John Lasseter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Lasseter
Lasseter in 2011
Born	John Alan Lasseter (1957-01-12) January 12, 1957 (age 68) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Alma mater	California Institute of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation	Film director producer screenwriter animator voice actor
Years active	1978–present
Employer	Walt Disney Animation Studios (1979–1983, 2006–2018) Lucasfilm (1983–1986) Pixar Animation Studios (1986–2018) Skydance Animation (2019–present)
Title	Head of Skydance Animation
Spouse(s)	Nancy Lasseter ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	5
Awards	Academy Award (1989, 1996) Golden Globe Award (2007) Inkpot Award (2009) Emmy Award (2010-2011)
Signature

John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator and film director. He is famous for his work with Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is currently the head of animation at Skydance Animation.

Lasseter started his career at Disney. He was very interested in computer animation, but at the time, the studio wasn't ready for his new ideas. He later joined Lucasfilm, the company created by George Lucas. There, he helped create amazing computer-generated images (CGI) for movies.

This part of Lucasfilm was later bought by Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986. At Pixar, Lasseter directed some of the most beloved animated movies ever made. These include Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), and Cars (2006). He also served as an executive producer for every other Pixar film until 2018. This means he helped guide and approve the movies.

His films have earned more than $19 billion worldwide. Five of the animated movies he executive produced have made over $1 billion each. These include Toy Story 3 (2010) and Frozen (2013). He has won two Academy Awards for his work in animation.

In 2017, Lasseter took a six-month break from his work. He said he had made some "missteps" that made coworkers feel uncomfortable and apologized for them. In 2018, he left Disney and Pixar. The next year, he was hired to lead Skydance Animation.

Early Life and Education

John Alan Lasseter was born in Hollywood, California. His mother was an art teacher, and his father managed parts at a car dealership. His mother's job helped him become interested in animation.

As a kid, Lasseter loved watching Chuck Jones cartoons. In high school, he read a book called The Art of Animation. The book was about the history of Disney animation and the making of Sleeping Beauty. This book made him realize he wanted to be an animator.

He decided to study character animation at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). This special program was started by Disney animators. At CalArts, he was taught by some of Disney's most famous animators, known as Disney's Nine Old Men. His classmates included many people who also became famous directors, like Tim Burton and Brad Bird.

While in college, Lasseter worked at Disneyland during the summers. He was a skipper on the Jungle Cruise ride. This job taught him about comedy and timing.

Career in Animation

Starting at Disney

After graduating from CalArts in 1979, Lasseter got a job as an animator at Disney. He felt that after the movie 101 Dalmatians, the studio was not making as many new and exciting films.

He became very interested in computer animation. He saw the movie Tron (1982), which used amazing computer-generated imagery (CGI). Lasseter realized that computers could be used to create 3D backgrounds for animated movies. This would make the films look more realistic and exciting.

He and another animator, Glen Keane, decided to make a short test film. They chose the book Where the Wild Things Are. However, their bosses at Disney didn't like the idea because they thought it would cost too much. Soon after, Lasseter was told that his job at Disney was over.

Joining Lucasfilm and Creating Pixar

Lasseter in 2002

After leaving Disney, Lasseter met Ed Catmull from Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Group. Catmull hired Lasseter, and he joined a team that was exploring computer animation. Lasseter's first project was a short film called The Adventures of André & Wally B.. This film proved that entire characters could be animated on a computer.

Lasseter also worked on the movie Young Sherlock Holmes. He helped create the first photorealistic animated character made completely with CGI. The character was a knight made of pieces from a stained-glass window.

Because of money problems, George Lucas had to sell his computer graphics group. Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, bought it in 1986 and it became Pixar. Lasseter was one of the first employees. For the next 10 years, Pixar grew from a computer company into a major animation studio.

Lasseter directed Pixar's first feature film, Toy Story. It was the first computer-animated feature film ever made and was a huge success. He also directed other hit movies like A Bug's Life and Cars. He won an Academy Award for the short film Tin Toy and a Special Achievement Award for Toy Story.

