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October 11, 2018

To Infinity and Pixar

Winner of the Fall 2018 StMU History Media Award for

Article with the Best Title

Best Article in the Category of “Cultural History”

“It felt like it had taken a lifetime to get to this point, and in a sense it had.”1

 

Most of us grew up in a world where toys came to life when Andy wasn’t looking, a world where the monsters in our closet were afraid of us, a world where houses could fly with balloons. Pixar movies have created a world of magic and infinite possibilities. They have brought life and authenticity out of technology. Pixar has created a cinematographic empire like no other. Their success was forged out of mistakes and struggles as well as passion, creativity, and determination. Pixar had to make mistakes in order to grow and create the stories we love today, and they did.

Pixar’s story really starts with three men: Edwin “Ed” Catmull, Steve Jobs, and John Lasseter.

Pixar Computer | Computer History Museum | April 12, 2013 | Courtesy of Wikipedia

Ed Catmull was turned down for a teaching position and felt he had landed a software development job with no future. Steve Jobs had been humiliated throughout Silicon Valley when Apple Computer, the company he founded, fired him.2 John Lasseter was fired from his dream job as a Disney animator for trying to introduce three-dimensional animation technology there. He was told that if it didn’t make movie production cheaper or faster, it wasn’t worth it.3 All of these men were at a low point in their lives when they became part of the group of people that eventually became Pixar. What brought them out of this uncertain part of their lives was a single goal: to change the way stories are told by pushing the boundaries of what computers can do in animation and graphics by creating the first computer-animated movie in history. These people became the foundation of Pixar Animation Studios.

Not commonly remembered is the company’s inception as the Computer Graphics Division for Lucasfilm, the movie studio behind the Star Wars franchise, beginning in 1979. Through a series of events, Steve Jobs ended up buying this small struggling division in 1986 for five million dollars. He also gave it its iconic name. At that point, the company was selling computer hardware with the Pixar Image Computer as their main product. Their increasingly dwindling revenue also consisted of producing commercials for companies such as Trident and Listerine.4 With their financial struggles, and no clear path into the future of movie-making, Pixar was created.

Pixar’s goal moved further out of reach as they fired one-third of the company in 1991. At that point, Pixar had only sold three hundred Pixar Image Computers. They then decided to stop selling hardware. The five million dollars it had cost Jobs to buy the company had turned into a $54 million money pit. Its only source of revenue, and future survival, was a contract with Disney to produce three movies. There wasn’t even a guarantee that they could make the movies. Nevertheless, the team decided to take a leap of faith into the unknown path of creating computer-animated movies.5

Money was tight and there was constant miscommunication between the Pixar team and Jobs. Jobs was in the middle of establishing NeXT, a computer company he started after Apple. This meant that he rarely appeared in the Pixar offices. The Pixar team felt Jobs did not understand what they needed, and Jobs felt that the Pixar team had no idea how to run a business. Lasseter and Catmull would put out an idea and Jobs would shut it down immediately: the only way was his way. Jobs was described as brilliant and inspirational as well as dismissive, condescending, and bullying. It was clear, Pixar could not survive under Jobs. He simply did not connect with the company leadership and staff, but the company could not survive without him either.6

John Lasseter and Ed Catmull | February 28, 2010 | Jeff Heusser | Courtesy of Wikipedia

From the year 1987 to 1991, Jobs attempted to sell Pixar three times. Catmull reflected on this time, saying, “Even if Pixar doubled in value, Steve told me, we still wouldn’t be worth anything.”7 Microsoft, Alias, and Silicon Graphics all tried to acquire the company, but Jobs never sold it. Despite taking millions of dollars of his own money just to keep it afloat, he could not sell. It was his way of saying that he had something other people wanted, something special, that Pixar was worth having, despite its flaws. Every time a company made an offer for Pixar, he acted insulted, suggesting that he believed Pixar was worth much more. It was only after critics predicted that an animated film would be a hit and that Disney signed with Pixar to make their movie, that Jobs gave Pixar one last chance.8

