Is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company

1979

Ed Catmull is recruited by George Lucas from The New York Institute of Technology to head Lucasfilm's Computer Division, a group charged with developing state-of-the-art computer technology for the film industry. Lucas's wish list: a digital (nonlinear) film editing system,

a digital sound editing system, a digital film printer, and further exploration of computer graphics.

1983

Computer Division a John Lasseter is invited to join the graphics group at Lucasfilm's Computer Division, and works on Thomas Porter pool ball image as well as the short film The Adventures of André & Wally B. He would be hired full-time the following year, joining the is an "Interface Designer."

1984

A partially completed version of The Adventures of André & Wally B. premieres at SIGGRAPH. It is the first short film created by the future animation studio. It features ground-breaking technology such as complex flexible characters, hand-painted textures, and motion blur.

1986

Steve Jobs purchases the Computer Graphics Division from George Lucas and establishes an independent company to be christened "Pixar." At this time about 44 people are employed. Luxo Jr. is completed. The short film, John Lasseter’s directorial debut, is unveiled in August at SIGGRAPH and then screened for general audiences at Los Angeles-area theaters in November. Luxo Jr. will be the first three-dimensional computer animated film to be nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar®.

1987

Red’s Dream is completed. Its rain effect and complexity of lighting pose new technological challenges for the team and allow a study in creating mood and atmosphere. A portion of the film is rendered entirely on the Pixar Image Computer. Also directed by John Lasseter, the short film has its premiere in July at SIGGRAPH.

1988

Tin Toy is completed. A partially completed version is screened for SIGGRAPH audiences in August, and the film receives its official premiere later that year at the Ottawa International Film Fest. Tin Toy will be the first computer animated film to receive an Academy Award® when it is named Best Animated Short Film of 1988. Pixar’s new animation system, Menv (short for "modeling environment"), comes online.

Early History. Pixar was founded as the Graphics Group, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm that was launched in 1979 with the hiring of Dr. Ed Catmull from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), where he was in charge of the Computer Graphics Lab (CGL).

By Anthony B and Caiman