Pixar

This article is about the computer animation studio. For other uses, see Pixar (disambiguation).

Pixar Animation Studios
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAnimation
PredecessorThe Graphics Group of Lucasfilm Computer Division (1979–1986)
FoundedFebruary 3, 1986; 38 years ago (1986-02-03) in Richmond, California
Founders
Headquarters1200 Park Avenue,
Emeryville, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsComputer animations
Brands
Number of employees
1,233 (2020) Edit this on Wikidata
ParentWalt Disney Studios (2006–present)
Websitewww.pixar.com Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

Pixar Animation Studios, known simply as Pixar (/ˈpɪksɑːr/), is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, a segment of The Walt Disney Company.

Pixar started in 1979 as part of the Lucasfilm computer division. It was known as the Graphics Group before its spin-off as a corporation in 1986, with funding from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who became its majority shareholder.[2] Disney announced its acquisition of Pixar in January 2006, and completed it in May 2006.[4][5][6] Pixar is best known for its feature films, technologically powered by RenderMan, the company's own implementation of the industry-standard RenderMan Interface Specification image-rendering API. The studio's mascot is Luxo Jr., a desk lamp from the studio's 1986 short film of the same name.

Pixar has produced 28 feature films, starting with Toy Story (1995), which is the first fully computer-animated feature film; its most recent film was Inside Out 2 (2024). The studio has also produced many short films. As of July 2023, its feature films have earned over $15 billion at the worldwide box office with an average gross of $589 million per film.[7] Toy Story 3 (2010), Finding Dory (2016), Incredibles 2 (2018), Toy Story 4 (2019) and the aforementioned Inside Out 2 all grossed over $1 billion and are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time. Moreover, 15 of Pixar's films are in the 50 highest-grossing animated films of all time. Inside Out 2 is currently the highest grossing animated film of all time.[8]

Pixar has earned 23 Academy Awards, 10 Golden Globe Awards, and 11 Grammy Awards, along with numerous other awards and acknowledgments. Since its inauguration in 2001, eleven Pixar films have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, including Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), the aforementioned Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, Brave (2012), Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), and Soul (2020). Toy Story 3 and Up were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

In February 2009, Pixar executives John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich were presented with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement by the Venice Film Festival. The physical award was ceremoniously handed to Lucasfilm's founder, George Lucas.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PixarTimeline was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Smith, Alvy Ray. "Pixar Founding Documents". Alvy Ray Smith Homepage. Archived from the original on April 27, 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Smith, Alvy Ray. "Proof of Pixar Cofounders" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "Joint Press Release". www.sec.gov. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Walt Disney Company, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jan 26, 2006" (PDF). secdatabase.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Walt-Disney-Company-May-2006-8-K was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Box Office History for Disney-Pixar Movies". The-Numbers. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  8. ^ https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/inside-out-2-box-office-north-america-riley-her-emotions-are-less-than-6-million-away-from-beating-chris-pratt-led-jurassic-worlds-650-million-domestic-haul/