Back in 1985, Steve Jobs was ousted from his own company, after which he founded NeXT and acquired Lucasfilm, the Graphics Group, which would eventually become Pixar Animation. Founded in 1986, Pixar pioneered the shift from 2D to 3D animation. During the same time, Disney was struggling, especially in terms of innovation. After Snow White’s success, Disney served the audience with animated movies that would go on to become classics. But by the 1980s, their formula was no longer working. Not that their work had deteriorated, but people wanted more than 2D animated renditions of popular fairytales and children’s stories. Pixar didn’t have the money to make feature-length animated films, but they had technical leverage (and out-of-the-box ideas), so they began innovating on short films. Animated shorts such as Luxo Jr. (1986) and The Adventures of André & Wally B. (1984) were winning hearts until an Oscar win with Tin Toy (1988) suddenly placed them within the top league.Reportedly, Disney realized that Pixar was becoming a threat to its struggling empire and therefore extended a hand in partnership. It is no secret that the professional collaboration between Pixar and Disney was quite strained, up until 2006, when Jobs finally sold Pixar to Disney for $7.4 billion and a seat on the board of directors. But what if this merger had never happened?In this article, we’re exploring an alternate universe in which Pixar and Disney never united. Understanding the Professional Partnership Between Disney and PixarBefore Pixar entered into a three-film deal...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Monday, 18 August