TO INFINITY AND BEYOND

3D World opens the doors to Pixar and discovers the secrets of the studio that changed animation forever

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Now a household name the world over, Pixar Animation Studios began life in 1979 when it was simply known as the Graphics Group, part of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm. It wasn’t until it was acquired by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986 that two early Pixarians, Alvy Ray Smith and Loren Carpenter, devised the name Pixar from a made-up Spanish verb that they thought could mean ‘to make pictures’.

Initially conceived as a high-end computer hardware company, Pixar primarily sold its Pixar Image Computer to government agencies and the medical community, while John Lasseter’s animation department produced commercials for companies such as Tropicana, Listerine, and LifeSavers. The studio’s first foray into animated shorts, 1986’s Luxo Jr., proved a game-changer for animated filmmaking by using three-dimensional computer animation to tell the simple yet effective story of two charming desk lamps.

Almost a decade later, on 22 November 1995, Pixar forever altered the future of filmmaking with the release of its first feature film, Toy Story. Since then Pixar’s history has been one of powerful storytelling and technical innovation. 3D World spoke to current Pixar president Jim Morris, chief creative officer Pete Docter, chief technology officer Steve May, production designer Bob Pauley, and producer Kori Rae, to find out how they changed an industry and remained at its cutting edge for another 34 years and counting.