Pixar Canada

Pixar Canada was a wholly owned subsidiary of Pixar Animation Studios that operated in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 2009 until its closure in October 2013. The studio was created as a specialized satellite operation rather than as a second full-scale Pixar feature-animation facility. Its principal assignment was to develop and produce short films based on established Pixar characters for distribution and presentation across Disney’s wider entertainment businesses. The subsidiary was established in April 2009 and formally opened on April 20, 2010, in Vancouver’s Gastown district. Pixar and Disney selected Vancouver for several complementary reasons. British Columbia offered tax incentives for animation and visual-effects production, while the region had a growing pool of computer-generated-animation talent. Vancouver’s working relationship with Pixar’s Emeryville, California headquarters was also facilitated by compatible time-zone arrangements at the time. These factors allowed the studio to function as an extension of Pixar’s production network while retaining a close relationship with the main campus in California. Pixar Canada’s initial operating plan covered three years and focused on short-form work built around characters audiences already knew from Pixar films. The intended outlets were unusually broad. The shorts could support television programming, DVD and home-video compilations, internet distribution, theme-park attractions, and theatrical presentations. Pixar’s Vancouver unit was therefore positioned as a flexible content studio capable of creating material for multiple Disney distribution channels rather than solely for cinema release. The Vancouver team handled animation production, while post-production and stereoscopic 3D work remained with Pixar’s principal studio in Emeryville. Among the shorts associated with the studio were Air Mater, Small Fry, and Partysaurus Rex. These projects extended the worlds of Cars, Toy Story, and Toy Story 3, respectively, and demonstrated how Pixar could use short films to continue character-based storytelling outside its feature-film schedule. Pixar shorts also served as a creative testing ground for concepts and as an opportunity for emerging directors to develop their skills within the company’s established production environment. Pixar Canada was closed permanently in October 2013 as Pixar refocused production activity on its main headquarters in Emeryville. Approximately 100 employees lost their jobs. Disney representatives said that the work being carried out in Vancouver would be transferred to the company’s California operations. British Columbia’s jobs minister described the closure as disappointing but characterized it as a consequence of the company’s broader business strategy rather than a rejection of the province’s production environment. The former Pixar Canada facility subsequently gained a new role in Vancouver’s visual-effects industry. Following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and its related companies, Industrial Light & Magic moved its Vancouver operation into the former Pixar Canada studio space. The successor facility worked on character animation and visual effects for films including Warcraft, The Revenant, and Thor: Ragnarok. Pixar Canada therefore had a brief operating life, but its Vancouver location remained part of the wider Disney and Lucasfilm production ecosystem after the subsidiary itself disappeared.

