40 Facts About Pixar (1-10)

How's that for something media fans? Pixar Animation Studios officially turns 40 this year!

Yeah, hard to believe that the studio behind Toy Story, Inside Out, The Incredibles, Cars, WALL.E and many, many more will be 40 years old. I bet for many people, it still feels like Pixar's relatively new as it's not as old as the really big studios like Disney or Warner Bros. But that's where we are now. Pixar has officially been around for four decades and I'm here to celebrate the occasion. Starting from this week, I'm listing 40 facts about Pixar, ten at a time, until we reach Pixar's actual anniversary date on February the 3rd. It's like when I did the 100 Facts About Disney for their 100th anniversary back in 2023. Speaking of, I've listed some facts about Pixar in those posts, so I'll NOT be repeating them again in this series. I'll try and find 40 different facts about Pixar and not bring up any of the ones I brought up in the 100 Facts About Disney series.

This series may teach you some interesting stuff about Pixar and your favourite Pixar movies, so stap yourselves in and get ready. Here are 40 Facts About Pixar starting from 1-10...

1: The origin of Pixar's name

I'm sure many have asked this question and have long since wondered about where the name "Pixar" actually came from. Well, let's talk about that.

In 1983, John Lasseter was hired to the Lucasfilm team for a week with the title "Interface Designer" and he animated the short film "The Adventures of André & Wally B". In the next few years, a designer suggested that the new digital compositing computer they had at the time be called "Picture Maker". But the name didn't sound catchy enough, so Alvy Ray Smith, another Pixar co-founder and also the co-founder of Lucasfilm's Computer Division, suggested a different name. During a dinner he had with some others, he coined up the name "Pixer", which sounded scientific enough for the device and a lot catchier than "Picture Maker". I'm guessing it's derived from the world "pixel". In any case, the name stuck with only a slight change to it. They dropped the "e" and replaced it with an "a", thus giving us the name "Pixar" as we know it.

So there you have it folks, that's how Pixar got its name.

2: Paul Newman and Jim Carrey were considered for Woody and Buzz's voices

Yeah, bet this one blows your minds. Before Pixar settled on Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz's voices respectively, they considered getting Paul Newman and Jim Carrey to voice the duo respectively. Interestingly, these casting choices were meant to be metaphorical. What do I mean? Paul Newman as Woody would represent "Old Hollywood" while Jim Carrey as Buzz Lightyear would represent "New Hollywood" and Buzz coming into Woody's life would be a metaphor for how new Hollywood was replacing old Hollywood. In the end, these ideas didn't stick as John Lasseter only had Tom Hanks in mind for Woody and Tim Allen would ultimately be cast as Buzz.

Don't feel too bad for Paul Newman though. He went on to voice Doc Hudson in Pixar's Cars, so he got to be in a Pixar movie at least. Jim Carrey? Even to this day, he's not done a voice for Pixar. Am I the only one who'd love to see him play a character in a Pixar movie? XD

3: Apple founder, Steve Jobs, played a huge part in getting Pixar where it is today

Sounds crazy, I know, but it's true!

Everybody knows who the late Steve Jobs was. He's the man who founded Apple Inc, the company responsible for many devices we use in our everyday lives like iMac, iPods, iPads and iPhones and he sadly lost his life to pancreatic cancer at the age of 56 in 2011. But how many of you also know he was also one of the founding fathers of Pixar as well? Back in Pixar's early days, he was chairman and majority shareholder of the company. Back in 1986, he bought the computer division of Lucasfilm and spun if off independently into Pixar as we know it today. He's also responsible for helping Pixar become financially successful for after the release of Toy Story, he managed to cut a deal with Disney that meant Disney and Pixar split the profits they make off of Pixar's movies 50-50.

And get a load of this! Back in January 24th 2006, Steve Jobs and Bob Iger announced that Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. After the deal was closed, Steve Jobs became The Walt Disney Company's largest single shareholder with approximately seven percent of the company's stock. He received 7% of Disney shares and joined the board of directors as the largest individual shareholder. Whew, this guy must've felt like he was on top of the world back then!

