John Lasseter | |
|---|---|
 Lasseter in 2011 | |
| Born | John Alan Lasseter (1957-01-12)January 12, 1957 (age 69) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts (BFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Employers |
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| Title |
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| Spouse | [2] |
| Children | 5[3] |
| Awards | Academy Award (1989, 1996) Golden Globe Award (2007) Inkpot Award (2009)[4] Emmy Award (2010–2011) |
| Signature | |
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John Alan Lasseter (/ˈlæsətər/LASS-ə-tər; born January 12, 1957)[5] is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He was previously thechief creative officer ofPixar Animation Studios,Walt Disney Animation Studios, andDisneytoon Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor forWalt Disney Imagineering,[6] and has served as the head of animation atSkydance Animation since 2019.[7]
John Lasseter began his career as an animator withthe Walt Disney Company. After being fired from Disney for promotingcomputer animation, he joinedLucasfilm, where he collaborated on the then-groundbreaking usage ofCGI animation. The Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm was sold toSteve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986. Lasseter oversaw all of Pixar's films and associated projects. He personally directedToy Story (1995),A Bug's Life (1998),Toy Story 2 (1999),Cars (2006), andCars 2 (2011), and executive-produced all other Pixar films through 2018. From 2006 to 2018, Lasseter also oversaw all of Walt Disney Animation Studios' (and its division Disneytoon Studios') films and associated projects as executive producer.
His works have grossed more thanUS$19 billion, making him one of the most financially successful filmmakers of all time. Of the ten animated films that have grossed over US$1 billion, five of them were executive produced by Lasseter:Toy Story 3 (2010)—the first animated film to surpass $1 billion—andFrozen (2013)—the third-highest-grossing animated film of all time—as well asZootopia (2016),Finding Dory (2016), andIncredibles 2 (2018).Frozen also held the title of the highest-grossing animated film of all time until 2019, and was the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time at the end of its theatrical run. He has won twoAcademy Awards, forBest Animated Short Film (forTin Toy), as well as aSpecial Achievement Award (forToy Story).[8]
In November 2017, Lasseter took a six-monthsabbatical from Pixar and Disney Animation when uncomfortable interactions with employees were made public, behaviors that he apologized for and recognized as unintentional "missteps".[9] According to various news outlets, Lasseter had a history of allegedsexual misconduct toward employees.[10][11] In June 2018, it was announced that he would be leaving the company at the end of the year when his contract expired; he took on a consulting role until then.[12][13] Following his departure from Disney and Pixar, Lasseter was later hired bySkydance founder and CEODavid Ellison to run the animation divisionSkydance Animation.[1]
John Alan Lasseter was born on January 12, 1957, inLos Angeles. He grew up in the suburb ofWhittier.[5] His mother, Jewell Mae (née Risley; 1918–2005), was an art teacher atBell Gardens High School, and his father, Paul Eual Lasseter (1924–2011), was a parts manager at aChevrolet dealership.[14][15][16]
Lasseter is afraternal twin; his sister Johanna Lasseter-Curtis, who became a baker based in theLake Tahoe area, is six minutes older.[17][18]
His mother's profession contributed to his growing preoccupation with animation. He often drew cartoons during services at theChurch of Christ[clarification needed] church his family regularly attended. As a child, Lasseter would race home from school to watchChuck Jones cartoons on television. While in high school, he readThe Art of Animation byBob Thomas. The book covered the history of Disney animation and explored the making of Disney's 1959 filmSleeping Beauty, which made Lasseter realize he wanted to do animation himself. When he saw a screening of Disney's 1963 filmThe Sword in the Stone at the Wardman Theater, he knew early in his youth that he wanted to become an animator.[19] He then readPreston Blair's book about animation, and made flipbooks based on Blair's walk cycles. One of his friends had a Super 8 camera that shot single frames, which was used to shoot some of his earlier animation efforts.[20]