There emerged some hope, as they assembled an excellent but inexperienced team in 1992. Catmull and Jobs began to understand each other and collaborate, and the first computer-animated movie was in its beginning stages. Production of the movie began in early 1993. Their dream was so close that they could see it; their dream was becoming a reality. Their first movie blossomed from Lasseter’s simple idea, the story about a group of toys and a boy.9

Toy Story was going to create a revolution within the technology, art, animation, and entertainment fields. Because this was going to be their debut film under their “mentor” company Disney, Pixar story writers took every advice they gave them to heart. Disney animators were the experts, and they had the success Pixar craved. Disney perceived Woody, a toy cowboy and one of the movie’s main characters, as “too perky, too earnest.”10 An edgier Woody would create a better conflict and a better story. Or so they said.

November 19, 1993 came. It was also known as “Black Friday.” On this day, a mock-up of Toy Story was presented to Disney executives. Months of hard work had been dedicated to making this idea become a reality, and finally … Disney shut down the project. There would not be an animated movie until they fixed the script.

They had technology and talent, but the entire concept was just not right. Something crucial was missing. For the next couple of months Lasseter, Catmull, and the entire team worked every possible moment to rediscover the soul of the project. By this time, special effects were starting to enter mainstream cinematography, with movies such as Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. People enjoyed the manner in which technology enhanced the movie experience, and Pixar was ready to be part of this innovation wave.

Pixar Exhibition at the CAP (Contemporary Art Pavilion) in Milan | December 4, 2011 | Pava | Courtesy of Wikipedia

The answer to their story problem was simple. They hit on the idea of a story of a boy and his toy cowboy. This experience taught them to trust their own abilities, to give Pixar its own character, and to do things the Pixar way.11

November 22, 1995. Toy Story was released to the world, to infinity and beyond.12

In total, Toy Story earned $362 million worldwide, it was a phenomenon. It had created an ingenious and creative new storytelling method. Now the graphics on the movie screen were perceived as having emotion and character. The movie had characters that had life in a way that was unprecedented from anything animators had done before. Pixar was able to create this emotional response because the overall theme was so human and relatable. With themes such as friendship, change, finding who you truly are, and your purpose in life, it is no surprise that though this movie was made for a young audience, it resonated with people of all ages. It was a masterpiece.13

The following year, Toy Story was nominated for three Academy Awards. John Lasseter received a Special Achievement Award. And Pixar announced its retirement from making commercials in order to focus on making more movies.

Due to its success with Toy Story, Disney pursued a partnership with Pixar. Shortly afterward, Pixar decided to open their company stock to the public. With this, they earned $140 million for the company. Pixar had accomplished something it had never done before; it was now a stable company.14

What started off as a constantly struggling company became an animation empire. Their stories have since touched the lives and hearts of people around the world. They’ve made us cry and they’ve made us laugh. Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, and John Lasseter came together to change the world by creating the first computer-animated movie.

The rest is history.

  1.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 56.
  2.  David A. Price, The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company (New York: Vintage Books, 2009), 8.
  3. Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, Innovate The Pixar Way: Business Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Corporate Playground (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009), 31.
  4.  “Our Story,” Pixar, accessed August 31, 2018, https://www.pixar.com/our-story-1#our-story-main.
  5.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 53.
  6.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 51-52.
  7.   Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 54.
  8. Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 53; “Our Story,” Pixar, accessed August 31, 2018, https://www.pixar.com/our-story-1#our-story-main.
  9.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 54.
  10.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 57.
  11.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 57.
  12.   “Our Story,” Pixar, accessed August 31, 2018, https://www.pixar.com/our-story-1#our-story-main.
  13.  David A. Price, The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company (New York: Vintage Books, 2009), 151.
  14.  Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace, Creativity, Inc.: overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration (New York: Random House, 2014), 60.

