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THE STORY BEHIND THE APP Pixar DISNEY’S

JACKSON PETERS

MASON CREST MIAMI

Mason Crest PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2024 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4781-5 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4773-0 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7046-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Peters, Jackson, author. Title: Disney’s Pixar / Jackson Peters. Description: Hollywood, FL : Mason Crest, [2024] | Series: Tech titans | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023015346 | ISBN 9781422247815 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422270462 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Pixar (Firm)--Juvenile literature. | Animated films--United States--Juvenile literature. | Computer animation--United States--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC NC1766.U52 P58375 2024 | DDC 384.8065/73--dc23/eng/20230420

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023015346 Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Andrew Luke Interior and cover design: Tara Raymo • CreativelyTara Production: Crafted Content LLC Publisher’s Note: Websites listed in this book were active at the time of publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites that have changed their address or discontinued operation since the date of publication. The publisher reviews and updates the websites each time the book is reprinted.

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1: To Infinity and Beyond . ...................................... 7 Chapter 2: Rise to the Top . ..................................... 21 Chapter 3: Market Domination . ................................. 33 Chapter 4: Beyond the Boardroom . ........................... 47 Chapter 5: On the Horizon ............................................. 61 Series Glossary of Key Terms . ....................................... 74 Further Reading . ................................................ 76 Internet Resources ......................................................... 77 Index . ............................................................................... 78 Author’s Biography & Credits . ..................................... 80 KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

calligraphy: decorative handwriting made with a pen or brush prolific: producing many works; plentiful typography: the art of arranging typed text WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

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chapter 1

SUPER SUCCESSFUL When Woody and Buzz Lightyear appeared on movie screens in 1995 in Toy Story —the first feature-length, fully computer-animated film—the history-making moment marked the beginning of Pixar’s rise as one of the greatest success stories in entertainment history. Ever since, a parade of lovable and legendary Pixar-crafted characters—Nemo, Dory, and Lightning McQueen, among others— have entertained and delighted fans around the world. Pixar’s computer-animated movies have become some of the most beloved films of all time while accumulating dozens of Academy Awards and a trophy case filled with Grammy and Golden Globe awards, too. The masterful men behind the magic—Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, and John Lasseter—were passionate, persistent, and prolific with their animated movie-making, turning Pixar into a global giant that continues rolling out must-see films today. GROWING UP Jobs was adopted shortly after his birth in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. His biological parents were college graduate TO INFINITY AND BEYOND

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The atrium of Pixar’s headquarters shows the company’s sense of fun, creativity, and its success, as proven by the many awards visible in the display case.

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students who were not married and unprepared for parenthood. In 2005, Jobs talked about his adoptive mother and why she wanted to adopt him. “My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out, they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking, ‘We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?’ They said, ‘Of course.’ Jobs’ birth mother was disappointed to learn that his new mother had never finished college, and his new father had never graduated from high school. Determined that her son would experience higher education, Jobs’ birth mother had second thoughts about the adoption. “She refused to sign the final adoption papers,” Jobs said. “She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.” Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California, adopted him. He was a machinist, and his wife was an accountant. They raised Jobs and saved money so they could one day send him to college, fulfilling their promise to their son’s birth mother. Jobs was an intelligent child, but he also had a hard time giving school his full attention. Interested in computers and technology, he grew up learning from the engineers in his town. He also frequently attended after-school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California.

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To Infinity and Beyond

Jobs grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley, before it became the epicenter of the tech explosion.

In 1972, Jobs graduated from high school and prepared for college. His parents kept their promise to his birth mother. A SHORT STAY As it turned out, college was not for Jobs. Almost immediately into his tenure at Reed College, a liberal arts school in Portland, Oregon, he found the required classes so boring that he dropped out after just one semester so he could drop in on classes that interested him. One of the classes he most enjoyed was calligraphy . Jobs was fascinated by the creativity and decided to join the class to learn how to do it himself.

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“I learned about serif and san-serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great,” he told graduating students during a commencement address he delivered at Stanford. “It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life.” Or so he thought. A decade later, when he and his friends were busily working on designing the first Macintosh computer, he recalled this uncommon skill he’d picked up. “We designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography,” he said. A FRESH PERSPECTIVE After his early departure from Reed College in 1974, Jobs was hired at Atari (one of the first video game companies), where he helped create some of the era’s most popular games. Jobs met Steve Wozniak when he was still in high school, and the two remained friends through his time at Reed College. Wozniak, known as “Woz,” later co-founded Apple with Jobs. Jobs was adventurous, and he wanted to see new things. So, he joined his friend, and future Apple employee, Daniel Kottke, on a backpacking trip to India and came back with a shaved head and a new perspective on life. Jobs and Woz designed and worked with computers as a hobby, becoming part of a group called the Homebrew Computer Club. Then, in 1976, they decided to create a new kind of computer.

