Disney and Pixar

The Origins of the Animation Dream Team

While Disney worked at creating animated tales for a new generation of fans, a small company specializing in computer-generated imagery (CGI) was struggling to survive financial losses. Based in Emeryville, California, Pixar was spun off as an independent company from Lucasfilm in 1986, with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as a major investor. Before the company became synonymous with animated films, however, Pixar sold computer imaging hardware. Sales were slow, even with Pixar employee John Lasseter’s well-received animated shorts demonstrating the computer’s capabilities. But Disney took notice, buying large numbers of the computers to build CAPS.

In 1991, Disney Animation Studios and Pixar formally agreed to make three computer-generated animated films together. Disney would provide funding, marketing and distribution; Pixar would provide the finished product. Their first feature, Toy Story, was released in November 1995 and became the highest grossing domestic film of the year.

In 1997, still fresh from the success of Toy Story, the two studios formed a new agreement: over the course of 10 years, they would make five more movies. From 1997 through 2003, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo were released under the Disney/Pixar banner, netting the animation dream team much acclaim and huge returns at the box office.​

Despite their successes, the relationship between Disney and Pixar was far from ideal in the early 2000’s. Clashes between Jobs, now Pixar’s CEO and chairman of the board, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner over the quality of Pixar’s films threatened the future of projects. By the beginning of 2004, Jobs ended talks with Disney regarding the extension of their five-picture distribution agreement. Former Disney executives blamed Eisner for the failed deal.

Roy Disney and ally Stanley Gold, who both resigned from the Disney board late last year and called for Eisner to step down, placed the blame squarely on the Disney CEO. “More than a year ago, we warned the Disney board that we believed Michael Eisner was mismanaging the Pixar partnership and expressed our concern that the relationship was in jeopardy,” they said in a statement issued late Thursday. — CNN Money

In 2005, Robert Iger was appointed CEO of Disney. One of his first actions as the new CEO was to reach out to Jobs to forge a new partnership between the two studios.

Iger personally negotiated the deal with Steve Jobs, who was then Pixar’s CEO. As part of the deal, Iger kept the creative team, led by John Lasseter, in place and allowed them to continue to operate with a minimum of interference in their headquarters near San Francisco. “Steve and I spent more time negotiating the social issues than we did the economic issues,” Iger says. “He thought maintaining the culture of Pixar was a major ingredient of their creative success. He was right.” — Businessweek

Iger’s efforts paid off for Disney when the studio purchased Pixar Animation for $7.4 billion in 2006. While Pixar remains a separate entity from Disney Animation Studios, the two have now established a cooperative, often symbiotic relationship focused on high quality filmmaking and creative storytelling. Pixar has released 14 films to date with Disney as its distributor, earning more than $8 billion worldwide.​

Whether making films in-house or in partnership with Pixar, Disney’s focus is on creating characters that resonate with audiences around the world. Be they human, animal or extraterrestrial, Disney characters are truly memorable.

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“Disney and Pixar: The Origins of the Animation Dream Team” is an excerpt from Keys to the Magic Kingdom: Disney’s History, Characters, and Stories, a Snippet by Corinne Litchfield. Corinne is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as well as a social media manager specializing in authors/writers and nonprofits. Click here for the full version of Keys to the Magic Kingdom: Disney’s History, Characters, and Stories, which includes engaging audio and video content that will give you a deeper appreciation for the magic of Disney that you’ve come to love.