The Pixar Story Page #11

and they did the distribution

and the marketing.

NARRATOR:
By 2004, Steve Jobs

opened talks with other studios,

while at Pixar, a cloud of anxiety

hung over employees

who felt that a merger

with a larger company

could threaten the loss of their

unique spirit and creative culture.

CATMULL:
It was very clear that none

of them wanted to do that.

They wanted to be

an independent company,

whereas if we were

to become independent,

we'd have to take on marketing

and distribution

and get another partner.

And it would change the culture in

ways that we didn't necessarily want.

NARRATOR:
But by 2005,

a corporate shake-up

within Disney led

to the replacement of Michael Eisner.

Bob Iger was appointed

as the new CEC,

and expectations ran high

that he might repair

the broken relationship with Pixar.

As I neared the day

that I was going to become CEO ,

and I started to focus more and more

about the future of the company,

it became more and more clear that

for Disney to truly be

successful in the future,

we had to return to

the glory days of animation.

So I began focusing on how to do that,

and it really begins

with finding the right people.

The more I thought about it,

the more I realized that

Pixar had more of the right people

than probably any other

place in the world,

from an animation perspective.

I then went to the opening of

Hong Kong Disneyland in September,

and the parade went by.

It hit me that the characters

that were in the parade

all came from films that had been

made prior to the mid-'90s,

except for some of

the Pixar characters.

I felt that I needed to think

even more out of the box

than I had been thinking,

and I had a much

greater sense of urgency.

I became CEO October 1st.

I called Steve around that time

and said I thought we ought to talk,

I had some bigger ideas.

And that began

a long period of discussion,

because it was very

serious for both sides.

He really needed to feel comfortable

that Pixar was in the right hands

and, more importantly,

respect the talent and the culture.

We were extremely impressed with

his view of where Disney could go.

This changed

the equation dramatically,

and in the end

with weighing everything,

we came to the conclusion

that the best thing we could do

was to join up with Disney.

NARRATOR:
The $7 .4 billion

acquisition deal

provided Steve Jobs a seat

on the Disney board

as the company's largest shareholder,

made John Lasseter

Chief Creative Cfficer,

and Ed Catmull, President of Disney

and Pixar Animation Studios.

We're convinced that Bob

really understands Pixar,

and we think we have

some appreciation of Disney

and love the unique Disney assets

like being able to get the characters

in the theme parks

and really express them throughout

all of Disney's incredible assets.

And we think we understand

how to keep Pixar being Pixar

and how to spread some of

that culture around and maybe,

you know, a few other parts

of Disney as well.

"Cause we think we got something

pretty good going here.

CATMULL:
While we will

make 3-D movies,

we're also gonna make 2-D movies

'cause it's part of this wonderful

heritage that we've got here,

and it's a beautiful art form.

It feels like this is the true culmination

of the building of Pixar

and this amazing company into

something which will continue on

and continue to make waves

in the future.

This deal is expected

to close this summer

just about the time

that Pixar will release

its seventh feature film, called Cars.

(LIGHTNING McQUEEN WHOOPS)

NARRATOR:
John Lasseter's return

to the director's chair

came with the release of Cars.

A film inspired by

a cross-country road trip

he took with his family in 1999.

Hi, this is great. Blue Ridge Parkway.

NARRATOR:
Set in a bygone town

on Route 66,

John's personal love of cars

and the racing world

inspired a new level of beauty,

speed and a heightened reality

in computer animation.

Morning, Sleeping Beauty.

(GASPS)

(LAUGHS)

NARRATOR:
Cars became the seventh

hit in a row for Pixar.

And the new relationship with Disney

was starting off on the right foot.

Ed and John now looked to the future

with the challenge of guiding

two animation studios.

And John, returning to his roots

to creatively oversee

all of Disney's theme parks

and attractions.

This. . . This is just, it's so beautiful.

Flik up there.

John's a real big Disney fan.

I mean, he worked

in the amusement parks,

he grew up on Disney.

(LAUGHS) Oh, look at. . . Look at this.

This is amazing!

(CHlLDREN CHATTERING)

MlLLER:
He's thrilled to be on that lot

and kind of be able to go everywhere

he wants to go, and see what's there.

And bring things up

from the past, explore. . .

was the last time I skippered

a Jungle Cruise.

And I want everybody as we go...

His feelings are so good about it.

You had such

a remarkable man in Disney.

It was a great intuition that he had,

he seemed to know

everything ahead of time.

I find the same thing

there with Lasseter.

He's pretty much

an image of Walt, I think.

WALT DISNEY:
When planning a new

picture, we don't think of grown-ups,

and we don't think of children.

But just of that fine,

clean, unspoiled spot

down deep in every one of us

that maybe the world

has made us forget,

and that maybe our pictures

can help recall.

LASSETER:
Well, the future of Pixar

to me is going to be a continuing

making these great films,

with more and more

visionary directors.

And then give them creative

ownership of what they do,

so they can be proud

of it for the rest of their life.

There are so many young people today

that want to be animators,

that are fascinated by animation,

more than ever before.

So it's a field that is inspiring

and exciting.

There's a real advantage

being in a new medium.

We're still setting ourselves up

for things we've never done before.

HANKS:
I foel like I'm in Dumbo,

I feel like I'm in Pinocchio.

This is truly going to be timeless

and forever

and will always land

in the consciousness

of yet another generation

of moviegoers.

JOBS:
Pixar's seen by a lot of folks

as an overnight success,

but if you really look closely, most

overnight successes took a long time.

Kachow!

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