Lasseter heard of a newcharacter animation program at theCalifornia Institute of the Arts (often abbreviated as 'CalArts') and decided to follow his dream of becoming an animator. His mother further encouraged him to take up a career in animation, and, after graduating fromWhittier High School in 1975, he enrolled as the second student (Jerry Rees was the first)[21] in the CalArts Character Animation program created by Disney animatorsJack Hannah andT. Hee. Lasseter was taught by three members ofDisney's Nine Old Men team of veteran animators—Eric Larson,Frank Thomas andOllie Johnston—and his classmates included future animators and directors likeBrad Bird,John Musker,Henry Selick,Tim Burton, andChris Buck.[22][23][24] During his time there, he produced two animated shorts—Lady and the Lamp (1979) andNitemare (1980)—which each won the student Academy Award for Animation.[25]
While at CalArts, Lasseter first started working for the Walt Disney Company atDisneyland inAnaheim during summer breaks and got a job as aJungle Cruise skipper, where he learned the basics of comedy and comic timing to entertain captive audiences on the ride.[17][26]
Upon graduating in 1979, Lasseter immediately obtained a job as an animator atWalt Disney Productions mostly due to his success with his student project,Lady and the Lamp.[27] The studio had reviewed approximately 10,000 portfolios in the late 1970s in search of talent, then selected only about 150 candidates as apprentices, of which only about 45 were kept on permanently.[27] In the fall of 1979, Disney animatorMel Shaw told theLos Angeles Times that "John's got an instinctive feel for character and movement and shows every indication of blossoming here at our studios ... In time, he'll make a fine contribution."[27] At that same time, Lasseter worked on a sequence titled "The Emperor and the Nightingale" (based onThe Nightingale byHans Christian Andersen) for a Disney project calledMusicana.Musicana was never released but eventually led to the development ofFantasia 2000 (1999).[28]
However, afterOne Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), which in Lasseter's opinion was the film where Disney had reached its highest plateau, he felt that the studio had lost momentum and was often repeating itself.[29][30] Between 1980 and 1981, he coincidentally came across some video tapes from one of the then new computer-graphics conferences, who showed some of the very beginnings of computer animation, primarily floating spheres and such, which he experienced as a revelation.[17] But it was not until shortly after, when he was invited by his friendsJerry Rees andBill Kroyer, while working onMickey's Christmas Carol (1983), to come and see the first light cycle sequences for an upcoming film entitledTron (1982), featuring state-of-the-artcomputer-generated imagery (CGI), that he saw the huge potential of this new technology in animation. Up to that time, the studio had used amultiplane camera to add depth to its animation. Lasseter realized that computers could be used to make films with three-dimensional backgrounds where traditionally animated characters could interact to add a new level of visually stunning depth that had not been possible before. He knew adding dimension to animation had been a longtime dream of animators, going back toWalt Disney.[17]
Later, he andGlen Keane talked about how great it would be to make an animated feature where the background was computer-generated, and then showed Keane the bookThe Brave Little Toaster byThomas Disch, which he thought would be a good candidate for the film. Keane agreed, but first, they decided to do a short test film to see how it worked out and choseWhere the Wild Things Are, a decision based on the fact that Disney had considered producing a feature based on the works ofMaurice Sendak. Satisfied with the result, Lasseter, Keane and executive Thomas L. Wilhite went on with the project, especially Lasseter who dedicated himself to it, while Keane eventually went on to work withThe Great Mouse Detective (1986).[31]
Lasseter and his colleagues unknowingly stepped on some of their direct superiors' toes by circumventing them in their enthusiasm to get theWhere the Wild Things Are project into motion. The project was canceled while being pitched to two of Lasseter's supervisors, animation administrator Ed Hansen, and head of Disney studios,Ron W. Miller, due to lack of perceived cost benefits for the mix of traditional and computer animation.[32] A few minutes after the meeting, Lasseter was summoned by Hansen to his office. As Lasseter recalled, Hansen told him, "Well, John, your project is now complete, so your employment with the Disney Studios is now terminated."[33]: 40 Wilhite, who was part of Disney's live-action group and therefore had no obligations to the animation studio, was able to arrange to keep Lasseter around temporarily until theWild Things test project was complete in January 1984, but with the understanding there would be no further work for Lasseter at Disney Animation.[33]: 40 [34]The Brave Little Toaster would later becomea 2D animated feature film directed by one of Lasseter's friends,Jerry Rees, and co-produced by Wilhite (who had, by then, left to startHyperion Pictures), and some of the staff of Pixar would be involved in the film alongside Lasseter.
