To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios

482 Pages·2007·61.17 MB·English

by  Karen Paik

Woody and Buzz. Rendered character pose.

Copyright © 2007 by Disney Enterprises, Inc./Pixar Animation Studios.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8118-5012-4 (hc)
ISBN-13: 978-1-45214765-9 (epub, mobi) Designed by Tolleson Design
Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
Cover: Buzz Lightyear. Rendered character pose.
Credits:
Page 28, Brent Schlender, “Pixar’s Magic Man,” Fortune, May 2006.
Page 48, Steve Jobs, excerpt from interview by Daniel Morrow, Smithsonian Instituion Oral and Video Histories, April
20, 1995.
Pages 48-49, Steve Jobs, excerpt from commencement address, Stanford University, June 12, 2005.
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are registered trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. Used with permission. © Hasbro, Inc.
All rights reserved. © POOF-Slinky, LLC.
Materials and characters from the movie Cars. Copyright ©2007 Disney/Pixar. Disney/Pixar elements
©Disney/Pixar, not including underlying vehicles owned by third parties; and, if applicable: Volkswagen
trademarks, design patents and copyrights are used with the approval of the owner Volkswagen AG.
Chevrolet Impala is a trademark of General Motors. Hudson Hornet is a trademark of Chrysler LLC. FIAT is
a trademark of FIAT S.p.A. Mercury is a trademark of Ford Motor Company. Porsche is a trademark of
Porsche. Jeep© and the Jeep© grille design are registered trademarks of Chrysler LLC. Sarge’s rank insignia
design used with the approval of the U.S. Army. Plymouth Superbird is a trademark of Chrysler LLC. Petty
marks used by permission of Petty Marketing LLC. Background inspired by the Cadillac Ranch by Ant Farm
(Lord, Michels and Marquez) © 1974.
Contents
Foreword 6
Introduction 8
Chapter 1: Ed 12
University of Utah 13
New York Tech 17
Lucasfilm 19
The Lucasfilm Computer Division 21
Chapter 2: John 28
CalArts 30
Disney 34
Tron 37
Lucasfilm 41
André & Wally B 42
How to Start a Business 46
Chapter 3: Steve 48
Reed 48
Apple 49
Putting a Deal Together 50
Pixar 52
Chapter 4: Pixar’s Early Days 56
CAPS 56
Luxo Jr. 59
Dark Days 62
Commercials 64
The Fork in the Road 68
Moving Toward a Feature 68
Spotlight: Sound 72
Spotlight: The Early Short Films 74
Red’s Dream 74
Tin Toy 74
Knick Knack 76
Chapter 5: Toy Story 80
Building the Team 82
Story 84
Voices 86
Jumping Hoops 87
Black Day 89
Putting Themselves into the Film 91
Production 92
Lee 96
Animation 97
The Top of the Mountain 99
The Home Stretch 102
Toys 103
Debut 104
Spotlight: Music 106
Chapter 6: Building a Studio 108
The IPO 109
Looking Ahead 111
Directors 111
Chapter 7: A Bug’s Life 116
An Epic of Miniature Proportions 118
The View from the Bug-Cam 124
Hyper-Real Life 125
Growing Pains 129
Antz 131
Wrapping Bugs 134
Following Through 137
Spotlight: “Geri’s Game” 138
Chapter 8: Toy Story 2 142
Between Toy Heaven and Toy Hell 142
Trying to Do Two Things at Once 145
Stopping the Train 146
“Toy Story was us” 149
Go, Go, Go, Go 154
The Aftermath 156
Pixar’s Defining Moment 158
Spotlight: Pixar University 162
Chapter 9: Pixar at Home 164
San Rafael 164
Point Richmond 166
“Steve’s Movie” 168
Emeryville 169
The Love Lounge 171
At Home 172
Spotlight: Voices 174
Chapter 10: Monsters, Inc. 178
The Self-Effacing Showman 178
What Makes a Monster? 181
Balancing Multiple Movies 186
“A Lot of Pressure for Any Artist” 188
Rolling Up Your Sleeves 195
“Can CG Be Cuddly?” 196
“Where Does What We’re Doing Fit into the World Right Now?” 198
Spotlight: “For the Birds” 200
Chapter 11: Finding Nemo 204
Acting on Paper 204
Finding Nemo 212
Becoming a Director 213
Inventing an Ocean 218
Beta Testing the Studio 224
Spotlight: RenderMan 226
Chapter 12: The Incredibles 230
Both Tortoise and Hare 230
Art Imitates Life 236
From Hand-Drawn to CG 237
Flooring the Rolls-Royce 239
Inventing a Parachute On the Way Out of the Plane 245
Pixar to Bird: Merry Christmas 249
Spotlight: “Boundin’ ” 252
Chapter 13: Cars 256
The Journey Is the Reward 258
Drawings that Live 261
McQ 263
Creating the World of Cars 266
History at a Glance 268
“Two-and-a-Half Jobs” 272
Joe 275
Spotlight: “One Man Band” 278
Chapter 14: Pixar Joins with Disney 282
Disney 283
Sequels 284
Changes 285
Company Meeting 286
Something Different 287
Protecting Pixar 290
Protecting Change 292
Conclusion 294
The Whole Is Greater Than the Parts 294
The Best Idea Wins 295
Making Movies to Be Proud Of 296
Every Day Is the Beginning 297
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards 299
Acknowledgments 300
Index 301
Author Biographies 304
Foreword
As we look back at Pixar’s first twenty years, we are amazed by how this
company has grown. It’s a great gift to be able to support yourself doing work
that you love, and all of us have been honored to see our characters and stories
find a place in the world outside our studio.
The people who go to see our movies are trusting us with something very
important—their time and their imagination. So in order to respect that trust, we
have to keep changing; we have to challenge ourselves and try to surprise our
audiences with something new every time.
The thing about doing something new, of course, is that you never know what’s
going to happen as a result. But that’s never stopped anyone at the studio, and
that spirit of adventure is the thing that makes us most proud to be part of the
Pixar community.
It’s been our privilege to work with the great people whose dedication,
incredible range of talents, and uncompromising standards have made this studio
what it is. They have surprised and inspired us every day for over twenty years.
—John Lasseter, Steve Jobs, and Ed Catmull