28 Years of Animation Based in California, Pixar is an American animation studio best known for their creation of CGI-animated films. Each film they have produced has been a critical and financial hit, all fourteen of them equally charming and innovative. The studio has won a total of twenty-seven Academy Awards, eleven Grammy awards, and seven Global Globe Awards. So far, the company has made over $8.5 billion worldwide.

History of Pixar Pixar studios began in 1979 as a subdivision of Lucasfilms, before being bought by Steve Jobs and established as an independent studio. In 2006 it became a part of The Walt Disney Studios. In 1989 Pixar released Photorealistic RenderMan, a revolutionary computer program which has not only been used on Pixar’s cg movies, but also blockbuster hits such as Titanic, the Star Wars prequels, and The Lord of the Rings. After poor sales of Pixar’s computers in the late eighties and early nineties, the animation department began producing computer animated commercials for outside companies. In 1991, after a difficult beginning to the year, letting almost half of their employees go, Pixar made a $26 million deal with Disney to produce 3 cg animated feature films, the first of which was Toy Story. After the movie’s success, Pixar continued it’s to rise to fame, alongside Disney. They recently celebrated their 25th anniversary with the release of Pixar’s twelfth feature film, Cars 2.

Pixar’s style Pixar’s style is very simple, their characters are made of basic shapes and are extremely caricatured. From the rectangle that is Carl (from Up) to the triangular torso of Mr. Incredible (from The Incredibles) simple shapes are the obvious building blocks of Pixar’s style. Disney vs Pixar: Mike and Sully Monsters Inc : Wall-e:

Miyazaki’s Totoro in Pixar’s Toy Story 3: Miyazaki and Pixar Unsurprisingly, the fluid anime of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki has, and will undoubtedly continue to play a large influence on the animation industry. Pete Docter, director of the films Up and Monsters, Inc. as well as a co-creator of other Pixar works, has described anime, specifically Miyazaki, as an influence on his work. Miyazaki’s Totoro in Pixar’s Toy Story 3:

Toy Story Toy Story was Pixar’s first full length film, about the toys in a boy’s room. It was the first movie to feature total CGI. While movies like Lion King and Beauty and the Beast featured CGI, there had never been a full CGI movie. When the film was released, John Lasseter, who directed the film, was given an Academy Award, creating the Best Animated Feature film category, and inspired many other animated hit films such as Shrek, Ice Age and Kung Fu Panda.

The Incredibles This quirky story about a family of superheroes was Pixar’s 6th film. It required new technology to animate detailed human anatomy, clothing,realistic skin, and hair. Before this film, the amount of hair and cloth had never been done before! It was said to be their most complicated film (CGI-wise) to make. They had to spend a whole year working out the rigs before actually starting the animation process. This film paved the way for their future character animation, giving Pixar new tools to make more realistic human characters.

UP Up is a 2009 movie about a house that lifts into the clouds by thousands of attached balloons. The protagonists are an unusual trio consisting of a bitter old man, an excitable wild scout, and a dog that can talk due to his collar. Pixar truly showed their artistic style in this film, especially in terms of the visuals and story. The tale is unusually tender and bittersweet, yet is able to remain humorous. Most importantly, the character’s have an exaggerated look-- but pixar manages to make it look appealing and the movements realistic.

Their storytelling shined in the unforgettable montage of Carl and Ellie’s love story.

Pixar in the Future Pixar continues to be one of the most influential, dominating, and growing animation studios today.They are currently in the process of creating new work for us all to enjoy. Here are a few future titles they’ve teased: In April 2012, Pixar announced their intention to create a film centered on the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos which is to be directed by Lee Unkrich. Both an official title and release date have yet to be announced.

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