While putting together a crew for the planned feature, Lasseter had made some contacts in the computer industry, among themAlvy Ray Smith andEd Catmull atLucasfilm Computer Graphics Group. After being fired, and feeling glum knowing his employment with Disney was to end shortly,[33]: 40 Lasseter visited a computer graphics conference in November 1983 at theQueen Mary inLong Beach, where he met and talked to Catmull again.[35]: 45 Catmull inquired aboutThe Brave Little Toaster, which Lasseter explained had been shelved.[17][33]: 40 From his experience at Lucasfilm, Catmull assumed Lasseter was simply between projects since Hollywood studios have traditionally laid off employees when they lack enough productions to keep them busy.[35]: 45 Still devastated at being forced out of the only company he had ever wanted to work for, Lasseter could not find the strength to tell Catmull that he had been fired.[17][35]: 45
Catmull later telephoned Smith that day and mentioned that Lasseter was not working at Disney. Smith told Catmull to put down the phone and hire Lasseter right away.[35]: 45 Lasseter agreed instantly to work freelance with Catmull and his colleagues and joined them for a week of December 1983 on a project that resulted in their first computer-animated short:The Adventures of André & Wally B., meant to prove it was possible to docharacter animation on a computer. After his work on theWhere the Wild Things Are-test, Lasseter assumed hand-drawn characters in a CGI environment was the only way, but Catmull insisted it could be done, it was just that nobody had given it an attempt before. Because Catmull was not allowed to hire animators, he was given the title "Interface Designer";[36][17][37] "Nobody knew what that was but they didn't question it in budget meetings".[23] Lasseter spent a lot of time at Lucasfilm in theSan Francisco Bay Area in the spring of 1984, where he worked together closely with Catmull and his team of computer science researchers.[33]: 40–41 Lasseter learned how to use some of their software, and in turn, he taught the computer scientists about filmmaking, animation, and art.[33]: 40–41 The short turned out to be more revolutionary than Lasseter first had visualized before he came to Lucasfilm. His original idea had been to create only the backgrounds on computers, but in the final short everything was computer-animated, including the characters.[17]
After the short CGI film was presented atSIGGRAPH in the summer of 1984, Lasseter returned to Los Angeles with the hope of directingThe Brave Little Toaster at Hyperion Pictures.[33]: 45 He soon learned that funding had fallen through and called Catmull with the bad news.[33]: 45 Catmull called back with a job offer, and Lasseter joined Lucasfilm as a full-time employee in October 1984 and moved to the Bay Area.[33]: 45 After that, he worked withILM on the special effects onYoung Sherlock Holmes,[38] where he made the first fullycomputer-generated photorealistic animated character, a knight composed of elements from a stained glass window.[39] This effect was the first CGI character to be scanned and painted directly onto film using a laser.[39] Lasseter and Catmull's collaboration, which has since lasted over thirty years, would ultimately result inToy Story (1995), which was the first-ever computer-animatedfeature film. Additionally, Lasseter was involved in the creation ofTHX's robot mascot Tex. Tex made his first appearance in 1996 with the original theatrical release ofIndependence Day. Since then, Tex has appeared in some THX trailers.[40]
Due toGeorge Lucas's financially crippling divorce, he was forced to sell off Lucasfilm Computer Graphics, by this time renamed the Pixar Graphics Group, founded by Smith and Catmull, with Lasseter as one of the founding employees.[41] It was spun off as a separate corporation withApple co-founderSteve Jobs as its majority shareholder in 1986. Over the next 10 years, Pixar evolved from a computer company that did animation work on the side into an animation studio. Lasseter oversaw all of Pixar's films and associated projects as executive producer. As well asToy Story, he also personally directedA Bug's Life (1998),Toy Story 2 (1999),Cars (2006), andCars 2 (2011).
