Since its inception, Pixar Animation Studios has revolutionized the cartoon industry, turning computer-animated films into a form of artistry that has captured our imaginations while earning billions of dollars for the company and new owner Disney. We've gathered some of the more interesting, and often crazy or funny, facts and behind the scene stories revealing this great company and its beloved films.
Woody Almost Ruined The Chances Of Toy Story Being Made
Toy Story was released in 1993 and has gone on to become one of the most highly profitable film franchises of all time. Executives for the company almost didn't allow the film to be released. They believed Woody was a "sarcastic jerk" who would alienate viewers and lead to poor box office sales. Today, Woody is one of the most beloved characters in the company's vault.
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A Ton Of Pixar's Classics Were Thought Up In One Meeting
Some of the company's most popular movies include Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Wall-E, and A Bug's Life. While those movies took years to produce, they were all thought up during a single lunch meeting. Executives from the company got together at a diner called Hidden City Cafe and pitched their ideas. The meeting went so well that the company produced all of the incredibly popular films.
Billy Crystal Had A Big Regret With Pixar
When Toy Story was ready to bring in voice actors the role of Buzz Lightyear was turned down by Billy Crystal, a move he says he regrets to this day. It all worked out for the funnyman when Pixar came calling once again and he jumped at the chance to voice the character of Mike Wazowski in the incredibly popular Monsters, Inc. franchise.
A Crew Had To Follow Around The Toddler Who Voiced Boo
Mary Gibbs was only 2-years-old when she voiced "Boo" on Monsters, Inc. Because of her age, the young girl wouldn't sit still or recite lines. Instead, an audio crew followed the little cutie around and captured her dialogue and sounds with a traveling microphone. The clips they captured were naturally worked into the film with great results.
William H. Macy Originally Played A Pivotal Role In Finding Nemo
William H. Macy was cast as the pivotal role of Marlin in Finding Nemo. After showing up and recording all of his lines, the film's producers didn't think he was a good fit. They decided to scrap his role in the movie and instead hired Albert Brooks for the role.
There's A Connection To The Movie Jaws
Bruce, the lovable shark who lacks self-control was named after the mechanical shark from Steven Spielberg's hit classic Jaws. The story doesn't end there, Spielberg named his shark after his lawyer Bruce Ramer. I think we'd rather hang out with Bruce than the creature that destroyed entire boats in Jaws.
A Sprint To The Finish... Literally
Brad Bird, the director of the movie The Incredibles wanted Dash to sound out-of-breath for his role in the film. To accomplish that goal he made voice actor Spencer Fox run laps around the studio. After he was sufficiently tired out the actor would step in front of the microphone and record his lines.
Cars Is The Most Profitable Pixar Film
You might not think of Cars as being the most profitable film of all time for Pixar but it's the truth. The movie, which has spawned video games, toys, clothing, and other merchandise, has earned the company more than $10 billion worldwide. No that isn't a typo, the film is a Hollywood juggernaut.
Cars Is The Worst Rated Pixar Film Of All Time
Cars may have earned Pixar and Disney a cool $10 billion but it's also the worst-rated Pixar film of all time. Check out Rotten Tomatoes and you'll find a combined rating of just 39%. Apparently, it resonated with children and car fans and that was enough to develop a massive fanbase and tons of merchandising sales.
Pixar Almost Encouraged Underage Drinking
To celebrate the release of the film Ratatouille the team at Pixar had considered released a limited edition wine. Right before the beverage was ready to hit store shelves it was pulled from production. Someone had the sense at the last minute to realize the sales gimmick might encourage underage drinking.
WALL-E Was An Incredibly Complex Film To Create
When officials at Pixar set out to create the hit movie WALL-E they probably had no idea how complex the move would be to produce. WALL-E required an astonishing 125,000 storyboards. The typical Pixar film can be products with just 75,000 storyboards. The results, were of course, breathtaking.
Up, Up, And Away At The Academy Awards
While 3D-animated films have become a norm in the animation industry, that wasn't always the case. The movie Up became the first computer-animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The only other animated film to ever earn such an honor was Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
Disney Almost Made Toy Story 3 Without Pixar!
Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment, Toy Story 3 without Pixar would have been a horrible movie, but it almost happened! Disney and Pixar had a falling out and Disney owned the rights to characters from the film and its sequels. Ultimately, the breakdown in communication was fixed and an amazing trilogy was created.
Pixar Has Fought Hard Not To Copy Its Competitors
We all know that Hollywood movies these days "borrow" a lot of content from each other. Pixar doesn't want to be a copycat and has gone to great lengths to make sure that doesn't happen. In 2012 Pixar announced it would release the movie Newt. Officials quickly realized that the movie's storyline was taken close to the Blue Sky Studios film Rio so they pulled the plug on the release.
