box office records, Pixar also opens a new studio concentrating on short films

2012 - Brave will be released this summer

Further Reading/Exploration: Goodman, S. (2011, November 1). John Lasseter answers your questions. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/pixars-john-lasseter-answers-your-questions/

Here is a video for you to look at that provides a brief tour of Pixar Animation Studios that is part of a New York Times series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXtsEhUwTmc&feature=player_embedded