He has won twoAcademy Awards, forAnimated Short Film (Tin Toy), as well as aSpecial Achievement Award (Toy Story).[8] Lasseter has been nominated on four other occasions—in the category ofAnimated Feature, for bothMonsters, Inc. (2001) andCars, in theOriginal Screenplay category forToy Story and in the Animated Short category forLuxo, Jr. (1986)—while the shortKnick Knack (1989) was selected byTerry Gilliam as one of the ten best animated films of all time.[42] In 2008, he was honored with theWinsor McCay Award, the lifetime achievement award for animators.
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Disney announced that it would be purchasing Pixar in January 2006, and Lasseter was named the chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Feature Animation, the latter of which he renamedWalt Disney Animation Studios.[23] Lasseter was also named principal creative adviser atWalt Disney Imagineering, where he helped design attractions forDisney Parks. He oversaw all of Walt Disney Animation Studios' films and associated projects as executive producer. He reported directly to Disney Chairman and CEOBob Iger, bypassing Disney's studio and theme park executives. He also received green-light power on films withRoy E. Disney's consent.
In December 2006, Lasseter announced that Disney Animation would start producing animated shorts – 2D, CGI, or a combination of both – that would be released theatrically. Lasseter said he sees this medium as an excellent way to train and discover new talent in the company as well as a testing ground for new techniques and ideas.[43]
In June 2007, Catmull and Lasseter were given control ofDisneytoon Studios, a division of Walt Disney Animation Studios housed in a separate facility in Glendale. As president and chief creative officer, respectively, they have supervised three separate studios for Disney, each with its own production pipeline: Pixar, Disney Animation, and Disneytoon. While Disney Animation and Disneytoon are located in the Los Angeles area, Pixar is located over 350 miles (563 kilometers) northwest in the Bay Area, where Catmull and Lasseter both live. Accordingly, they appointed ageneral manager for each studio to manage day-to-day business affairs, then established a routine of spending at least two days per week (usually Tuesdays and Wednesdays) in Southern California.[44]
Lasseter is a close friend and admirer of Japanese animatorHayao Miyazaki, whom he first met whenTMS Entertainment sent a delegation of animators to the Disney studio in 1981 and showed a clip from Miyazaki's first feature film,The Castle of Cagliostro (1979).[45] Lasseter was so deeply moved that in 1985 he insisted on showing that clip and other examples of Miyazaki's work after dinner to a woman he had just met (who would become his wife).[45] He visited Miyazaki during his first trip to Japan in 1987 and saw drawings forMy Neighbor Totoro (1988).[45] After Lasseter became a successful director and producer at Pixar, he went on to serve as executive producer on several of Miyazaki's films for their release in the United States and oversaw the translation anddubbing of their English language soundtracks.[45] In addition, the forest spirit Totoro fromMy Neighbor Totoro makes an appearance as a plush toy inToy Story 3 (2010).
Lasseter is a member of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and served nine consecutive years on its board of governors from 2005 to 2014 when he had to relinquish his seat due to term limits.[46] His last position on the board was as first vice president.[46]
Lasseter received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 2011, located at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard.[47]
In November 2017, Lasseter took a six-month leave of absence when allegations surfaced that he had made interactions with employees that made them uncomfortable, which he apologized for and acknowledged as "missteps". In a memo to staff, Lasseter stated, "It’s been brought to my attention that I have made some of you feel disrespected or uncomfortable. That was never my intent. Collectively, you mean the world to me, and I deeply apologize if I have let you down."[9] Lasseter went on in the memo to emphasize his commitment to fixing his missteps and his hope to return to working with them in the new year.[9] The alleged sexual misconduct toward multiple employees over a number of years included "grabbing, kissing, [and] making comments about physical attributes".[10][11] The behavior was alleged to have been so well-known that, according toVariety, at various times, Pixar had "minders who were tasked with reining in his impulses".[48]
In June 2018, Disney and Lasseter announced that he would be leaving the company at the end of the year, taking a consulting role until then.[13][49]
On January 9, 2019, Lasseter was hired to headSkydance Animation, a new animation division ofSkydance Media formed in 2017.[1][50] In a statement, Lasseter said "I have spent the last year away from the industry in deep reflection, learning how my actions unintentionally made colleagues uncomfortable, which I deeply regret and apologize for. It has been humbling, but I believe it will make me a better leader."[1] An investigation conducted prior to his hiring found that no previous claims of sexual assault, propositioning or harassment had been filed against Lasseter,[51] and "[...] there were no findings of secret settlements by Disney or Lasseter to any parties asking for a settlement."[51] In his role at Skydance, Lasseter serves as producer on all feature films and executive producer on all series, along with Skydance Media CEODavid Ellison.[52]
