Pixar Animation Studios

Background

Pixar Animation Studios (pronounced "pics-ar") was formed in 1979 as The Graphics Group by Edwin Catmull, Steve Jobs, and John Lasseter. It was renamed to its current name in 1986, and originally produced CGI animated shorts, most notably The Adventures of André and Wally B., Luxo Jr., and Tin Toy. They later began working on feature films starting with 1995's Toy Story, a joint production with Walt Disney Pictures which was the first-ever full-length film to be computer-animated. In 2006, Pixar was acquired by The Walt Disney Company.

The company has released 27 films, all distributed under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, with their most recent film being Elemental, released on June 16, 2023. Upcoming films from the studio include Inside Out 2, Elio, and a fifth Toy Story film.

Contents

1st Logo (August 17, 1986-1990)	2nd Logo (November 19, 1995-)	3rd Logo (3-D Alternative) (May 29, 2009-)

1st Logo (August 17, 1986-1990)

Luxo Jr. (1986, Opening)
Luxo Jr. (1986, Closing)
Logo with just the symbol; Red's Dream (1987)
Logo with just the PIXAR text; Red's Dream (1987)
Red's Dream (1987, Closing)
1988 Sales Demo Reel Opening
1988 Sales Demo Reel Closing
Knick Knack (1989, Opening)
Knick Knack (1989, Closing)
1990 Sales Demo Reel Opening
1990 Sales Demo Reel Closing
1990 Sales Demo Reel Closing
Screenshot from 1986 Video
Screenshot from 1986 Video

Visuals: On a black background, there is a gray square with four circles in red, green, blue, and white respectively below. Suddenly, a white light hovers over them, making them 3-D. The circles then turn into spheres. A circle zooms in on the square, and the four spheres zoom out. The word "P · I · X · A · R" fades in with each sphere in between each letter.

Trivia:

The square in this logo was based on the Pixar Image Computer, which is also where the company got its name.
On Tin Toy, the square can be seen on a bag.
The square can also be seen on the game box on Geri's Game.
This logo also makes a cameo in Toy Story 2 on a television channel seen by Andy's toys during the channel-changing scene.
This logo was created by director and executive producer John Lasseter on a stone-cutting machine.

Variants:

On Luxo Jr., an in-credit text is used with the square to the left of the text.
On a demo reel from 1988, the standard logo is still, and gray diamonds replace the spheres. The end of the reel has the logo pushed up, with the company's address below. The text style used in this variant is also used in all variants listed below.
At the beginning of another demo reel from 1990, Tinny from Tin Toy can be seen on the right side of the screen with the Pixar logo at the top left and a 1990 copyright stamp on the bottom left. At the end, it just shows the normal Pixar logo without the symbol but with a different address and phone number.
On Red's Dream, the Pixar square logo is seen, which fades into the text "PIXAR".
On Tin Toy is only the text, and it scrolls from right to left.
On the original version of Knick Knack, the Pixar square logo zooms and appears by a light and the text zooms up to the screen.
On the 1989 party video, the Pixar logo is rendered with a high specular and no wordmark.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: On original prints of Luxo Jr., and Beach Chair, it used a big band style tune (which is taken from the ending of "Take a Bow 1", composed by David Lindup for Bruton Music (now APM Music)). The same stock music is from a syndication promo Studio City made called "Spin City on Ice" which you may find at the beginning here. It can be listened here. It was also used on three episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants ("Artist Unknown", "Suction Cup Symphony" and "ChefBob") and the Morph short "Cake" (albeit low-pitched).

The variants use the short's opening theme.
On newer prints of Luxo Jr. starting with the DVD and Blu-ray for Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1, the standard logo is silent, likely due to the use of the 5.1 remix from the 1999 prints that accompanied Toy Story 2, which replaced the logo with the 1995 logo and a notice that reads "In 1986, Pixar Animation Studios produced its first film. This is why we have a hopping lamp in our logo." However, the Disney+ prints of the movie have an intact logo.

Audio Variants:

On the 1989 party video, there is a triumphant majestic fanfare followed by a voiceover (Pixar employee Craig Good) remarking "The 1989 Christmas Video, brought to you by Pixar. Nobody knows exactly what it is we do, but they know we do it better than anyone in the world."
On Tin Toy, a whimsical orchestral tune plays (taken from "Puffin' Billy" by Bruce Campbell, the original theme song for the children's TV show Captain Kangaroo).
On Red's Dream, a rainy sound effect plays, followed by a saxophone playing a sad tune.

Availability:

Seen on Pixar's animated shorts from 1986 until 1989.
It is usually plastered over on re-releases of these shorts, but it is intact on certain shorts released on Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1.
It has turned up on an original Australian VHS copy of Toy Story 2 which had the short Luxo Jr. before the film, and a music video after the film was done.
It was also seen on the early short Beach Chair which can be found on the aforementioned Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1 DVD (without the logo) as a bonus feature, as well as the rare Pixar employee DVD Made In Point Richmond (with the logo).

