THE sound and image of a hopping lamp is certainly the best way to describe Pixar in a nutshell. The release of Cars 2 this year marks the 25th anniversary of the studio’s production in film.
Pixar’s traits go back to 1979 when Ed Catmull, a New York university graduate, teamed up with George Lucas, known for masterminding the Star Wars saga. Together, they set up a Computer Graphics division within Lucasfilm to trial and test out early CGI animation functions. The release of Disney’s Tron in 1982, which relied mainly on CGI effects, convinced Catmull that it was time to move into the foray of animated film.
Four years later, Pixar was born. Spearheaded by Catmull, John Lasseter and Apple guru Steve Jobs, the first few years saw a production of animated shorts. The first being Luxo Jr which featured the lamp mascots whilst backstage, it was case of solving the necessary issues and problems required before beginning to consider producing a feature animated production.
In 1991, the company piloted their early creations in a feature film to several investors. Walt Disney Pictures liked this idea a lot, believing that it would revive their animation crown which had begun to wane in the late eighties. A $26million investment was made to distribute three animated films and in 1995, Toy Story was the first film to be produced in complete CGI, opening to huge box offices figures worldwide.
Many box office successes continued with A Bug’s Life (1999), Toy Story 2 (2000), Monsters. Inc (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004) and Cars (2006) whilst at the same time, the studio continued to churn out quirky and witty short cartoons to accompany the theatrical releases. The partnership brought a new lease of life to Disney’s animation features.
However, behind the scenes, events were of a more crumbling nature. A disagreement over the release of Toy Story 2 and contractual arguments soon broke out between the two parties which eventually led to the announcement of a split Pixar and Disney in 2004.
Less than two years later however, when Pixar was preparing to sign a lucrative distribution contract with 20th Century Fox, Disney vetoed the deal when it came up with a final offer that Pixar just couldn’t refuse…company takeover. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney for an estimated $7.4 billion. Steve Jobs became a non-executive producer, as he went to return to his first love of Apple whilst still continuing to work for Pixar and John Lasseter was appointed as president of Disney’s Animation Studios.
This new deal brought more box office hits in Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009) and ten years after the first sequel, the Toy Story trilogy was completed with Toy Story 3 last year which subsequently grossed nearly $200 million worldwide.
The success of the movies in the box office have also earned critical acclaim in the form of award, for example a Pixar film has won the award for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars six times in the last eight years, better than a standard 1:3 ratio.
Love it or hate it, you just can’t ignore Pixar’s films and they will be around for a very long time to come. Congratulations on Pixar’s deserving 25 years of success and here’s to the next 25 years!
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