Pixar Canada emerged from Pixar Animation Studios’ effort to establish a focused short-form animation presence outside its principal Emeryville, California headquarters. The subsidiary was established in April 2009 and formally opened on April 20, 2010, in Gastown, Vancouver. It was wholly owned by Pixar and was not intended to become a competing feature-animation campus. Instead, its mandate was to produce short films built around characters and settings introduced in Pixar feature films. The choice of Vancouver reflected both production economics and workforce considerations. British Columbia offered tax incentives relevant to animation and visual-effects businesses, and Vancouver had developed a substantial pool of computer-generated-animation talent. The city also provided practical coordination advantages for a California-based parent studio because of its compatible time-zone relationship with Emeryville at the time. Pixar Canada’s creation consequently reflected a combination of local incentives, available skills, and the desire to extend Pixar’s production capacity without relocating its core creative and technical infrastructure. The studio’s initial plan was structured around a three-year period of short-film production. Its work was meant to support a broad range of Disney businesses and channels, including television, DVD compilations, internet distribution, theme-park attractions, and theatrical programs. This made Pixar Canada part of a wider franchise-content strategy: familiar characters could appear in stories shorter and more frequently produced than feature films, while the resulting material could be adapted for different forms of distribution. Pixar Canada was integrated into Pixar’s larger production pipeline rather than being fully autonomous. It produced animation for projects such as Air Mater, Small Fry, and Partysaurus Rex, while post-production and stereoscopic 3D work remained at Emeryville. The shorts connected the Vancouver unit to the Cars and Toy Story properties and showed how Pixar’s established characters could support additional stories beyond their feature releases. Short-film production also gave Pixar a controlled environment for testing ideas and helping new directors gain experience. The subsidiary’s existence was brief. In October 2013, Walt Disney Studios announced that Pixar Canada would be permanently closed and that nearly 100 jobs would be lost. The company explained that the Vancouver work would be moved to California as Pixar concentrated its efforts at its main headquarters. The closure was viewed negatively by British Columbia officials, but the provincial jobs minister characterized it as a strategic corporate decision rather than evidence that the province’s business or production climate had failed. The physical studio did not remain unused for long. Disney had recently acquired Lucasfilm and its affiliated companies, including Industrial Light & Magic. After Pixar Canada’s shutdown, ILM moved into the former Vancouver premises. The Vancouver ILM operation later contributed character animation and visual effects to productions including Warcraft, The Revenant, and Thor: Ragnarok. Thus, Pixar Canada ended as a corporate entity in 2013, but its former site continued to function as part of a major studio-production network.

• 2013

  Pixar Canada closes

  [1]Pixar Canadaen.wikipedia.org

  Disney announced the permanent closure of Pixar Canada in October 2013, with approximately 100 positions eliminated and work transferred to California.

• 2013

  Former facility becomes an ILM Vancouver studio

  [1]Pixar Canadaen.wikipedia.org

  Industrial Light & Magic moved into Pixar Canada’s former Vancouver premises after the Pixar subsidiary closed.

• 2011

  Short-form franchise production

  [1]Pixar Canadaen.wikipedia.org

  The Vancouver operation became associated with short films including Air Mater, Small Fry, and Partysaurus Rex, extending Pixar characters into additional formats.

• 2010

  Vancouver studio officially opens

  [1]Pixar Canadaen.wikipedia.org

  Pixar Canada officially opened on April 20, 2010, in Vancouver’s Gastown district.

• 2009

  Pixar Canada is established

  [1]Pixar Canadaen.wikipedia.org

  Pixar Animation Studios established a wholly owned Vancouver subsidiary dedicated to producing short animated films based on Pixar feature-film characters.

A specialized satellite animation studio focused on short-form extensions of Pixar feature-film franchises and distribution across Disney’s entertainment platforms.

• Animated short film

  Air Mater

  A short-form animated story centered on Mater from the Cars franchise. It represents Pixar Canada’s role in producing additional character-driven content beyond Pixar’s feature films and in adapting established properties for broader Disney distribution.

• Animated short film

  Small Fry

  A Toy Story-related short featuring characters from Pixar’s established toy-themed universe. The film illustrates the Vancouver studio’s mandate to create compact franchise stories suitable for distribution through multiple Disney-connected channels.

• Animated short film

  Partysaurus Rex

  A short featuring Rex from Toy Story 3. Like the other Pixar Canada-associated productions, it expanded a familiar feature-film character into a standalone short and helped demonstrate the value of Pixar’s characters in formats outside feature-length cinema.

• 2013

  Consolidation of Pixar Canada’s work in CaliforniaStrategy

  Background

  Pixar Animation Studios decided to refocus its efforts at its main Emeryville headquarters after operating the Vancouver subsidiary for several years.

  Action taken

  Walt Disney Studios closed Pixar Canada in October 2013, eliminated approximately 100 jobs, and transferred the Vancouver work to California.

  Aftermath

  The closure ended Pixar’s Vancouver subsidiary. The former studio premises were subsequently occupied by Industrial Light & Magic’s Vancouver operation.

  Source

1. 1Pixar Canadaen.wikipedia.org