Lasseter lives inGlen Ellen, California, with his wife Nancy, a graduate ofCarnegie Mellon University, whom he met at a computer graphics conference in San Francisco in 1985.[53] Nancy majored in computer graphics applications, and previously worked as a computer graphics engineer atApple Computer.[54] They married in 1988,[2] and have four sons together in addition to Nancy's son from a previous relationship,[54][55] born between 1979 or 1980 and 1997.[3]
The Lasseters ownLasseter Family Winery in Glen Ellen, California.[56] The property includes a narrow gauge railroad named the Justi Creek Railway, which is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long, including a train station and water tower Lasseter purchased from former Disney animatorWard Kimball.[57] Their residence has a swimming pool with a lazy river that runs through a cave.[58] Lasseter collectsclassic cars, such as a black 1952Jaguar XK120.[59]
On May 2, 2009, Lasseter received an honorary doctorate fromPepperdine University,[15] where he delivered the commencement address.
His influences includeWalt Disney,Chuck Jones,Frank Capra,Hayao Miyazaki, andPreston Sturges.[60] Lasseter's favorite film is Walt Disney'sDumbo (1941).[61]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Credited as | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | (Original) Story by | Producer | Other | Voice | Notes | ||
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | No | No | No | Yes | Animator - uncredited[62][63] | |
| 1985 | Young Sherlock Holmes | No | No | No | Yes | Computer Animation:Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) | |
| 1995 | Toy Story | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Commercial Chorus 1 | Modeling and Animation System Development |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Harry Singing Grasshopper 1 | [64] |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Blue Bomber | [64] |
| 2001 | Monsters, Inc. | No | No | Executive | No | ||
| 2002 | Spirited Away | No | No | Executive | No | US Version | |
| 2003 | Finding Nemo | No | No | Executive | No | ||
| 2004 | The Incredibles | No | No | Executive | No | ||
| 2005 | Howl's Moving Castle | No | No | Executive | No | US Version | |
| Porco Rosso | No | No | No | Yes | Executive Creative Consultant: 2005 US Version | ||
| 2006 | Cars | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Screenplay | |
| Tales from Earthsea | No | No | Executive | No | US Version[65] | ||
| 2007 | Meet the Robinsons | No | No | Executive | No | ||
| Ratatouille | No | No | Executive | Yes | Executive Team | ||
| 2008 | WALL-E | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Tinker Bell | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| Bolt | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| 2009 | Up | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Ponyo | No | No | Executive | Yes | Director: English Dub, US Version | ||
| Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| The Princess and the Frog | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | No | Yes | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| Tangled | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership | ||
| 2011 | Winnie the Pooh | No | No | Executive | Yes | ||
| Cars 2 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Galloping Geargrinder[66] John Lassetire Fuzzy Dice Casino Car | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| The Lion King | No | No | Executive | No | 3D Version | ||
| Beauty and the Beast | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| 2012 | Brave | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Secret of the Wings | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| Wreck-It Ralph | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership | ||
| 2013 | Monsters University | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Planes | No | Yes | Executive | No | |||
| The Little Mermaid | No | No | Executive | No | 3D Version | ||
| Frozen | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership | ||
| 2014 | The Pirate Fairy | No | Yes | Executive | No | ||
| Planes: Fire & Rescue | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| Big Hero 6 | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership | ||
| Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast | No | No | Executive | No | |||
| 2015 | Inside Out | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| The Good Dinosaur | No | No | Executive | Yes | |||
| 2016 | Zootopia | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership | |
| Finding Dory | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | ||
| Moana | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership | ||
| 2017 | Cars 3 | No | No | Executive | Yes | Pixar Senior Creative Team | |
| Coco | No | No | Executive | Yes | |||
| 2018 | Incredibles 2 | No | No | Executive | Yes | ||
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | No | No | Executive | Yes | Studio Leadership - uncredited[67] | ||
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | Removed | Yes | No | No | [68] | |
| 2022 | Luck | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2024 | Spellbound | No | No | Yes | Yes | Additional Literary Materials | |
| 2026 | Swapped† | No | No | Yes | No | [69][70] | |
| Ray Gunn† | No | No | Yes | No | [70][71] | ||
| TBA | UntitledJack and the Beanstalk/Rich Moore project† | No | No | Yes | No | [72] | |
| UntitledSkydance Animation/Don Hall project† | No | No | Yes | No | [73] | ||
| Year | Film | Credited as | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | (Original) Story by | Producer | Animator | Modeler | Other | Notes | ||