2nd Logo (November 19, 1995-)

Original version (16:9)
Original version (2.39:1)
Original version (4:3)
Remastered version (16:9)
Remastered version (2.39:1)
Reanimated version (16:9)
Reanimated version (2.39:1)
Reanimated version (2.39:1, darker variant)
The logo with the 'Animation Studios' text already formed
Closing (original version)
Closing (reanimated version)
20th Anniversary logo seen on Cars (2006)
25th Anniversary logo seen only on cinema releases of Cars 2 (2011) (Russian)
A different rare 20th anniversary version from Pixar's 20th Anniversary Special
The normal logo on a white background without Luxo Jr.
The normal logo on a black background without Luxo Jr.
Largely stretched variant, taken from the Malaysian VCD of The Incredibles.

Visuals:

1995-2008: On a light blue background is the text "P I X A R" in a spaced-out Charlemagne Bold face (the "X" and the "R" appear to overlap the floor). Then, a desk lamp (Luxo Jr.) hops in from the right. He stops once he notices the "I" on the left side. He shakes his body and bounces on the "I" four times before squishing it. He looks around as the text "ANIMATION STUDIOS" fades in underneath the letters "A" and "R". He then faces the camera (presumably in embarrassment or to copy the I). Afterwards, the logo fades out.
2008-2018: Same as before, but the logo was remastered in HD.
2018-: The remastered logo was re-animated and re-rendered with Pixar's current software. The changes include some major color correction and the lamp being remodeled with a new base and an LED bulb.

Trivia:

The lamp is the titular character from Pixar's very first animated short, Luxo Jr., made in 1986. "Luxo" was trademarked by Jac Jacobsen Industrier A.S., also known as Luxo ASA. The sound effects are also taken from that short. Luxo Jr. was also an unlockable character in Lego The Incredibles, known simply as "Junior", due to a copyright issue with Luxo ASA, and was unlocked after completing a Family Build of a statue of Luxo Jr. and the Luxo ball. Both the build and the character are made with Lego bricks and are different than the one shown in the Pixar logo variant shown below.
The logo was designed by Pixar veteran Pete Docter and animated by Pixar subsidiary Hi Tech Toons.
This was done on an SGI Indigo2 Extreme workstation. The lamp and the letters were modeled with Alias/Wavefront PowerAnimator and textured with Amazon Paint. The logo was rendered with PhotoRealistic Renderman on a Sun Microsystems supercomputer with a SPARC processor. The logo was recorded to 35mm negative on Management Graphics equipment, with Monaco Labs developing it to reversal.
The remastered 2008 version was animated and produced by Pixar employee Gini Cruz Santos.
The reanimated 2018 version was done with the Presto Animation System.

Alternate Descriptive Video Descriptions:

A logo reads "Pixar Animation Studios". Luxo Jr. hops in. The little desk lamp jumps on the letter I, squashing it down, then looks around.
In a computer-animated logo, an illuminated desk lamps hops past the word, Pixar, then squashes the letter I. A subtitle appears, "Animation Studios".
An anglepoise lamp bounces like a spring in front of the letters of the word, Pixar. It lands on the letter I and pounds it into the ground. Pixar Animated Studios...Celebrating 20 Years. The screen fades to black.
An anglepoise lamp bounces like a spring in front of the letters of the word, Pixar. It lands on the letter I and pounds it into the ground. Pixar Animated Studios. The light goes out.

Variants:

