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  • Blog Post: Monstrous makeover: How Pixar artists made Mike & Sulley look more youthful in "Monsters University"

    So how exactly do you make an eyeball look like it's 18 years old? Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved That was the challenge that Ricky Nierva faced on " Monsters University ." As the art director / production designer of Pixar's first-ever prequel, Nierva (working closely...
  • Blog Post: Huffington Post -- Rich Moore looks back at the roads not taken with Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph"

    Huffington Post -- Rich Moore looks back at the roads not taken with Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" It was the story that artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios had been struggling to get a handle on for over 15 years. A comic action-adventure set inside of the world of video games, where...
  • Blog Post: How Pixar's Lee Unkrich went from attending USC to directing "TS3"

    So what's the very best way to break into the biz? Does going to some four year school like Emerson College or CalArts (which specializes in Communications and the performing arts) really give you an advantage? Or would it better in the long run to just hook up with some outfit like pabootcamp and...
  • Blog Post: There's a real art to keeping Pixar's traveling art exhibition fresh

    Remysthe14me writes in to say: Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved I saw Jon Nadelberg 's story about the " Pixar: 25 Years of Animation " exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California and was wondering if this is the same exhibition of art that was presented at the MOMA in 2005?...
  • Blog Post: Looking back on the early, early days of the “Toy Story” franchise

    With “Toy Story 3” earning over $365 million worldwide since this Lee Unkrich film was released on June 18 th (More importantly, with the “Toy Story” franchise having produced over $8 billion in global retail sales to date), it is sometime hard to remember that – just 15 years ago – there weren’t a whole...
  • Blog Post: John Canemaker pays tribute to a guy named Joe

    You’ve probably seen a lot of Joe Ranft -related material popping up around the Web over the past few days. John Musker ’s excellent story reel-based tribute to his old pal (who was tragically killed in an automobile accident back on August 16, 2005 ). No to mention the first installment of Leo Holzer...
  • Blog Post: Toon Thursday : Tickets for Lasseter / Miyazaki event go on sale today at 9:01 a.m.

    If you’re an animation fan – a SERIOUS animation fan – you’re going to want to be in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, July 28 th . Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki Why For? Because on that night – and for that night only – two animation legends will be sharing a stage. John Lasseter will be hosting...
  • Blog Post: With “Toy Story 3,” “Cars 2” and “Monsters, Inc. 2” now in the works, why no “Incredibles 2” ?

    Earlier this week, it was kind of ironic that – in a headline that talked up how well “Up” was doing at the domestic box office – Variety mentioned “ The Incredibles .” Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc and Pixar Animation Studios. All Rights Reserved “Ironic how?,” you ask. Well, in a time where this...
  • Blog Post: Pixar's first "Cars Toon" debuts tonight on Toon Disney

    You all remember Lightning McQueen and Mater from " Cars ," right ? Copyright 2008 Disney - Pixar. All Rights Reserved Well, the folks at Disney - Pixar certainly hope that you remember these two animated autos. Given that -- come the Summer of 2011 -- they're going to be starring in " Cars 2 " ... Copyright...
  • Blog Post: Pixar once again opens its doors for the Cartoon Art Museum's annual benefit

    It's that time of year again, folks. That rarified moment when Willy Wonka allows a lucky few to enter the Wonka Works ... er ... I mean when John Lasseter opens the gates in Emeryville , allowing a limited number of people to come visit Pixar Animation Studios . Mind you, you won't need a Golden Ticket...
  • Blog Post: "I can go to Disney and be a director, or I can stay here and make history"

    "It was 20 years ago today ..." Well, it was tomorrow actually. August 2, 1988 to be precise. That was the date when an incomplete version of " Tin Toy " first screened at SIGGRAPH and truly wowed the crowd in Atlanta. Given the overwhelmingly positive response that this John Lasseter film received ...
  • Blog Post: Animation fans prematurely shoot off their mouths about "Bolt"

    How many of you know the story of the blind men and the elephant ? I bring up this ancient Indian fable because ... Well ... I have to admit that I was highly amused by what happened last Wednesday. When the on-line animation community went completely bananas over those "Bolt" pre-release images . Copyright...
  • Blog Post: Toon Tuesday: The story behind "The Pixar Story"

    It's going to seem like "Old Home Week" at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater tonight. What with acclaimed filmmaker Leslie Iwerks sharing the stage with industry legend Roy E. Disney during the Q & A portion of tonight's screening of " The Pixar Story " at the American Cinematheque . You see, if it hadn...
  • Blog Post: A special "Where's WALL-E" edition of Why For?

    Bernie W. writes in to say: Jim -- Can you please help me win a bet at work? A co-worker of mine says that WALL-E makes a brief cameo appearance in " Ratatouille ." More importantly, this guy has bet me $100 that I'll never ever be able to find that robot in this movie. Copyright 2007 Disney...
  • Blog Post: "To Infinity and Beyond!" is an entertaining look back at Pixar's first two decades

    There's this genuinely eerie passage in Karen Paik 's " To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios " ( Chronicle Books , November 2007), which talks about how a single book basically changed the course of John Lasseter 's life. In ninth grade, Lasseter was searching the art section...
  • Blog Post: A special "Toon Much of a Good Thing" edition of Why For

    First up, Danny writes in to ask: Jim, Any reason that you know of why Pixar started skimping on their DVD packages? Up to and including " The Incredibles ," no company did the medium justice better than Pixar. But the discs for " Cars " and " Rataouille " (which I have an advanced copy of) are pathetic...
  • Blog Post: Toon Tuesday : The Failure Factor

    A couple weeks ago, we had a visit from John Lasseter and two hundred of his wizards from Pixar Animation Studios . The Pixar team was getting a special tour of both the Burbank and Glendale facilities of the Walt Disney Company. It was good to see so many old friends & colleagues again. And I couldn...