Pixar

Overview

Pixar is a film studio that pioneered computer animation. Through its innovative technology and a disciplined, collaborative approach to storytelling, the studio has become one of the most successful in Hollywood.

The team that eventually became Pixar began as academics at New York Institute of Technology before working for Lucasfilm, the studio responsible for "Star Wars," where they built technology that drastically improved the film industry's special effects. Pixar became an independent company in 1986 thanks to funding from Steve Jobs, who had recently left Apple. That year, it released "Luxo Jr.," the first fully computer-generated film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

The studio's first full-length feature film, 1995's "Toy Story," kicked off three decades of hit films, with 11 of them earning the Academy Award for best animated feature and two ("Toy Story 3" and "Up") earning nominations for best picture.

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