On original prints of Cars (opening only, the normal logo is seen at the end) and the video game adaptation of said film (Xbox 360 and Wii versions only, other versions have the normal logo), the text "20 YEARS" (with Luxo Jr.'s light replacing the 0 in "20"), with "CELEBRATING" above it in tiny letters, appears when the logo dims, using the closing version of the logo as its basis. Plastered by the remastered version on current prints of the film.
On theatrical releases of Cars 2, after the logo finishes, the letters disappear leaving just the lamp, a la the closing version. Then, everything fades out and "CELEBRATING" fades in and slowly zooms in on a black background. Behind the text, "25 YEARS" (with "25" above the "YEARS") fades in behind the "CELEBRATING" and is in a light blue font. Aside from the "For Your Consideration" DVD/Blu-ray release, the normal logo is seen elsewhere.
- This variant has also been translated in foreign languages, such as in Russian.
At the end of the original prints of Toy Story and on Geri's Game, there is an open-matte version where the logo is off-center.
On Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, the Game Boy Color and Advance versions of the Monsters, Inc. video game adaptation (latter version with a purple background), and Operation: Camouflage for the iPhone and iPod Touch, a still version without Luxo Jr. on a white background exists.
On Toy Story trailers and TV spots, it's the same as above, but inverted.
On Toy Story 3 for the iPhone and iPod Touch and most handheld versions of Pixar games, a still version with Luxo Jr. exists, which is a still version of the completed logo.
There is a short version that starts with the completed logo and only includes Luxo Jr. looking at us. It usually appears in front of shorts and trailers, as well as at the beginning of Monsters, Inc. and Mike’s New Car.
- For international releases of Onward, this version is extended to show the lamp's bulb shutting off, which is based on the closing version.
At the end of some movies, the logo cuts in instead of fading in as it usually would. On Cars 3 and post-2013 prints of Cars, this also appears at the start instead of the standard logo.
On Kinect Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure for the Xbox 360, the animation starts from the point where the lamp is already in place. However, the full opening version is used in Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure (the Xbox One and PC versions of the game).
On Toy Story 4 and at the end of Onward, Lightyear (2D versions), and Soul, "ANIMATION STUDIOS" is already formed while the logo plays as normal.
On Pixar's 20th Anniversary Special, when the lamp has squished the I, we can see "CELEBRATING 20 YEARS".
On the 20th Anniversary Special, Jack-Jack Attack and Auntie Edna (the latter using the Incredibles 2 variant), the logo is shortened to where Luxo Jr. squashes the I.
At the end of series like Dug Days and Cars on the Road, the closing variant of the logo is shortened to Luxo Jr. looking to the viewer.
On films released in 2.40:1 starting with Onward, the background is slightly darker.
On Jack-Jack Attack, the logo is shortened to the final jump Luxo Jr. gives before squashing the I. The logo fades to black within less than a second after he looks to the camera.

Closing Variants:

The logo plays as normal, but instead of fading it out, the light slowly dims until it's completely dark at the end. This leaves just the light from the lamp, which then switches off one second later.
- Starting in 2008, the closing variant has the text "ANIMATION STUDIOS" fade in a little later than the opening logo.
- Starting in 2018, the lamp's base can be visible when the light is completely dark after the light dims. However, this is less so on scope films.

Technique: In-house CGI by Pixar themselves, who also did the 1995 variant for Walt Disney Pictures. None for the still versions.

Audio: In order: the metallic sound of Luxo Jr. hopping, some whizzing sounds when Luxo Jr. shakes his body, squeaky rubber-like sounds when he jumps on the "I", and then some more squeaking sounds and a clunk as he looks around (in the closing variant, the logo ends with the click of a switch). Designed by Gary Rydstrom at Skywalker Sound, and mixed by Tom Myers.

Audio Variants:

On some movies, the opening theme of the movie plays over the logo instead.
- On Jack-Jack Attack, the opening theme plays over the sounds of Luxo Jr. squashing the I.
On Coco, the sound Luxo Jr. makes when he turns to us is replaced by a bell tolling, continuing into the film's intro.
At the end of some films, the closing theme plays over the logo, most times ending with the lamp's bulb clicking off.
On Turning Red, a guzheng plays after Luxo Jr. squishes the I, drowning out the last sound effects.
On Cars on the Road, the remaining part of the closing theme plays over the usual sound of the lamp turning off.
On Mike's New Car and Ciao Alberto, none.
The 25th anniversary variant adds the sound of radio interference during the "CELEBRATING 25 YEARS" card, segueing into the opening scene.
For the still versions, none, although the trailer for Toy Story has the trailer's opening theme play over the logo.

Availability:

Seen on all Pixar movies, shorts, and trailers from 1995 onward, with the exception of the 3-D prints of most post-2009 movies, which use the next logo below.
It first appeared at the end of Toy Story (and appears at the beginning of post-2010 prints of the film, following the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo, and plastering the Pixar variant of the WDP logo) and has appeared at the beginning and end of all Pixar features starting with A Bug's Life.
Also appears on video games based on various Pixar films, either the still version or one of the animated versions.
- For the Nintendo DS version of Cars, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Ratatouille and the console, PC, and PSP versions of both WALL-E and Up, it's albeit using variants.
- There was also a variant of this logo in Lego The Incredibles, and it was rendered in-game, carrying over from the Disney logo, as an Omnidroid, made in Lego bricks, which was was turned into a ball as Luxo Jr., also made in Lego bricks, a la the Lego version of the second trailer for Cars 2, was bouncing onto it and destroys it. After Luxo Jr. looks at the camera, it zooms out to reveal the rest of the Pixar letters, which are all made in Lego bricks, as the "R" in "PIXAR" is being built before being covered up.
The original version was last used on Ratatouille, though it later appeared on the teaser trailer for Cars 2 in 2010, and continued to appear on TV spots for most films until The Good Dinosaur.
The remastered logo debuted on WALL-E, and it was last used on Incredibles 2. It still appears on some TV spots for post-2019 films, with the reanimated logo on other TV spots and the actual films.
The reanimated variant first appeared on the second trailer for Toy Story 4, and made its official debut on the movie itself, even appearing on the 3D version instead of the next logo, and then every film following it, most recently appearing on Elemental. And for trailers, it was most recently seen on the official trailer for Inside Out 2.
The white background variant was only seen on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and the Game Boy Color version of Monsters, Inc.: The Video Game.
It plasters the previous logo on newer prints of Luxo Jr. (Disney+ prints of the short have the original logo intact) and Knick Knack.
On current prints of the first two Toy Story films, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and Cars, the original logo is replaced by the remastered one, though the original version is still intact on current prints of A Bug's Life, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille until then.
The shortened variant of the logo appears on Dug Days and Cars on the Road.
This does not appear on the Disney+ series Monsters at Work, as it was produced by Disney Television Animation, although Pixar received an in-credit text.