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To Infinity and Beyond

In 1974, Jobs was hired by Atari, makers of the popular 2600 gaming console.

HIS FIRST STARTUP Jobs sold his Volkswagen microbus for $1,500, and Woz sold his prized Hewlett-Packard scientific calculator for $250. With some money to start their new company, the two began working in the Jobs’ family garage. As the company grew, Apple was soon at the forefront of innovation. By making computers smaller and more user-friendly, Apple paved the way for technologies and trends that have become so commonplace that most people can’t imagine life without them.

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The garage where it all began.

Jobs was worth $200 million by the time he was twenty-five, and he was on the cover of Time magazine the following year. Despite his important role in Apple’s creation and success, eventually, Jobs wasn’t a good fit for the direction that Apple was heading. In 1985, he was fired from the company he had founded. The stunning change resulted from internal turmoil that had been going on at Apple for years. When he left the company to which he’d devoted so much of himself, he felt lost, though he still had the same passion for life.

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To Infinity and Beyond

THE BEGINNING OF PIXAR In the early 1970s, Ed Catmull, a brilliant visionary and tech genius, was engrossed in computer animation work. By the end of the decade, he accepted an offer from George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker best known for creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Lucas hired Catmull (and his team) to lead the Lucasfilm Computer Division. Catmull then recruited animation innovator John Lasseter to help him, which seemed to be a perfect match as the pair shared a passion

In 1982, Jobs was on the cover of Time magazine.

for producing computer-generated short films. It turned out, however, that it was difficult for the Computer Division to turn a profit over the years, and while Lucas didn’t share his division’s level of excitement when it came to animation, Jobs did. Jobs had offered to buy the Computer Division from Lucas while at Apple. The year after he left (1986), he paid just $5 million to buy it and named it Pixar Animation Studios. In an interview years later discussing that deal, Lucas said of Jobs, “He did things because they were fun and cool.” Jobs also had a savvy eye for the potential in the dynamic duo of Catmull and Lasseter and capitalized on the opportunity to invest in them. He put in another $5 million immediately following the acquisition. Jobs could have turned his attention—and pried open his checkbook—to all sorts of companies

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that would have welcomed his leadership and business brilliance, but it was Pixar that attracted his attention. With Jobs overseeing the company, success was on the horizon, but it would be necessary to overcome some rocky patches along the way. The company’s first notable product, the Pixar Image Computer, was a game-changer. Lasseter put it to masterful use, producing Luxo Jr ., a two-minute animated short that earned an Oscar nomination in 1987. Two years later, Lasseter delivered Tin Toy , which nabbed an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. It was a reputation booster for Pixar, and innovations such as CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) and Renderman (rendering interface software) pushed it into the industry spotlight. While Pixar’s software and short productions were raking in acclaim and shiny awards to show off, its computer hardware business was leaking money and putting serious financial strain on the company. So, in 1990, Jobs sold off Pixar’s hardware division. All that remained were the 42 employees in Lasseter’s growing animation department. They worked on commercials and a few short pieces for Nickelodeon and Sesame Street , but profits were scarce and Jobs pondered selling the company. In the movie-making business, however, timing is everything, and a little sprinkle of luck never hurts, either. As Pixar’s profile was growing in the world of animation, The Walt Disney Company was dabbling with new animation techniques, too. Riding the success of The Little Mermaid in 1989, Disney executives were primed to explore other opportunities to innovate and create animated films. When Pixar pitched an idea for a potential Christmas-themed project, Disney responded with an even better offer: a massive $26 million deal to produce three computer-animated feature films, the first of which would be a movie called Toy Story .

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To Infinity and Beyond

Despite having that Disney deal in place, the company was still hemorrhaging money, and Jobs debated whether he should sell his Pixar shares and devote his time and money to other pursuits. However, he ended up putting any drastic action on hold once he got the all-important confirmation from Disney executives that they would distribute Toy Story during the 1995 holiday season, a choice that certainly turned out to be wise, successful, and profitable.

John Lasseter and his team of animators are the ones who brought Woody and Buzz Lightyear to life.

WOODY COMES TO LIFE Making an animated film like Toy Story is a lot of work and takes many people. Twenty-seven animators worked on the film, using 400 computer models to animate the characters. Every shot in the film eventually passed through the hands of eight different teams. To sync the characters’ mouths and facial expressions to the actors’ voices, animators spent one week per eight seconds of animation. In total, the film required 800,000 machine hours, countless human work hours, and 114,240 frames of animation.

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