The Pixar story

The animation studio Pixar has experienced a number of challenges in its short history

A 

Between 2000 and 2005, under former Chief Executive Offiicer (CEO) Michael D Eisner, the Walt Disney Company set its shareholder meetings in a series of cold weather cities during cold-weather months. Many suspected that this had been done to discourage attendance by the company's increasingly restless shareholders. In 2006, however, there was no need for such measures. In October 2005, Chief Operating Officer Robert Iger had replaced Eisner as CEO. On taking charge, Iger quickly carried out a bold move, negotiating a buyout of Pixar Animation Studios. Although the price was high, the acquisition proved to be overwhelmingly popular.

B 

Pixar had started life twenty years earlier as Pixar Inc., a computer hardware company, one of hundreds dotting the landscape of the San Francisce Bay Area in California. Within the company, a tiny animation group made short promotional films that brought in practically no revenue;the group came close more than once to being shut down. When the Pixar Image Computer proved unprofitable, the company turned to selling animation software and making animated commercials, but it continued to lose money year after year.

C 

In 1991, when Disney agreed to finance the production of Pixar's first feature film for cinema release, Disney largely dictated the terms of the contract. In late 1993, Disney considered ordering Pixar to shut down production of the John Lasseter-directed film Toy Story because of problems with the script. At the time, Hollywood commentators doubted whether audiences would even sit through a full-length film made using the new medium of computer animation. It was unclear whether computer animation would prove to be a novelty that would quickly wear thin.

D 

Before long, however, circumstances changed dramatically. A succession of critically acclaimed and commercially successful animated feature films, beginning with the release of Toy Story in 1995 and followed by A Bug's Life and Finding Nemo, made Pixar the world's leading animation studio. Disney earned enormous profits from distributing the films. When Pixar's majority owner and CEO, Steve Jobs, cut off contract talks with Disney in early 2004, the business press focused on how Disney would cope. By that time, Pixar films accounted for approximately 45 per cert of the operating income from Disney's film operations. Internal market research also showed that mothers of young children trusted the Pixar brand more than Disney's.

E 

As a result of the 2005 acquisition, John Lasseter soon assumed the roles of Chief Creative Officer for both Disney and Pixar Animation, as well as Principal Creative Adviser for Disney's theme parks and resorts worldwide. Having helped to create a new genre of film at Pixar, Lasseter returned to Disney on his own teerms, despite having briefly worked there earlier in his career.

F 

When Iger invited Lasseter to speak at the 2006 shareholders' meeting, he was greeted with enthusiastic applause accompanied by a few bars of the Toy Story theme music. Lasseter spoke about his childhood love of Bugs Bunny cartoons and described working as a ride operator on Disneyland's Jungle Cruise, where telling jokes helped him gain confidence in public speaking. He also recalled studying at the California Institute of the Arts and the frustration he felt when Disney initially rejected computer animation technology. He concluded by explaining how he followed his dream to work with Ed Catmull.

G 

Dr Edwin Catmull, then sixty-one years old and president of Pixar, was seated among the shareholders. Originally a computer graphics researcher, Catmull had moved unexpectedly into business leadership. He was widely regarded as brilliant, yet known for listening rather than dominating conversations, and when he spoke his manner was consistently friendly and courteous.

H 

Although Catmull built on the work of others, the revolution in three-dimensional animation was largely his achievement. He maintained a long-term vision of fully computer-animated films and, while leading computer graphics laboratories at the New York Institute of Technology and at George Lucas's Lucasfilm, assembled the technical and creative teams that would later form the core of Pixar Animation Studios.