As mentioned earlier, Steve sadly died back in 2011. To give you guys an idea how much he meant to Pixar, the movie Brave, released in 2012, was dedicated to him. RIP Steve Jobs. Pixar wouldn't be where it is today without you...

4: Lightning McQueen originally had the number 57

Yep, you read correctly. Lightning McQueen originally had a different number to what he has now. During the early stages of the film's production, his number was originally 57. Any particular reason why? It was meant to be a reference to John Lasseter's birth year, 1957. But in the end, they settled on 95 for his number. Is it still a reference to anything? Yes actually. It's a reference to the year 1995, the year Toy Story came out. Considering Cars came out in 2006, which was Pixar's 20th anniversary year, that seemed a fitting tribute.

And while we're on that subject, remember Chick Hicks from Cars? His number, 86, is a reference to 1986, the year Pixar was founded. Talk about deep cuts, eh?

5: Inside Out 2 is Pixar's current highest grossing movie

You'd think Pixar's highest grossing movie would be either of the Toy Story movies, Finding Dory or even Incredibles II. But nope, it's Inside Out 2 that's their current highest grossing movie ever, making over $1.699 billion at the box office. An animated film making THAT amount of money is pretty insane to think about, but here we are. It also made Inside Out 2 the new highest grossing animated movie of all time, which made me happy since it kicked that stupid Lion King remake off its throne. Ha, take that inferior version! Inside Out 2 is much more deserving of that position anyway...

...oh right, that happened. And so quick too, taking the title from Inside Out 2 only nine months later. HOW THE HELL DID THIS THING MAKE OVER $2.244 BILLION?!?!

Still, Inside Out 2 remains Pixar's highest grossing movie they've ever released, and it'll take an act of god in order to top that I think...

6: What inspired Woody and Buzz Lightyear for Toy Story?

Remember how Woody was Andy's favourite toy in the movie and then he moved on to Buzz Lightyear after getting the toy for his birthday? That aspect of the movie is more true to life than you might've realized. You see, John Lasseter had toys of his own during his childhood. He used to play with a pull-string Casper the Friendly Ghost doll and would later move on to a G.I. Joe toy after he outgrew Casper. So yeah, John had his own "Woody and Buzz" in a sense. And while we're talking about John Lasseter and toys, he's actually a major toy collector himself. I wonder if that's where the idea for the character of Al from Toy Story 2 came from...

7: Toy Story has its own themed area at Disney's Hollywood Studios

You know you've truly made it big in the world of entertainment when you get your own themed area at one of the Disney parks.

Theme park enthusiasts of course will be well aware of this. At Disney's Hollywood Studios at Disney World Resort Florida, Toy Story has an entire themed area, simply named "Toy Story Land". Walt Disney Studios Park, Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland also have their own Toy Story lands too. For the Florida version of Toy Story Land, you can ride on the Slinky rollercoaster, set a high score on the Toy Story Mania! dark ride, go for a spin on the Alien Swirling Saucers and meet and greet various Toy Story characters from Woody to Buzz to Bo Peep and even Jessie. There's also themed restaurants such as Woody's Lunch Box and the Rodeo Roundup BBQ and you can buy gifts and souvenirs at Jessie's Trading Post.

Given me and my family will be going to Florida later this year, I'll be making sure I get to visit Toy Story Land and see it for myself. ;)

8: Ideas for A Bug's Life, WALL.E, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo came about during a lunch meeting with John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft in 1994

This story, you should be familiar with already. But in case you aren't, I'll tell it anyway.

At around 1994, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Peter Docter and the late Joe Ranft had a lunch meeting together at the Hidden City Café in Point Richmond, California to discuss a very important matter: what next after Toy Story? At the time, Toy Story was nearing completion and the staff at Pixar knew they had to start brainstorming some new ideas for what to do next. It was at this very lunch meeting where the ideas for A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and WALL.E came about. The four even drew little sketches on their napkins they had at the lunch as they were throwing out ideas. WALL.E was the last of the four to be coined up when Andrew Stanton asked "What if mankind left Earth and forgot to turn off the last remaining robot?".

