9781422277379

Tech 2.0

cereal bar and a “Pizza Room” with unlimited free slices) that draw people together to exchange ideas. There is even a separate building with a beach volleyball court, swimming pool, yoga studio, and in- house medical staff. All of this goes to foster a climate of collabora- tion, creativity, and fun that feeds into each of Pixar’s productions. Pixar may be on top of the entertainment world today, but its journey there was a long and often uncertain one. The company had to survive periods of financial insecurity, shakeups in leadership, and several moves before realizing its dream of creating the world’s first computer-animated feature film. Many of the themes of Pixar’s mov- ies—from the value of family and friends to the importance of finding your life’s calling—can be traced back to the company’s origin story, where a small team of dedicated believers led the way to creating a new and engaging art form. Pixar was not the only company breaking ground in digital animation. In 1994, DreamWorks Animation was founded by media moguls Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen. The studio came onto the scene with 1998’s Antz , but it was 2001’s Shrek that really put it on themap: the filmgrossed $484millionworldwide, won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and launched an entire franchise. Meanwhile, industry standard-bearer Walt Disney Animation Studios was transitioning from old-fashioned hand-drawn animation techniques to computer-generated ones. With projects like the immensely popular Frozen (2013), Disney has continued its tradi- tion of creating memorable, immersive animated films that challenge the other studios to stay on top of their game. And other animation studios like Illumination Entertainment and Sony Pictures Anima- tion have stepped up their output, attracting audiences with movies

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