Legacy: This logo is one of the most popular logos in existence, and is cherished by many. It is also one of the most "memed" logos on the wiki. The many variants that have been created are fun to watch as well.

3rd Logo (3-D Alternative) (May 29, 2009-)

The logo forming
The reanimated logo forming
The finalized logo

Visuals: The sequence starts on a black background. Then, the camera pans away from the "P" in "P I X A R" and the screen zooms out as the animation plays, albeit with the lamp stopping on the right side of the "I" instead of the left side. "ANIMATION STUDIOS" also zooms in underneath.

Later Variant: Just like its 2D counterpart, the logo was also re-animated and re-rendered with Pixar's current software. Additionally, Luxo's light is more visible on the letters.

Variants:

On current prints of Monsters, Inc., the logo is shortened.
A sped up version (with a fade out effect at the end) of the closing variant is seen when you go to Pixar's brand page on the Disney+ website on browser. Furthermore, the finalized logo was shifted upwards to fit the page's style.
On the 2020 Disney Investor Day, transitioning from the Walt Disney Animation Studios panel via the static Pixar logo with clouds from Andy's room moving upwards, the logo is high-toned and the "ANIMATION STUDIOS" text is not shown. After it's formed, the chief creative officer of Pixar, Pete Docter, walks in, as the logo is a background, as it fades to pictures of Pixar's history, then the logo was zoomed in and blurred to focus on Pete, cutting from the posters of Pixar's past films and shorts, then cuts back to the logo then showing some of the new members of the Pixar staff, covering the logo, then disappear to show the logo once again. Following that, it fades out as he announces the first film in this panel, Soul. After transitioning from the Disney+ and Pixar logos (with the static Pixar logo), showing the Pixar logo once again, this time now zoomed in, it transitions to the announcement of the second film in this panel, Luca. After that, it fades in, showing the Pixar logo once again, still zoomed in, it zooms out and transitions to a red gradient background, as he announces the third film in this panel, Turning Red, then it transitions back to the Pixar logo. After that, it cuts into the logo for the fourth and final film in this panel, Lightyear. At the end of the Pixar panel, transitioning from the logo for Lightyear, it transitions back to the Pixar logo. After that, Luxo Jr.'s bulb is dimmed as he runs away, making the logo and its background dark as it's moving to the right, fading to black, and transitions over to the Marvel Studios panel.
Beginning with 3D prints of Elemental, the "ANIMATION STUDIOS" text no longer zooms in, and simply fades in instead.

Technique: Same as the previous logo.

Audio: Same as the previous logo or the opening or closing theme of the movie.

Audio Variants:

The Disney+ website variant is silent.
At the end of the Pixar panel at the 2020 Disney Investor Day, the opening part of the 2016 Marvel Studios fanfare, composed by Michael Giacchino, was heard, transitioning from the generic music, as it continues onto the Marvel Studios panel.

Availability:

Seen on most Pixar 3D releases starting with Up.
Also seen when the first two Toy Story films, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc. were re-released in Disney Digital 3D, as well as the 3D Blu-ray of Cars.
This and the 2011 Disney logo plaster the previous logo on 3D prints of For the Birds.
It also appears on both 3D and even 2D prints of newer shorts, except for 22 Vs. Earth and Ciao Alberto, which use the previous logo instead.
The final film to use the original version was the 3D version of Incredibles 2. The logo also appears on the teaser trailer for said film.
The reanimated variant debuted on the 3D version of Onward and later appeared on Lightyear and Elemental, as well as the 2020 Disney Investor Day.
This does not appear on the 3D version of Toy Story 4, which uses a variant of the previous logo. On a side note, it also did not appear on Soul, Luca, and Turning Red, as they were all released exclusively on Disney+ (except in countries where the service was unavailable at first, where they were also released theatrically, though it is currently unknown whether or not it appeared on 3D prints of said films in those territories) due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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