Sadly, the café no longer exists after closing its doors in 2012 due to declining quality. That sucks. As a Pixar fan, I'd love to dine at the very place where several classic Pixar movies were thought up.

However, Monsters Inc. did contain a cute little reference to the café by having a place called "Hidden City Café" in this scene here, which is fitting since Monsters Inc. was one of the ideas coined up at that lunch as I mentioned. That's so nice, isn't it? Talk about paying tribute to your origins. ^^

And of course, the foodie in me has to ask the rather pointless question of what food did John, Andrew, Joe and Pete eat at that lunch? Yeah I know, silly thing to ponder. XD

9: Joe Ranft and his role at Pixar

Speaking of one of those men at the lunch meeting, Joe Ranft is an interesting one to talk about.

This guy was quite involved at Pixar back in its heyday. He didn't just work at Pixar, he also did work for Disney too. Joining Disney in 1980, he worked as an animator, writer and storyboard artist and was mentored by Eric Larson, one of Disney's original Nine Old Men. Talk about getting a great mentor! During his time at Disney, he wrote the story for Oliver & Company, Beauty and the Beast and even The Lion King. So yeah, this guy's got quite the credentials! His first film he made was The Brave Little Toaster in 1987, having written the story and screenplay for that too. He joined Pixar in 1992 and worked on all the movies they made up until 2006. He's also noteworthy for being a voice actor for Pixar too, voicing characters such as Lenny and Wheezy in the Toy Story films, Pete "Claws" Ward in Monsters Inc., Jacques in Finding Nemo, a Peterbilt truck and Red the Fire Engine in Cars, but most notably he was the voice of Heimlich the Caterpillar in A Bug's Life. That last one is especially noteworthy because he was constantly making his wife and friends laugh just doing the voice and mannerisms of the character. Outside of Disney, he also worked as an executive producer on Tim Burton's 2005 stop-motion classic Corpse Bride.

So you maybe wondering "Why did Joe work on all the movies up until 2006? Does he not work with Pixar anymore?" That's right, he doesn't work with Pixar anymore...because he's dead. Tragically, he was killed in a car crash on August 16th 2005. It was a pretty nasty one too for he and his friend Eric Frierson were in a car being driven by another friend, Elegba Earl, and Elegba suddenly lost control of the car, crashed through a railing and the car, with all three of them in it, plummeted down a cliff and into the Navarro River in California. Joe and Elegba were killed instantly, but Eric survived by escaping through the sunroof. Joe's death was a heavy loss for everyone at Pixar and both Cars and Corpse Bride were dedicated to him. Joe was even described once as the "heart and soul" of Pixar.

It still sucks so much that Pixar lost such a talented writer, animator and voice actor, and most importantly...a wonderful friend to them all. RIP Joe Ranft. Your time in the studio will never be forgotten...

10: The Good Dinosaur sadly became Pixar's first ever box office bomb

It never ceases to amaze me how Pixar made movies from 1995 all the way up to 2015, and each one managed to be a box office hit. Even the widely criticized Cars 2 was a big money maker. And yet Pixar couldn't keep this streak going forever. No studio is ever going to make movies that always make money after all. You're going to make a dud at some point, and sadly for Pixar, The Good Dinosaur was their first ever movie NOT to make a profit.

The film had an estimated budget of around $175 - $200 million, with the marketing budget bringing it up to a further total of $350 million. It only grossed about $332.2 million. The Good Dinosaur wasn't able to break even with this result, losing the studio about $85 million overall. A Pixar movie not making a profit was unheard of at the time, so this was quite shocking to see. So why the hell did it flop so hard? Some people theorize that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens stole a lot of the film's thunder, as well as the fact we already had Pixar's Inside Out in the same year, so people weren't really interested in seeing another Pixar film after they'd already seen Inside Out. The reviews being more average than what you'd usually get for Pixar likely didn't help either.

It's such a pity too as The Good Dinosaur is a really lovely movie and really deserves better than what it got. Still, this film serves as an example of how even Pixar can't win them all...

And that's all I have for the first ten facts of this countdown. Join me again next week for ten more facts about Pixar as we get closer to their 40th anniversary. See you then media fans!

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