Step into the magical world of Pixar, where toys come to life, emotions take the stage, and adventure knows no bounds! Whether you’re an avid fan or a curious newcomer, brace yourself for an exhilarating journey through 25 mind-blowing Pixar facts that will leave you marveling at the sheer brilliance behind some of your favorite animated classics. From hidden Easter eggs to heartwarming anecdotes, prepare to unlock the secrets behind the studio’s unparalleled storytelling, innovation, and the imaginative minds that make the Pixar universe an enchanting reality. So, grab your popcorn, fasten your seatbelt, and let’s dive headfirst into the extraordinary realm of Pixar!
1-5 Fun Facts About Pixar
1. John Lasseter, one of the three founding fathers of Pixar, was fired from Disney for his innovative attempts to create three-dimensional cartoon images. Lucasfilm recognized his talent and promptly hired him. Eventually, Disney would acquire both Lucasfilms and Pixar for billions of dollars.
2. The financial failure of 1986’s Howard the Duck, coupled with George Lucas’s divorce, led him to sell his newly established CGI company to Steve Jobs.
3. A year after Steve Jobs resigned from Apple, he purchased the Computer Graphics Division from George Lucas for $5 million and transformed it into Pixar.
4. During the production of Toy Story 2, a mishap occurred when someone accidentally ran a Unix command that deleted the entire film’s data. Fortunately, an animator had kept a backup at her home to work on the movie while taking care of her newborn baby, allowing the film to be restored.
5. The heavy workload during the completion of Toy Story 2 led many Pixar animators to work long hours, despite the company discouraging such practices. The strain resulted in some animators developing carpal tunnel syndrome, and one even forgot he had left his baby in his car for the entire day.
6-10 Interesting Facts About Pixar
6. Brainstorming sessions at Pixar are like magic – they came up with the ideas for A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., and WALL-E all during one epic lunch meeting in 1994.
7. Pixar displayed an exceptional act of kindness by flying out a DVD and a Pixar employee to the home of a 10-year-old girl with cancer, who was too ill to see UP in theaters. She had a private screening and sadly passed away 7 hours later.
8. Ever wondered why Andy from Toy Story had no dad? Blame it on the animation budget! Creating humans on screen was too pricey, so they gave Andy a single-parent setup.
9. Disney considered replacing Pixar with their own animation studio named “Circle 7 Animation.” The studio operated for two years and even started work on Toy Story 3 before the companies resolved their differences and reunited.
10. After the release of Finding Nemo, there was an unfortunate impact on wild clownfish populations as people began purchasing wild-caught pet clownfish due to the film’s popularity.
11-15 Surprising Facts About Pixar
11. The original concept for WALL-E was significantly different, with the robot inciting a Spartacus-style rebellion against the remnants of the human race, who had evolved into gelatinous creatures resembling see-through Jell-O, rather than the story that made it to the final film.
12. The adorable Russell from Up was modeled after a real-life Pixar employee.
13. Pixar’s Cars holds the title of the most profitable movie of all time, generating an astounding $10 billion in merchandising sales for Disney.
14. The original script for the Pixar movie Cars was titled ‘The Yellow Car’ and revolved around an electric car navigating a gas-guzzling world.
15. In a heartwarming gesture, Pixar names the babies born during the making of their films in the credits of every movie, celebrating the joyous occasions within their creative community.
16-20 Insane Facts About Pixar
16. Pixar takes fish facts seriously! They made their whole crew take a fishy class in ichthyology to make Finding Nemo’s underwater world as authentic as a fishy can be!
17. The iconic lamp that “stomps” the “i” in the Pixar logo is from the computer-animated short film called Luxo Jr., which earned the distinction of being the first CGI film nominated for an Academy Award.
18. Contrary to popular belief, Lightning McQueen from Cars was not named after racing legend Steve McQueen; he was instead named in honor of the late Pixar animator Glenn McQueen, who tragically passed away from skin cancer in 2002.
19. Finding Dory’s announcement was made by Ellen Degeneres on her talk show. Ellen, who provides the voice for Dory, had passionately campaigned for years to have a sequel made after the success of Finding Nemo.
20. WALL-E’s name is quite the mouthful! It stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-Class.
21-25 Awesome Facts About Pixar
21. The release of Ratatouille led to a significant increase in rat sales at the British pet chain “Pets at Home” by 50%.
22. John Ratzenberger, best known for his role on Cheers, has voiced a character in every Pixar film and is affectionately considered the company’s mascot.
23. Doc Hudson from Cars had a true legend behind the wheel! Paul Newman, the racing champ, portrayed him. And, Cars was his last and most lucrative ride.
24. The development of WALL-E’s story was so intricate that it required a staggering 125,000 storyboards, surpassing the number used in previous Pixar films, which typically required around 75,000 storyboards.
25. Bruce, the vegetarian shark in Finding Nemo, was named after the mechanical shark used during the filming of Jaws. The director of Jaws, Steven Spielberg, named the mechanical shark after his lawyer, Bruce Ramer.
That’s it for this post guys, I hope you had fun while reading about 25 Awesome Pixar Facts
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