PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS was formed 40 years ago today. A groundbreaking filmmaking studio, and acclaimed as among the greatest storytellers of the last 50 years, their story is one of innovation, near-disaster, and creative genius… 1/22

Pixar's story began in 1979 when George Lucas recruited Ed Catmull to head Lucasfilm's The Graphics Group. The group was tasked with developing cutting-edge computer technology for the film industry, including digital editing systems and computer graphics exploration. 2/22

In 1986, having created the first fully-CGI movie character in Young Sherlock Holmes, The Graphics Group was bought by technology innovator Steve Jobs, who had recently left tech giants Apple, for $10m. The company was quickly rebranded as Pixar Animation Studios. 3/22

Pixar had only about 40 employees and the company's first short film, Luxo Jr., debuted that same year. It introduced the desk lamp that would become Pixar's mascot and showcased groundbreaking tech like flexible characters, hand-painted textures, and motion blur. 4/22

In 1988, Pixar produced Tin Toy -- an animated short directed by John Lasseter. It went on to win Best Animated Short Film at the Oscars, the first entirely CGI film to do so. The clear potential for the new technology started to make waves in the animation world. 5/22

A pivotal moment came in 1991 when Pixar and Disney announced an agreement to produce at least one computer-generated animated movie. This partnership led to the creation of Toy Story; it was to be Hollywood’s first fully-CGI animated feature film 6/22

There were issues, though, when Pixar provided an early prototype of Toy Story to Disney for review. John Lasseter said the feedback was that the film was "unwatchable". This led to major rewrites and scrapping months of work. The event became known as ‘Black Friday’. 7/22

Lasseter took over as director and steadied the ship. Toy Story became the highest-grossing film of the year and revolutionized the industry, with Pixar developing software like Marionette (known as Menv) for animation and RenderMan for rendering. 8/22

Incidentally, Toy Story 2 was also hit by near-catastrophe. Mid-production, an animator accidentally deleted 90% of the film. Luckily, Technical Director Galyn Susman had a copy of the film at home while on maternity leave, preventing the loss of 2 years' work. 9/22

However, Pixar still faced challenges. The company consistently verged on bankruptcy, losing millions of dollars even after Toy Story. Their response was to produce a string of classics in A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), and Monsters, Inc. (2001). 10/22

They continued to innovate, too. Monsters, Inc. introduced Fizt, a program automating hair/fur movement. This technology led to the creation of characters like Remy in Ratatouille (2006). The software was developed further with Brave (2012). 11/22

Also, The Incredibles (2004) developed the Goo system for realistic muscle and skin simulation. This allowed for previously impossible complex shoulder movements to be animated, and became a template for future human characters in Pixar films. 12/22

Disney put Toy Story 3 into development immediately. It was released in 2010 and became the first animated film to rake in $1bn at the box office. That mark was passed in 2024 when Inside Out 2 took $1.7bn worldwide. 14/22

Another major milestone came the year before Toy Story 3 when Up (2009) became the first fully CGI animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. (Toy Story 3 repeated the achievement). 15/22

The animation innovations didn’t end there, though. In 2012, Pixar introduced their proprietary animation software, Presto. This allowed animators to work in a live, interactive environment. Presto is still used today and still constantly evolving. 16/22

They’re not all about tech, though. Pixar have been lauded for their timeless storytelling, with actors lining up to praise them. Tom Hanks (Woody in Toy Story) has said “[They] always land in the consciousness of yet another generation of moviegoers.” 17/22

Andrew Stanton (a key Pixar figure and director of Finding Nemo and WALL-E) has summed up their approach to narrative as: "The greatest story commandment is: Make me care." 18/22

Pixar has remained at the forefront of animation technology. In 2023, the company played a key role in launching the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD), promoting the standardization and growth of Universal Scene Description technology. 19/22

Pixar's influence extends beyond the animation industry, as the studio's films have become an integral part of popular culture. Characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, WALL-E and Dory have become household names, loved by generations of fans. 20/22

From its humble beginnings as a small computer graphics division to its current status as an animation powerhouse, Pixar's journey has been marked by innovation, perseverance, and a commitment to storytelling excellence. Long may it continue. 21/22

Finally… we owe Howard the Duck. George Lucas's divorce, and the massive box office failure of that film in 1986, forced Lucas to sell off parts of his company. If Howard the Duck had been a success, Pixar, Toy Story, and the rest, would likely never have existed. 22/22