PIXAR PERFECT

As the trailblazing studio behind the likes of Toy Story and Monsters Inc. marks its 40th anniversary, GEORGE SIMPSON chats to its creative director Jay Ward about how the pioneering animators took our imaginations to infinity and beyond

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RECLINING on a larger-than-life red chair next to a pile of oversized books, I feel like one of the sentient toys come to life in the phenomenally successful Toy Story films. The eye-catching recreated set from Sunny Side Daycare, which featured in the franchise's third instalment, is one of 13 Pixar universes on show in London for a major new exhibition celebrating the animation studio's 40th anniversary.

Fans and families can get lost in a tour of the most famous locations from Monsters Inc., Cars, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, and more, featuring sounds, smells, music and life-sized familiar figurines that are great for taking selfies.

And walking around, it doesn't take long for my own memories of Toy Story to come flooding back I was just four years old when the first-ever CGI-animated feature film was released in 1995. My parents and I were so enamoured by the unforgettable characters and heartfelt, humorous storytelling that we ended up seeing it three times on the big screen.

It's for this reason that The Mundo Pixar Experience is the perfect place to meet the studio's Creative Director of Franchise, Jay Ward, the genius behind many of its immersive adventures since 1998.

The cheery 56-year-old Californian began his career on Monsters Inc and was an art coordinator on the Cars franchise.

Today, his job entails overseeing post-film creative projects like this one to help fans across generations engage with the franchise for years to come.

Now, underneath a giant Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Toy Story 3's antagonist), Ward explains why Pixar's formula proved its critics wrong including future owner Disney.

In 1991, a cash-stripped Pixar signed an agreement with Disney to co-produce three feature-length films including the first Toy Story about a set of toys that come to life when humans are not around.