Pixar: A Company History

Giving us the memorable characters of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Wall-E and Lightning McQueen, Pixar Animation Studios has become a leader in the entertainment industry. Offering heart quality family films and state of the art animation, Pixar has produced over eleven animated features, won 24 Academy Awards, six Golden Globes, and three Grammys. While Pixar remains a leader in family entertainment, its rise to prominence could have been expected even its auspicious origins.

In the Beginning

While many may link Pixar's origins to George Lucas and Lucas Films, Ltd, the early evolution of Pixar truly begins at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) with the meeting of three men, Alvy Ray Smith, Ed Catmull, and John Lasseter.

In the 1975, millionaire Alexander Schare, then president of NYIT, was scouting for someone to create an animated film- Tubby the Tuba. He found a promising computer scientist, Ed Catmull, who had earned his Ph. D. from the University of Utah, and Alvy Ray Smith, who had earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stafford University. Catmull, Smith and crew worked on Schare's Tubby the Tuba project. While the team lead the Computer Graphics Lab could not successfully produce video artwork, they developed other innovative processes in 3D graphics, and drew attention from big names in Hollywood, namely George Lucas.

In 1979, Smith and Catmull left NYIT to join George Lucas' Lucasfilm, Ltd's Computer Division. As leaders of the computer graphics team, Smith and Catmull developed computer graphics animation hardware and software. One of the key computers they created, they called Pixar, was very sophisticated for the time. Pixar could create three-dimensional rendering of images and process functions hundreds of times faster than standard programs. The uses of Pixar expanded into other realms. It could create 3-D images from CT-scans and X-rays for doctors at Johns Hopkins.

In 1984, John Lasseter joined the Lucasfilm graphics team. Lasseter was a gifted cartoonist, who attended the California Institute of the Arts. He studied under Disney animators and as a student, earned two student Academy Awards for Animation. He began work with Disney, and soon thereafter became interested in computer generated animation. However, a issue arose at Disney and Lasseter was fired.

By 1985, George Lucas, who had created the new division precisely because of Star Wars, needed to raise money to fund a costly divorce settlement; Lucas decided that he would sell off the Computer Graphics Division of Lucasfilms. His graphics division caught the attention of a number of people and companies, including General Motors, Philips N.V., and Apple Computers' Steve Jobs. Eventually, Jobs would leave Apple and acquire the division in 1986 for $ 10 million.

The In Between Years- 1986 to 1991

Pixar did not initially pursue animation dreams, but instead concentrated on its more technological strengths; however, in 1986, the newly formed company earned its first Oscar animation for an animated short, Luxo, Jr. The next year, Red's Dream and the RenderMan patent were signs of more success for Pixar. With RenderMan, computer artists could create texture and add color to onscreen 3-D objects. By 1988, Pixar's next short, Tin Man, won the Oscar for Best Animated Short.

While success was no stranger to Pixar, money was an issue. Jobs, Pixar CEO, pushed his companies edge by entering a agreement with Colossal Picures, a San Francisco based live action, animation, and special effects studio. Teaming with Colossal, Pixar had tremendous success in creating commercials. And by 1990, a dozen RenderMan products were introduced and the RenderMan licensing fees began to generate considerable revenue.

In Spring of 1990 Pixar was still not reporting a profit and sold its hardware technocology and imaging software. Around this time, Smith and Jobs would have a dispute which would cause Smith to leave Pixar and form his own company. Soon thereafter, the struggling Pixar would find financial salvation in the form of Lasseter's former employer, Disney

Life with the Magical Kingdom

In May 1991, Pixar entered into an agreement with Walt Disney Pictures to develop up to three animated features for the animation giant. As part of this agreement, Pixar developed Toy Story as the first project under the agreement. Released in 1995 and directed by Lasseter, Toy Story became a box office hit. .In 1997, Pixar and Disney entered into a new Co-Production Agreement on which Pixar would exclusively produce five feature length animated features for Disney. Following with the success of Toy Story, Pixar produced The five original Pictures under the Co-Production Agreement were A Bug's Life (1998) , Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc.(2001), Finding Nemo (2003), and The Incredibles (2004). Features Cars (2006) was subsequently added to the Co-Production Agreement.

On January 24, 2006, Pixar and The Walt Disney Company agreed to merge the two companies. Effective May 5, 2006, Pixar became a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and continues to make great films including Academy nominated and winning films such as Ratatouille (2007) and Up (2009), and Toy Story 3, which became the top grossing animated film of all time in 2010.

To Infinity and Beyond

As Toy Story 3 continues to break domestic and international records, Pixar Animation Studios is forth billions. In its nearly fifteen year history, Pixar has set box office and Academy Award records. Started as a company to simply find a more innovative way to animate a sound recording, Pixar has grown into multi-billion dollar industry juggernaut. Standing as the leader in family entertainment, is already creating a legacy for creating quality and innovative family entertainment.

For more information on Pixar's history, check out the following websites:

http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/history/1986.html

http://www.applematters.com/article/how_to_turn_10_million_into_7_billion_a_brief_history_of_pixar/

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/need-to-know-pixar-history.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/06/18/businessinsider-toy-story-3-studio-pixar-2010-6.DTL