Pixar Animation Studios

Pixar Animation Studios began in 1986, when Steve Jobs purchased Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics Division and established an independent company. Ed Catmull became president, Alvy Ray Smith served as a cofounder, and John Lasseter led creative work after leaving Disney. Before feature films, Pixar sold high-end graphics hardware, including the Pixar Image Computer, and developed RenderMan, software later used widely for visual effects and animation. Its early shorts demonstrated technical and storytelling ambitions: The Adventures of André and Wally B. premiered in 1984 under Lucasfilm, Luxo Jr. earned an Academy Award nomination in 1986, and Tin Toy won the 1988 Oscar for animated short film. Toy Story, released in 1995 through Disney, was the first feature-length film made entirely with computer animation. It centered on Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll, and Buzz Lightyear, a newly arrived space-ranger toy, whose rivalry changed when they were separated from their owner, Andy. Its commercial success made Pixar a major feature-animation studio. Pixar followed it with A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and later releases such as Inside Out, Coco, Soul, Luca, Turning Red, and Elemental. Several won the Academy Award for best animated feature: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside Out, Coco, Toy Story 4, and Soul. Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $7.4 billion. The deal made Jobs Disney's largest individual shareholder and placed Catmull and Lasseter in leadership roles at both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Pixar's headquarters are in Emeryville, California. Its films are distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, while Pixar remains a Disney subsidiary. The hopping desk lamp in Pixar's opening logo is Luxo Jr., the character from Lasseter's 1986 short; it replaces the letter “I” in the studio name. Pete Docter, director of Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out, and Soul, became Pixar's chief creative officer in 2018 after Lasseter's departure. Pixar has also produced feature sequels including Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, Cars 3, and Lightyear, a 2022 film presenting a fictional astronaut whose adventures inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy. In 2024, the studio released Inside Out 2, directed by Kelsey Mann, revisiting Riley's mind as new emotions arrive during adolescence. That film became a major theatrical success, but Pixar's identity remains tied to its computer-animated features, shorts, and technical heritage from the company's beginning onward.