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The beginning
George Lucas recruits Ed Catmull from the
New York Institute of Technology to head Lucasfilm’s Computer Division, a group charged with developing state-of-the-art computer technology for the film industry. Lucas’s wish list was a digital film editing system, a digital sound editing system, a laser film printer, and further exploration of
computer graphics. -
First Short Film
A partially completed version of “The Adventures of André & Wally B.” premieres at SIGGRAPH. It is the first short film created by the future animation studio, featuring complex flexible characters, hand-painted textures, and motion blur. It is also the first example of character animation in the young medium of computer animation. -
Collaboration
Steve Jobs purchases the Computer Division from George Lucas and establishes the group as an independent company, “Pixar.” At this time about 40 people are employed.
Pixar and Disney begin collaboration on CAPS, the Computer Animation Production System, which would revolutionize the creation of traditional animated films. The first check written to Pixar by a client after its incorporation is from Disney, for work on this project. -
To Infinity, and Beyond!
Toy Story, the world’s first computer animated feature film, is released in theaters on November 22. It opens at #1 that weekend and will go on to become the highest grossing film of the year, making $192 million domestically and $362 million worldwide. Pixar’s initial public offering takes place just days later, on November 28. It is the largest IPO of the year. -
An Oscar!
Toy Story is recognized with Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song, Best Original Score, and Best Original Screenplay—the first time an animated film is recognized for screenwriting. John Lasseter receives a Special Achievement Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his inspired leadership of the Pixar Toy Story Team resulting in the first feature-length computer animated film. -
The Move
Pixar moves to its new building in Emeryville, California. They started coming up with new ideas and making them come to life. -
Museum
Pixar’s first external exhibition of original artwork,
Pixar: 20 Years of Animation, opens at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York. -
Cannes Film Festival
Up becomes the first animated feature film to open the Cannes Film Festival. It opens in wide release on May 29 with the short film “Partly Cloudy.” -
Playland
“Toy Story Playland,” a themed land based on the
Toy Story films, opens at Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. -
New System
Menv, 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. Brave is the first film animated using this new system—which is still referred to internally as “menv.” -
Release The Software!
Pixar releases its Academy Award-winning RenderMan software for non-commercial use. Online educational program Pixar in a Box is released in partnership with Khan Academy. The Science Behind Pixar exhibit opens at the Museum of Science, Boston. -
Morelia International Film Festival
Coco premiered on October 20, 2017 during the
Morelia International Film Festival in Morelia, Mexico. It went on to become Mexico's #1 highest grossing
film of all time.