Return to Disney

Lasseter with George Lucas at the Venice Film Festival in 2009

In 2006, Disney bought Pixar. Lasseter was named the chief creative officer for both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. This meant he was in charge of the creative direction of all their animated movies. He was also an adviser for Walt Disney Imagineering, which designs attractions for Disney theme parks.

Lasseter is a good friend of the famous Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Lasseter admired his work so much that he helped bring Miyazaki's films, like Spirited Away, to audiences in the United States. As a tribute, the character Totoro from Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro appears as a toy in Toy Story 3.

In 2011, Lasseter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Leaving Disney and Joining Skydance

In November 2017, Lasseter took a six-month leave of absence from Disney and Pixar. He wrote a memo to staff apologizing for making some of them feel uncomfortable. In June 2018, it was announced that he would be leaving the company at the end of the year.

On January 9, 2019, Lasseter was hired to be the head of Skydance Animation. In a statement, he said he had spent the past year thinking about his actions and apologized again. He said he believed the experience would make him a better leader. At Skydance, he is a producer on animated movies like Luck (2022) and Spellbound (2024).

Personal Life

John Lasseter with his wife Nancy at the 2006 Annie Awards

Lasseter lives in Glen Ellen, California, with his wife, Nancy. They have five sons. The Lasseters own a winery that has a small railroad on the property. Lasseter is known for his large collection of Hawaiian shirts and wears one almost every day.

He has said his favorite movie is Disney's Dumbo (1941). His work has been influenced by great filmmakers and animators like Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Hayao Miyazaki.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Films

Year	Film	Credited as
		Director	(Original) Story by	Producer	Other
1995	Toy Story	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1998	A Bug's Life	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
1999	Toy Story 2	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2001	Monsters, Inc.	No	No	Executive	No
2002	Spirited Away	No	No	Executive	No
2003	Finding Nemo	No	No	Executive	No
2004	The Incredibles	No	No	Executive	No
2005	Howl's Moving Castle	No	No	Executive	No
2006	Cars	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2007	Meet the Robinsons	No	No	Executive	No
2007	Ratatouille	No	No	Executive	Yes
2008	WALL-E	No	No	Executive	Yes
2008	Bolt	No	No	Executive	No
2009	Up	No	No	Executive	Yes
2009	Ponyo	No	No	Executive	Yes
2009	The Princess and the Frog	No	No	Executive	No
2010	Toy Story 3	No	Yes	Executive	Yes
2010	Tangled	No	No	Executive	Yes
2011	Winnie the Pooh	No	No	Executive	Yes
2011	Cars 2	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
2012	Brave	No	No	Executive	Yes
2012	Wreck-It Ralph	No	No	Executive	Yes
2013	Monsters University	No	No	Executive	Yes
2013	Planes	No	Yes	Executive	No
2013	Frozen	No	No	Executive	Yes
2014	Big Hero 6	No	No	Executive	Yes
2015	Inside Out	No	No	Executive	Yes
2015	The Good Dinosaur	No	No	Executive	Yes
2016	Zootopia	No	No	Executive	Yes
2016	Finding Dory	No	No	Executive	Yes
2016	Moana	No	No	Executive	Yes
2017	Cars 3	No	No	Executive	Yes
2017	Coco	No	No	Executive	Yes
2018	Incredibles 2	No	No	Executive	Yes
2018	Ralph Breaks the Internet	No	No	Executive	Yes
2019	Toy Story 4	Removed	Yes	No	No
2022	Luck	No	No	Yes	No
2024	Spellbound	No	No	Yes	Yes
2026	Pookoo	No	No	Yes	No

Images for kids

• 

  Lasseter with Apple CDO Jony Ive at Macworld/iWorld in 2008

See also

In Spanish: John Lasseter para niños

• A113
• List of Pixar films
• List of Pixar shorts
• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards