American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Concept art by John Lasseter for Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards, published by Chronicle Books.

At EFSP, December will be Pixar month! In the coming weeks, Bob, Truus & Jan Too! will share our collection of Pixar postcards with you at Flickr.

Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) about two living lamps, was the first computer-animated short that was ever nominated for an Academy Award and was the start of the dazzling success of the Pixar studio. Luxo Jr. is now officially the mascot of Pixar, and the small hopping lamp now acts as the lowercase "i" in Pixar's logo.

In 1986 Pixar Animation Studios produced the short Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986). It was Pixar's first film since founders Ed Catmull and John Lasseter had left ILM's computer division and founded Pixar as an independent film studio. The clip (it is only 2 minutes and 18 seconds long) demonstrated what Pixar was capable of. Lasseter applied the classic animation principles popularised by Disney to convey the lamps' emotions. The animation is vibrant and beautiful and done with character. The computer-animated short sent shock waves throughout the industry. At the time most animators were fearful of the computer; Luxo Jr. (1986) made them appreciate that it was just another tool. The nomination for the Oscar for the best short animated film was the start of the meteoric rise of Pixar Studios.

In Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) a larger lamp, Luxo Sr., watches while a smaller, younger lamp, Luxo Jr., plays exuberantly with a ball but doesn't pick up the knack of correct handling. Eventually, Luxo Jr. accidentally destroys the ball, but he soon finds a much larger ball to take its place. The Luxo lamp was based on a real Luxo lamp that John Lasseter had sitting on his desk. Although Luxo, Sr. is a male/father, he is actually based on John Lasseter's mother. Luxo Jr. was inspired by Tom Porter's (an employee from Pixar) son Spencer Porter who at the time was a baby. The reason why the short film has a pitch-black background is that Pixar didn't have the hardware to make proper backgrounds. The film shows the use of shadow mapping to generate the shadows of the moving lights. According to John Lasseter, the hardest things to animate were the lamp cords and the rolling of the ball.

Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) was first shown at SIGGRAPH, an annual computer fair. In order to finish the film on time, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter worked day and night. Lasseter eventually even brought a sleeping bag to work with him to sleep under his desk so he could resume work early the next day. The first screening was a great success. Before the film was even finished, the filmmakers received applause from the audience. Luxo Jr. would be a breakthrough in the animation industry as a whole, changing traditionalists' interpretation of computer animation. Today, in the company's logo shown before the start of every Pixar film, the little lamp hops right into the picture, stops next to the I, and jumps on top of it so that the I is pressed down and the lamp itself takes the place of the I in the logo. The bouncing ball also made cameo appearances in several Pixar features. In Toy Story (1995), In Up (2009), it is in the apartment where the girl plays as Carl's house floats past her window. In Monsters en Co. (2001) it is in Boo's room. Also, in Toy Story, the larger ball chases Buzz Lightyear in an Indiana Jones homage. Thirteen years after production, Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) was finally released theatrically with Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich, 1999). In the book 'To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios', film critic Leonard Maltin compared Luxor Jr.'s significance to Pixar to Mickey Mouse's significance to Disney.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   Pixar Animation Film Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Luxo Jr. 1986 John Lasseter John Lasseter Concept Art Lamp Ball

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American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Film image of Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards, published by Chronicle Books.

In the Pixar short Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989), a snow globe snowman wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a hot party, but the glass dome that surrounds him gets in his way, despite all his efforts.

'Knick Knack' is only four minutes long. It starts with a couple of souvenirs taken from vacation in Florida. We see some palm trees dancing and a beach bunny dancing on a nice little tune. Then we take a look at the other end of the table. A souvenir from Alaska, a snowman in a glass dome, wants to join the hot party and especially the hot girl. He tries to break the glass of the dome in any way possible. This animated short directed and written by John Lasseter is an impressive early film from the Pixar studios. Whenever John and Nancy Lasseter go on vacation, Nancy always makes a point of buying a snow globe from that particular place. It was from this practice that the initial idea for the film was born. The result looks great and is inventive. The ending gives us the biggest laugh, but before that, there are quite some funny moments. Knick Knack premiered at the 1989 SIGGRAPH convention in Boston and was presented in 3D. A year later, the film was awarded the prize for Best Short Film at the Seattle International Film Festival.