Cliff From Cheers Has Voiced A Character In Every Pixar Film
John Ratzenberger is best known for playing the hilarious character Cliff Clavin on the hit TV series Cheers but he is also a big-time Pixar voice actor. Ratzenberger has voiced a minor character in every Pixar film since the very beginning. I guess it's safe to say that every Pixar character knows his name.
A Shared Universe?
Fans of the Pixar films have noticed memorabilia from other films being shared across their respective movies. This has led to a theory that all Pixar films exist inside the same cinematic universe. Need proof? In Toy Story Andy has a postcard hanging on his pinboard that clearly shows Carl and Ellie from Up. The mind officially is blown.
A Film For The ENTIRE Family? Or Not.
The Incredibles was an incredibly popular film for Pixar even though the movie received a PG rating. Before the movie was released no Pixar film had ever settled for anything other than a G rating. The Incredibles still managed to earn big at the box office and a sequel was released in 2018.
The Pixar Office Has A Hidden Speakeasy
If you are super lucky and get offered the chance to visit the Pixar headquarters, be sure to ask for a tour of Lucky 7 Lounge. That's a special speakeasy within the building that his hidden behind a bookcase. Perhaps Pixar films are so great because the people who work there never stop having fun.
The Characters In Mike's New Car Share A Special Bond
When Pixar released the short feature "Mike's New Car" they decided to invite over characters from another one of their films. This was the first time that a crossover had occurred between Pixar films. This fact also lends itself to the theory that all Pixar films share a single universe.
Sully Has A LOT Of Hair
Next time you watch Pixar's Monster, Inc. try to pay close attention to Sully's hair. It sure does seem like he has a lot of it! To create a believable coat on one of our favorite monsters of all time the show's creators used 2,320,413 individual strands of hair. Nobody in Hollywood does attention to detail like the creators at Pixar.
Toy Story 2 Was Almost Accidentally Deleted
Toy Story 2 almost came to an accidental end with a system-wide failure that caused the movie to be deleted from Pixar's computers. Employees at the company frantically searched for the film and found one copy that remained on a backup computer. That was almost a multi-million dollar oopsy.
Toy Story 2 Was Written Over One Frantic Weekend
When John Lasseter isn't happy with a script his team knows it's time to get down to business and make their boss smile. Lasseter reportedly didn't like the script for Toy Story 2 so his team rewrote the entire plot. It only took them one weekend to create a storyline that Lasseter fell in love with after one reading.
Toy Story Had Some Horrible Original Titles That Were Thankfully Rejected
The movie Toy Story is about a bunch of toys so its name is perfect. However, the show's creators had originally toyed around with some horrible titles that were thankfully dropped. Among the rejected options were The New Toy, The Cowboy & The Spaceman, The Favorite, and Toyz in the Hood. That last one had us in stitches.
Joss Whedon Was Instrumental At Pixar
Joss Whedon has had an incredible career thanks to hits such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly (please bring it back). Many of his fans probably are not aware that he also co-wrote the script for Toy Story. At least that movie franchise has lasted far longer than one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows of all time.
Tom Hanks Took The Role Of Woody Because Of His Childhood
When Pixar approached Tom Hanks about taking on the role of Woody in Toy Story he jumped at the chance. Hanks would later reveal that as a child he strongly believed that his toys would come to life whenever he wasn't looking at them. It was a match made in real-world and cartoon heaven.
Pixar Raised Money By Producing TV Commercials
In the early days, Pixar was strapped for cash and turned to the TV commercial side of its business. The company created spots for Tropicana, Listerine, and Lifesavers. Not only did this help provide the money needed to eventually create Toy Story, but it also allowed Pixar to show off its animation software.
Pixar Initially Lost A Lot Of Steve Jobs' Money
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs bought Pixar for $5 million on Feb. 3, 1986. For the next decade, the company would lose a ton of the CEO's money. In the book The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company, Pixar animator John Lasseter admitted, "for the first 10 years, we lost a lot of Steve's money. A lot of Steve's money." Jobs' investment would pay off when Disney purchased the company for $7.4 billion. Jobs became one of Disney's biggest shareholders following the sale.
Long Hours At Dreamworks As It Battled Against Pixar
While most people are likely to remember the film A Bug's Life over the Dreamworks-created Antz, the former was released first. It has been rumored that Dreamworks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg made his employees work incredibly long hours to finish Antz so it would be released first.
Toy Story 2 Set An Interesting Box Office Record
Toy Story 2 was a juggernaut of a film and earned Pixar more than $245 million at the domestic box office. That was enough money to place it ahead of Toy Story. It was the first time in Hollywood history that a sequel to a blockbuster earned more money than the original film.
A Recycled Tongue
