John Lasseter

John Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, director, producer, and executive whose career is central to the rise of Pixar and the modern feature-length computer-animation industry. Raised in Whittier, California, he studied character animation at the California Institute of the Arts, where his student films included Lady and the Lamp. After joining Walt Disney Productions in 1979, he worked as an animator on The Fox and the Hound and Mickey's Christmas Carol.

Disney dismissed Lasseter in 1983, after he pressed for computer-animation experiments that management considered too costly. He subsequently joined Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics Group in 1984, working with Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith. When Steve Jobs bought that division in 1986, it became Pixar. Lasseter directed Pixar's short Luxo Jr., released in 1986; its desk-lamp characters established the Luxo lamp as Pixar's emblem. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

As director of Toy Story (1995), Lasseter helped deliver the first feature film made entirely with computer-generated animation. Its story centers on Woody, a pull-string cowboy toy, whose status in Andy's room is threatened by Buzz Lightyear, a space-ranger figure who initially believes he is real. Toy Story received a Special Achievement Academy Award recognizing its first feature-length computer-animated achievement.

Lasseter also directed A Bug's Life (1998), about Flik, an inventor ant seeking help against grasshoppers; Toy Story 2 (1999); Monsters, Inc. (2001), set in Monstropolis and centered on Sulley and Mike; and Cars (2006), in which race car Lightning McQueen is stranded in Radiator Springs. He co-directed Cars 2 (2011). His producer credits include The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and Inside Out.

In 2006, following Disney's acquisition of Pixar, Lasseter became chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and he was also principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering. He oversaw Disney Animation's production during releases including Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Zootopia.

In November 2017, Lasseter announced a six-month leave after acknowledging unspecified “missteps” in his behavior. Reports described allegations of unwanted touching and comments; he said he was sorry for making employees feel disrespected or uncomfortable. Disney said in June 2018 that he would leave at the end of the year. He later joined Skydance Animation as head of animation in 2019. There he has overseen projects including Luck, Skydance Animation's 2022 feature, directed by Peggy Holmes and produced by Lasseter himself.