Steve Jobs may yet rewrite the Apple story

The run began in 1995 with Toy Story, the first animated feature generated entirely by computer.

Coming to a screen near you on November 5 will be The Incredibles, a melding of superhero action and PG-rated comedy. If it follows the pattern established by its predecessors, it will take in $519 million in worldwide box office. (Hey, no pressure!) None of this was in view, however, in 1986, when Jobs acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm for $10 million.

The shop had invented a four-processor computer designed for displaying graphics. The technology was the answer, but no one knew what the question was. Anything longer seemed impractical. Jobs had had the good judgment to name John A. Lasseter, formerly of Lucasfilm, as a Pixar co-founder, and to permit him to work unimpeded as the company’s creative force. But even five years later, in early 1991, the prospects for the company were anything but bright. It was trying to make a go as a producer of animated television commercials, while also selling graphics software that it had developed in-house. But it had to lay off almost half of its 77 employees as it struggled to establish a viable business.

At the same time, Jobs was trying to breathe life into Next Computer, which he had founded after leaving Apple in 1985. His strategic vision, which had informed the founding of Apple and the birth of the Macintosh, seemed to have deserted him.

The year 1991 would be important. Lasseter felt that Pixar was ready to try an hourlong television special and made a pitch to Disney. But Disney had a counter-offer: Why not do a full-length movie whose production Disney would finance?

Thus was born Toy Story, the first in a three-picture deal between Pixar and Disney. From this point on, Jobs had a brilliant vision of how Pixar could become a great animation studio itself. It was he who, in 1997, renegotiated the Disney deal to secure an equal share of profits, excluding distribution costs. And it was Jobs who has guided Pixar to its current position, in which it no longer needs a partner to help finance future productions.

— NYT