Recent Comments

201 comments

  • Rylie Kieny

    This is a very interesting article that describes the downfall and success of everyones favorite childhood movie. I never knew that Steve Jobs was affiliated with Pixar much less took part in the creation of Toy Story. This article shows that although businesses face challenges and adversity it doesn’t mean they can’t bounce back. Steve Jobs could have easily sold Pixar and ride himself of what many would have considered dead weight. However he believed in the company and it worked out for him in the end. Due to Jobs not giving up on Pixar we continue to be entertained by movies that everyone can enjoy.

  • Roman Olivera

    This was a movie that was definitely the first of its kind. I remember when this movie came out and I was amazed by the how different the movie was from anything I had ever seen before. I was a kid coming from the era of all cartoons and animation done by people having the skills of drawing the characters to people sitting in front computers making characters. There was just something about this way of making cartoons come to life with a 2D aspect to it. It was a hit with many younger kids and now this is what exclusively used for animation today. I can’t get over Steve Jobs having in hand in this too. That man was a technological genius.

  • Mason Meza

    Toy Story is probably pixars most popular movies. The series is very good and one of my favorite. It was incredible to see that Steve Jobs was one of the founders of Pixar. They had to overcome many obstacles to become as successful as they are and it is very inspiring to see that they never quit no matter what obstacle they faced.

  • Daniela Duran

    I would have never thought that Steve Jobs was behind the creation of Toy Story! I really enjoyed reading this article because it had very valuable content that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I can’t believe that the company that created such a great movie was almost failing at some point, but there is no doubt that it was their will to continue growing what allowed them to develop something so great as Toy Story. It is great to think that a movie I saw so many times during my childhood was such a revolutionary masterpiece in the movie industry!

  • Sabrina Hsu

    I was really surprised to hear that Steve Jobs was part of the group that started Pixar. I think it’s really amazing to see that they started with just selling computers that could do animations and graphics, and that years later was when they released their first movie. I also was really surprised that Toy Story was their first movie, I always thought they had more before that. I really enjoyed reading about everything they went through and how much they struggled only to become such a successful and well-known company.

  • Alexandra Lopez

    Toy Story played a huge role in many of our childhoods by the simple themes and relatable qualities each character has. This article is well written and the author inspires her readers that even the most influential people of our time have had their downfalls, but rise up. I have always loved each and every Pixar movie whether they made me laugh or cry in the end.

  • Eric Ortega Rodriguez

    Wow, I have never looked into the story of Pixar. I grew up watching their films and loved the production’s “out of the box” thinking due to its original work. I found it bizarre that Pixar was able to be successful because of their mistakes and struggles. It’s crazy to think that Pixar might have not been where it was today if Steve Jobs would have accepted an offer and sold Pixar. Overall, this is a very well written article with a good image selection.

  • Gabriela Ochoa

    Growing up I watched all the movies mentioned in the beginning of the article but never new the actual story of how Pixar was created like Disney was. To see that each one of these men struggled doing something that loved and built in a way come together and create something amazing is inspiring to others that want to go out and do something that they believe in without worrying about what others think. Also to read that Disney and other production companies didn’t want to invest in Pixar because of their animated movies ideas is sad because they turned out to be something great, but I’m glad that Pixar was a success and they were able to produce great movies.

  • Steven Hale

    Even now as an adult, some of my favorite movies are still Pixar films from when back when I was a kid. I think the computer animation makes the movies feel more like real scenes than images from a book, so it easier to get pulled into the stories. It is a little sad to imagine what would have happened if all the turmoil and lack of profits caused Jobs to sell the company before Toy Story. I’m glad he didn’t.

  • Sienna Guerra

    I really enjoyed this article! It was fabulous! Toy story is one of Pixar’s most famous movies and the title caught my attention the most. It really surprised me to know that Steve Jobs was involved in founding Pixar. I really liked how you included the hardships of the company and the success is still has through animation for young kids and families today.

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