Pixar Animation Studios

Background: The Pixar production logo is a sequence that appears at the beginning and end of most Pixar productions movies, and features a playful desk lamp. The 1986 short film Luxo, Jr. is the source of the small hopping desk lamp included in Pixar's logo. In To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios, a book of Pixar's history up through January 2007, film critic Leonard Maltin said that he "like[s] the fact that Luxo still has significance to the people at Pixar", and remarked that it was something like Disney's Mickey Mouse.
1st Logo(August 17, 1986-1989)
Nicknames: "The Square", "The Pixar Square", "the square with a little hole"
Logo:
* Luxo Jr: On a black background, we see a grey square with four circles in red, green, blue, and white respectively below fading in. Suddenly, a white light hovers over them, making them 3-D. The circles the turn into spheres. A circle zooms in on the square and four spheres zoom out. The word "P · I · X · A · R" fades in with each sphere and the end of the letter. After a few seconds, the square and the word fades out. The background then fades to the opening title.
* Red's Dream: We see the same square from before fading in on the black background. The same word from before, but with the spheres have replaced with diamonds in the same color as the word, fades in the length of the square, which fades out. After a few seconds, the word fades out. The background then fades to the opening shot.
* Tin Toy: After a few seconds of a black background, we see the same word from before sliding in from the right. The opening title design then does the same movement.
* Knick Knack (Original Version): After a few seconds of the black background, the light revealed the square as seen in the first two versions. The word (now streched out) zooms in front of the square. After that, the dark spotlight wipes the square out and the word then fades out. The background then cuts to the opening title.
Trivia:
* On Tin Toy, the square can be seen on a bag.
* This logo makes a cameo in Toy Story 2 on a television channel seen by Andy's toys during the famous channel changing scene.
* A Toy in a Room in Onward has a Cube with a Dot on it, referencing this logo.
FX/SFX: It varies.
Music/Sounds: It varies.
Music/Sounds Variants:
* The Luxo Jr. version has Take a Bow 1, composed by David Lineup for the logo itself.
** On the 2007 home media release of Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1, it is silent.
* The Red's Dream version has the opening sounds of the rainstorm fading in over it leading into the opening.
* The Tin Toy version has the opening theme starting over it that leads into the opening shot.
* The Knick Knack version has the music starting over it that continues throughout the entire short.
Availability: Uncommon. Seen on those shorts. However, the 1999 reissue of Luxo Jr. have the opening logo replaced with the next one.
Scare Factor: None.
2nd logo (1995-)
Nicknames: "Luxo Jr.", "the logo seen in toy story", "Pixar Lamp"
Logo: We see the text:
P I X A R
On a light blue background.Then a lamp hops by. He stops once he notices the "I". He shakes his body and bounces on the "I" until his jumps squish it. He looks around as the text "ANIMATION STUDIOS" fades in. He then faces the camera. (Note: The Light looks like a white circle with a Black Outline). The light slowly dims until it's completely dark. Luxo Jr.is still on though, but he turns off, making the screen completely dark.
Variants:
* In a 20 years special, we see gold text saying "CELEBRATING 20 YEARS".
* For Cars, the message "Celebrating 20 Years" appeared as the background faded out, with Luxo Jr.'s head used as the zero. Pixar was founded in 1986; Cars, released in 2006, marked their 20th anniversary.
* For Cars 2, the logo animates until the end, where the letters fade out and then the rest of the logo. "CELEBRATING" fades in, with "25" in blue lettering behind it and "YEARS" below it. "CELEBRATING" fades out, then "25 YEARS" fades out. The design of the text is similar to the 20th Century Fox "Celebrating 75 Years" logo and marked their 25th anniversary.
* A new variant of the sequence, optimized for 3-D projection, was first played with the 3D version of Up. The same animation as the regular logo plays as normal. However, the camera pans to the right from the P in the PIXAR letters, therefore Luxo Jr. is seen approaching center when he's first seen, as viewers except him to crash into the screen. Also, as the words 'Animation Studios' appear, it zooms in instead of just fading in. The last time this version was used is the 3D version of Coco.
