Summary

• Pixar's early collaborations with Disney allowed them to sharpen their skills and creativity before creating their own movies.
• Collaborating on Disney projects financially ed Pixar and helped them stay afloat in their early days.
• Despite their early struggles, Pixar's innovative animation style eventually led them to success with Toy Story and beyond.

Every Pixar movie is a visual spectacle, but the studio's early days meant the animators were augmenting Disney movies rather than creating films that could be labeled as true Pixar productions. Thankfully, the hard work paid off and Pixar moved on to making their own movies as part of the larger Disney infrastructure.

Pixar was established as an independent company in 1986 (Via first fully CGI character in 1985's Young Sherlock Holmes. From there, the company continued to go from strength to strength, releasing their collaboration job with Disney at the turn of the decade.

1990's Rescuers Down Under Was Pixar's First Collaboration With Disney

Pixar assisted with key aspects of Rescuers Down Under

Pixar's talents were spotted by Disney when they recruited the studio to work with them on 1990's Rescuers Down Under. While the sequel to 1977's The Rescuers was still primarily hand-drawn animation, certain elements within the movie were handled by Pixar. For instance, the opening sequence's field of flowers is CGI, as are certain vehicles and buildings in specific shots.

Rescuers Down Under was the first Disney movie to benefit from the Computer Animated Production System - CAPS for short. Most of what CAPS offered wasn't flashy by today's standards, but it streamlined key aspects of the animation process and added depth and perspective to key scenes. CAPS began to be developed in 1986, so Rescuers Down Under was the culmination of almost half a decade's work. CAPS was used to color the art that was hand-drawn by the Disney animators, among other tasks that related to facets of animated filmmaking such as camera positioning.

Despite the innovative techniques used to make Rescuers Down Under, the movie was a flop at the box office. However, this may have been in part due to the movie releasing on the same day as Home Alone.

Pixar Worked On Other Movies Before 1995's Toy Story

Pixar's history with Disney goes way beyond Toy Story

Pixar made an impression on Disney for their work on Rescuers Down Under, as the studio worked alongside Disney for other movies before Toy Story was released. In 1991's Beauty & the Beast, Pixar's CAPS system is used in a much more noticeable way than in Rescuers Down Under, particularly during the iconic ballroom scene which shows Belle and the Beast dancing in an impressively ornate environment with sweeping camera shots.

Pixar made an impression on Disney for their work on Rescuers Down Under, as the studio worked alongside Disney for other movies before Toy Story was released.

Pixar's collaboration streak with Disney continued the following year as they also worked on 1992's Aladdin. Pixar's influence on Aladdin's animation style is even more prominent, with the magic carpet being just one example of a completely CGI asset within the film. The entrance to the Cave of Wonders is another instance where Pixar's talents are impossible to ignore. In short, Aladdin's magic wouldn't be what it was without Pixar's input.

Why Pixar's Early Disney Collaborations Were So Important

Pixar's early work allowed them to improve creatively and stay afloat financially

Pixar's groundbreaking animation style didn't happen overnight. As well as working on their own CGI shorts, the collaborations with Disney allowed Pixar to improve upon their craft. This way, the studio was able to sufficiently prepare so they were ready to embark on their own feature-length projects when ready. Assisting with a traditionally animated movie is very different from taking on the tasks of making an innovative CGI production like Toy Story. So, these early collaborations were a matter of Pixar walking so they could run later on.

In addition to the creative aspect of the projects, there were also the financial aspects of the arrangement. If Pixar hadn't worked with Disney, it's possible the studio could have folded due to lack of funds. Although Disney eventually acquired Pixar in 2006, Pixar was an independent company during the early stages of its relationship with its future parent studio. So, Pixar needed to earn money to stay afloat, and working with Disney didn't just help to raise Pixar's profile, but also meant they were earning enough to continue to work on their own projects.

Although Toy Story went on to become extremely profitable, Pixar almost went bankrupt while they were making the movie (Via Medium). If they hadn't worked on so many projects prior to Toy Story, then the studio may not have had the skill and ability necessary to continue applying their talents in the face of such adversity. Luckily, Pixar came out on the other side and continues to thrive alongside Disney to this day.

Rescuers Down Under is available to stream on Disney+.

Sources: Pixar, Medium