In 2001, the British director Terry Gilliam called Knick Knack one of the ten best animated films ever made. The film was completely rebuilt and re-rendered for release in theatres preceding Finding Nemo (2003). In this version, the girl on the "Miami" knick knack and the mermaid in the fishbowl have undergone a breast reduction, and the mermaid is now wearing a seashell bra rather than just starfish pasties. This was done due to discomfort with the original version by John Lasseter, who by this point was a father and felt uncomfortable showing the original version to his children. The original version is no longer available, with its last release on Toy Story's Laserdisc version. All subsequent releases, including the Pixar Short Films Collection, feature the 2003 edited version. The old version can be seen in its "uncensored" form briefly in Toy Story 2 (1999). Knick Knack was one of the last pieces of animation that Lasseter would animate personally during Pixar's years as an independent company and it was the last short Pixar made until Geri's Game (1997).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

December will be Pixar month st EFSP! In the coming weeks, Bob, Truus & Jan Too! will share our collection of Pixar postcards with you at Flickr.

Tags:   Pixar Animation Film Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Knick Knack 1989

© All Rights Reserved

American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Storyboards by John Lasseter forKnick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards, published by Chronicle Books.

In the Pixar short Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989), a snow globe snowman wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a hot party, but the glass dome that surrounds him gets in his way, despite all his efforts.

'Knick Knack' is only four minutes long. It starts with a couple of souvenirs taken from vacation in Florida. We see some palm trees dancing and a beach bunny dancing on a nice little tune. Then we take a look at the other end of the table. A souvenir from Alaska, a snowman in a glass dome, wants to join the hot party and especially the hot girl. He tries to break the glass of the dome in any way possible. This animated short directed and written by John Lasseter is an impressive early film from the Pixar studios. Whenever John and Nancy Lasseter go on vacation, Nancy always makes a point of buying a snow globe from that particular place. It was from this practice that the initial idea for the film was born. The result looks great and is inventive. The ending gives us the biggest laugh, but before that, there are quite some funny moments. Knick Knack premiered at the 1989 SIGGRAPH convention in Boston and was presented in 3D. A year later, the film was awarded the prize for Best Short Film at the Seattle International Film Festival.

In 2001, the British director Terry Gilliam called Knick Knack one of the ten best animated films ever made. The film was completely rebuilt and re-rendered for release in theatres preceding Finding Nemo (2003). In this version, the girl on the "Miami" knick knack and the mermaid in the fishbowl have undergone a breast reduction, and the mermaid is now wearing a seashell bra rather than just starfish pasties. This was done due to discomfort with the original version by John Lasseter, who by this point was a father and felt uncomfortable showing the original version to his children. The original version is no longer available, with its last release on Toy Story's Laserdisc version. All subsequent releases, including the Pixar Short Films Collection, feature the 2003 edited version. The old version can be seen in its "uncensored" form briefly in Toy Story 2 (1999). Knick Knack was one of the last pieces of animation that Lasseter would animate personally during Pixar's years as an independent company and it was the last short Pixar made until Geri's Game (1997).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

December will be Pixar month st EFSP! In the coming weeks, Bob, Truus & Jan Too! will share our collection of Pixar postcards with you at Flickr.

Tags:   Pixar Animation Film Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Knick Knack 1989 Stoiry boards John Lasseter John Lasseter

© All Rights Reserved

American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Film image of Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards, published by Chronicle Books.

In the Pixar short Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989), a snow globe snowman wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a hot party, but the glass dome that surrounds him gets in his way, despite all his efforts.

'Knick Knack' is only four minutes long. It starts with a couple of souvenirs taken from vacation in Florida. We see some palm trees dancing and a beach bunny dancing on a nice little tune. Then we take a look at the other end of the table. A souvenir from Alaska, a snowman in a glass dome, wants to join the hot party and especially the hot girl. He tries to break the glass of the dome in any way possible. This animated short directed and written by John Lasseter is an impressive early film from the Pixar studios. Whenever John and Nancy Lasseter go on vacation, Nancy always makes a point of buying a snow globe from that particular place. It was from this practice that the initial idea for the film was born. The result looks great and is inventive. The ending gives us the biggest laugh, but before that, there are quite some funny moments. Knick Knack premiered at the 1989 SIGGRAPH convention in Boston and was presented in 3D. A year later, the film was awarded the prize for Best Short Film at the Seattle International Film Festival.

In 2001, the British director Terry Gilliam called Knick Knack one of the ten best animated films ever made. The film was completely rebuilt and re-rendered for release in theatres preceding Finding Nemo (2003). In this version, the girl on the "Miami" knick knack and the mermaid in the fishbowl have undergone a breast reduction, and the mermaid is now wearing a seashell bra rather than just starfish pasties. This was done due to discomfort with the original version by John Lasseter, who by this point was a father and felt uncomfortable showing the original version to his children. The original version is no longer available, with its last release on Toy Story's Laserdisc version. All subsequent releases, including the Pixar Short Films Collection, feature the 2003 edited version. The old version can be seen in its "uncensored" form briefly in Toy Story 2 (1999). Knick Knack was one of the last pieces of animation that Lasseter would animate personally during Pixar's years as an independent company and it was the last short Pixar made until Geri's Game (1997).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

December will be Pixar month st EFSP! In the coming weeks, Bob, Truus & Jan Too! will share our collection of Pixar postcards with you at Flickr.

Tags:   Pixar Animation Film Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Knick Knack 1989

© All Rights Reserved

American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Film image of Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards, published by Chronicle Books.

At EFSP, December will be Pixar month! In the coming weeks, Bob, Truus & Jan Too! will share our collection of Pixar postcards with you at Flickr.

Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) about two living lamps, was the first computer-animated short that was ever nominated for an Academy Award and was the start of the dazzling success of the Pixar studio. Luxo Jr. is now officially the mascot of Pixar, and the small hopping lamp now acts as the lowercase "i" in Pixar's logo.

In 1986 Pixar Animation Studios produced the short Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986). It was Pixar's first film since founders Ed Catmull and John Lasseter had left ILM's computer division and founded Pixar as an independent film studio. The clip (it is only 2 minutes and 18 seconds long) demonstrated what Pixar was capable of. Lasseter applied the classic animation principles popularised by Disney to convey the lamps' emotions. The animation is vibrant and beautiful and done with character. The computer-animated short sent shock waves throughout the industry. At the time most animators were fearful of the computer; Luxo Jr. (1986) made them appreciate that it was just another tool. The nomination for the Oscar for the best short animated film was the start of the meteoric rise of Pixar Studios.

In Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) a larger lamp, Luxo Sr., watches while a smaller, younger lamp, Luxo Jr., plays exuberantly with a ball but doesn't pick up the knack of correct handling. Eventually, Luxo Jr. accidentally destroys the ball, but he soon finds a much larger ball to take its place. The Luxo lamp was based on a real Luxo lamp that John Lasseter had sitting on his desk. Although Luxo, Sr. is a male/father, he is actually based on John Lasseter's mother. Luxo Jr. was inspired by Tom Porter's (an employee from Pixar) son Spencer Porter who at the time was a baby. The reason why the short film has a pitch-black background is that Pixar didn't have the hardware to make proper backgrounds. The film shows the use of shadow mapping to generate the shadows of the moving lights. According to John Lasseter, the hardest things to animate were the lamp cords and the rolling of the ball.

Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) was first shown at SIGGRAPH, an annual computer fair. In order to finish the film on time, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter worked day and night. Lasseter eventually even brought a sleeping bag to work with him to sleep under his desk so he could resume work early the next day. The first screening was a great success. Before the film was even finished, the filmmakers received applause from the audience. Luxo Jr. would be a breakthrough in the animation industry as a whole, changing traditionalists' interpretation of computer animation. Today, in the company's logo shown before the start of every Pixar film, the little lamp hops right into the picture, stops next to the I, and jumps on top of it so that the I is pressed down and the lamp itself takes the place of the I in the logo. The bouncing ball also made cameo appearances in several Pixar features. In Toy Story (1995), In Up (2009), it is in the apartment where the girl plays as Carl's house floats past her window. In Monsters en Co. (2001) it is in Boo's room. Also, in Toy Story, the larger ball chases Buzz Lightyear in an Indiana Jones homage. Thirteen years after production, Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986) was finally released theatrically with Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich, 1999). In the book 'To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios', film critic Leonard Maltin compared Luxor Jr.'s significance to Pixar to Mickey Mouse's significance to Disney.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   Pixar Animation Film Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Luxo Jr. 1986 John Lasseter John Lasseter Lamp Ball

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