* In 2019, A New Variant was Used. The logo is reanimated in Pixar's current software with a new Bulb (seen in the Incredibles II Variant).
* On Toy Story 4 and at the end of Movies starting with Onward, "ANIMATION STUDIOS" is already Formed.
Trivia: The animation of the Pixar Logo was done by Pete Docter.
FX/SFX: TBA
Music/Sounds: In order: the metallic sound of the lamp hopping, a "jingle" when the lamp shakes its body, squeaky rubber-like sounds when it jumps on the I, and some other sounds as it looks around. And the last sound we hear is a light turning off (this can be heard at the end of feature films or some shorts).
Music/Sounds Variants:
* On other occasions, everything in the sequence, including the bouncing, the fade out, and the light click off, is timed to match any music playing at the time of the beginning or ending credits. Examples:
** The beginning of For the Birds
** The ending of If I Didn't Have You (Monsters, Inc.)
* The trailers and TV spots have their music playing over it.
* At the beginning of A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Finding Nemo, the tail end of the WDP logo's music echos over the first part.
** On BLoSC:TLB , the second sound cuts in, but if you hear very closely, the WDP logo's music ends very faintly.
** On the latter, when it fades out the opening underwater sound starts leading to the opening.
* At the end of A Bug's Life, the closing credits song ends over it, with the last sound intact.
* At the end of the first theatrical release (Including the 2005 DVD) of Toy Story 2, the second closing credits song ends over it.
* On Monsters, Inc.: Scream Team Training for the PC, the tail end of the Disney Interactive's logo music echos over the first part of the logo.
* On For the Birds, the short's music starts immediately after the last sound.
* On Monsters, Inc.:
** At the beginning, the opening theme plays over it.
** At the end of the former, it depands:
*** The first theatrical release (Including the Widescreen version on the 2002 DVD, and the 2012 2D reissue) has the closing theme ending over it.
*** The second theatrical release (Including the full-screen version on the 2002 DVD/VHS) has the closing credits song ending over it.
* On the 2003 reissue of Knick Knack, the short's music plays over it with the last sound intact.
* At the beginning of The Incredibles, the second half of the opening stinger plays over it, leading to the opening interviews.
* On Jack Jack Attack, the ending of the closing credits music of The Incredibles plays over it with the last sound intact.
* On One Man's Band, the last sound is replaced with the orchestra starting to warm up, leading to the opening title.
* At the beginning of Ratatouille, the second half of the opening stinger plays over it. To accompany the lamp's movements, the elements of the first few notes of the French Anthem plays on the flute for the bouncing to the "I" followed by the horn for squashing the "I". As the lamp turns, the drumroll of the anthem plays, leading to the opening prologue.
* At the beginning of UP, after the lamp turns the opening sound of the record player starts, leading into the opening.
* On the commentary track on the 2010 Blu-Ray/DVD release of the 2009 reissue of Toy Story, it has the WDP logo's music starting part-way through the logo.
* At the end of Toy Story 3, the closing theme ends over it with the last sound intact.
* At the beginning of Inside Out, the second half of the opening stinger plays over it, but after the logo fades to black the stinger serges into the opening theme.
* At the beginning of the 2012 re-release of FN, and Finding Dory, when it fades to black the opening underwater sound starts leading to the opening.
* At the end of Finding Dory, the second half of the closing stinger plays over it with the last sound intact.
* On the Cars 3 closing version, the second half of the closing stinger plays over it and the stinger ends before "Animation Studios" fades in. The last sound is intact.
* On Coco:
** At the beginning, the last sound is muted. The toll of the bell is heard after the lamp moves leading into the opening shot.
** At the end, the tail end of the closing credits music echos over the first part of the logo.
* On Incredibles 2, the second half of the opening is heard. it ends when it's black.
Avablility: the 1995 logo make it's first appearance at the end of Toy Story. The 2008 version first appeared on Wall-E. the anniversary variants appeared on every Cars film (but Cars 3, as they never got a 30th Anniversary logo). The 2019 variant first appeared at the beginning of Incredibles 2 and not the end, as the 2008 variant was used.
Editor's Note: None.
Category:Animation Logos