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Pixar Animation Studios history
Pixar Animation Studios company history timeline
The Graphics Group was started in 1979 as a division that manufactured hardware (Pixar Image Computer), produced software, and had a team of animators engaged in making short animation videos.
In 1979 Catmull was hired by Lucasfilm Ltd., the California-based production company of filmmaker George Lucas, to lead its nascent computer division, and several of his NYIT colleagues followed him there.
Both having the same dream of one day making the first computer animated feature film, the two hit it off right away, but at that time (1983) that dream was still far away.
The film is considered to be Pixar’s first film even though Pixar did not yet exist when the film was made. It was four years later in 1983 that John Lasseter would join The Graphics Group to work on short film The Adventures of André & Wally B, and the following year was hired as a full time member of The Graphics Group as an interface designer.
1984: John Lasseter leaves Disney for Lucasfilm.
A partially finished version of The Adventures of André & Wally B was premiered in 1984 and the technology used to create the short was considered groundbreaking at the time.
At the same time, in late 1985, Steve Jobs was losing his hold over Apple Computers and founded NeXT-producing workstations for higher education and business.
Jobs established an independent company and “Pixar” was incorporated in the state of California on 3rdFebruary 1986.
In August that year John Lasseter’s directional debut Luxo Jr was the first film released after Jobs’ purchase of the company, premiering at the 1986 SIGGRAPH conference.
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.
In 1986, Steve Jobs invested $10 Mn in the newly independent Pixar and joined the Pixar board as the Chairman.
With Lucas seeking to streamline his company, the computer division in 1986 was spun off as an independent business, the controlling interest of which was acquired by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, then the head of the computer firm NeXT Inc.
Pixar was founded in 1986 by computer scientist Ed Catmull, computer graphics pioneer Alvy Ray Smith and Steve Jobs, the Apple chief.
Next came Red's Dream in 1987, then the development of RenderMan, for which the company applied for and received a patent.
From 1988, Pixar used another proprietary software tool called “Menv” an abbreviation for “Modelling ENVironment.” Menv was a very advanced tool and allowed the animators to give amazing effects to the animation characters.
In 1989 the first version of “RenderMan” was released, this software would eventually go on to become the standard software used in the film industry for rendering computer graphics.
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.
By 1990 when more than a dozen RenderMan products were introduced, RenderMan licensing fees finally began to pay off.
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.
1991 saw Disney finally enter the picture, with the two companies announcing an agreement had been made to produce and distribute at least one computer generated animated film.
1992: CAPS (Computer Animated Production System) wins joint Academy Award for Pixar and Disney.
1993: Pixar earns third Academy Award, for RenderMan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In 1997, having amassed substantial revenues from the film and its merchandising, the studio negotiated to extend its partnership with Disney.
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.
1999: Toy Story 2 debuts and breaks box office records; Pixar claims a ninth Academy Award for Technical Achievement.
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.
In 2001 Monsters Inc. grossed $100million in the domestic box office in 9 days, faster than any previous animated film.
During the first decade in which the Academy Award for best animated feature film was bestowed (beginning in 2002), Pixar productions dominated the category, capturing eight nominations and six wins.
The Incredibles broke all Pixar records in 2004 grossing over $70million at the box office over its opening weekend.
Jobs saw the potential of the company and expanded it rapidly, taking it public in 2005 to massive financial success.
Around 2005, Pixar started developing Presto, another animation tool, using the experience gained & challenges faced from using Menv, the changing visual effects scenario of the animation industry.
They assembled The Brain Trust, the pet name for the original Pixar filmmakers: Lasseter, Unkrich, Docter, Stanton and Joe Ranft, a beloved story supervisor who sadly died in a car crash in 2005.
In June 2006 John Lassester’s Cars was Pixar’s final film as an independent company before the company was purchased from Steve Jobs by Disney.
Jobs served as CEO of the company until 2006.
Menv (“men-vee”), Pixar’s long-lived proprietary animation system, is officially retired in favor of a completely new proprietary system named Presto, after the studio’s 2008 short film.
Newt, announced in 2008, was due to be a romantic comedy about two newts who were the last of their kind and brought together to mate, which they were not keen to do.
Before 2009, the studio had only ever released one sequel, Toy Story 2.
The Good Dinosaur is Pixar’s 16th movie. It began development in 2009, with long-time Pixar employee Bob Peterson as director.
The studio went on to keep producing hit after hit, winning multiple academy awards and in 2010 Toy Story 3 became the highest grossing animated film of all time.
“Bao”, written and directed by Domee Shi is released with Incredibles 2 on June 15, 2018.
Pixar has announced a release schedule up to 2020.
Pixar's 2022 Disney Plus animated film 'Turning Red', a "passionate and personal work" from 'Bao' director Domee Shi, has "big emotional beats in abundance". Review by Sam Sewell-Peterson.
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Pixar Animation Studios competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucasfilm | 1971 | $450.0M | 2,000 | - |
| Reel FX | 1996 | $37.5M | 350 | - |
| The Walt Disney Company | 1923 | $91.4B | 223,000 | 1,438 |
| Sony Pictures | 1987 | $7.1B | 9,500 | 123 |
| LAIKA | 2005 | $36.5M | 362 | 19 |
| Lionsgate | 1997 | $3.9B | 3,500 | 1 |
| Splaat | 1982 | $704,548 | 75 | - |
| DreamWorks Animation | 1994 | $915.9M | 2,700 | - |
| Penske Media | 2003 | $37.1M | 67 | 35 |
| Print International | - | $5.3M | 53 | - |
Pixar Animation Studios history FAQs
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Pixar Animation Studios may also be known as or be related to Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Inc. and Pixar Inc.