| 1979 | Lady and the Lamp[74] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Student Films;Producer |
| 1980 | Nitemare[74] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 1983 | Mickey's Christmas Carol | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Creative Talent |
| 1984 | The Adventures of André & Wally B. | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Character Designer |
| 1986 | Luxo Jr. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Designer |
| 1987 | Red's Dream | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1988 | Tin Toy | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1989 | Knick Knack | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1991 | Light & Heavy | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Appears inSesame Street. |
| 1997 | Geri's Game | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| 1998 | It's Tough to Be a Bug! | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | Theme park film |
| 2000 | For the Birds | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| 2002 | Mike's New Car | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| 2003 | Exploring the Reef | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Boundin' | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2005 | Jack-Jack Attack | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| One Man Band | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2006 | Mater and the Ghostlight | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Lifted | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2007 | Your Friend the Rat | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| How to Hook Up Your Home Theater | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2008 | Presto | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Glago's Guest | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| BURN-E | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2008–14 | Cars Toons | Yes | Yes | Executive | No | No | No | |
| 2009 | Super Rhino | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Partly Cloudy | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Dug's Special Mission | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2010 | Day & Night | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Tick Tock Tale | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | TV short film | |
| 2011 | The Ballad of Nessie | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| La Luna | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Toy Story Toons: Small Fry | No | Yes | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2012 | Tangled Ever After | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex | No | Yes | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Paperman | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| The Legend of Mor'du | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2013 | The Blue Umbrella | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Party Central | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Pixie Hollow Bake Off | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | TV short film | |
| Get a Horse! | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2014 | Lava | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Vitaminamulch: Air Spectacular | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Feast | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2015 | Frozen Fever | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Riley's First Date? | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Sanjay's Super Team | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2016 | Piper | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Inner Workings | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| 2017 | Gone Fishing | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| Lou | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | ||
| Olaf's Frozen Adventure | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | Featurette | |
| 2018 | Bao | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | |
| 2021 | Blush | No | No | Executive | No | No | Yes | Logo and End Credit Designer |
| 2023 | Bad Luck Spot! | No | No | Executive | No | No | No | [75] |
| 2025 | Flink's Pigeon Problems: A Magical Rescue | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | [76] |
| Year | Title | Executive Producer | Premiered on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Prep & Landing | Yes | ABC |
| 2011 | Pixie Hollow Games | Yes | Disney Channel |
| Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice | Yes | ABC | |
| 2013 | Toy Story of Terror! | Yes | |
| 2014 | Toy Story That Time Forgot | Yes |
| Year | Season | Episodes | Title | Executive Producer | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 7 | WondLa | Yes | Apple TV+ |
| 2025 | 2 | 7 | Yes | ||
| 3 | 6 | Yes | Apple TV |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story[77] | Himself | |
| 2001 | Walt: The Man Behind the Myth | Grateful Acknowledgement | |
| 2007 | Fog City Mavericks | Special Thanks | |
| The Pixar Story | Very Special Thanks | ||
| Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | Special Thanks | ||
| 2009 | The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story | ||
| Waking Sleeping Beauty | |||
| 2010 | America: The Story of Us | Television Docuseries | |
| Industrial, Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible[78] | Television Special | ||
| 2011 | These Amazing Shadows | ||
| Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan | |||
| 2013 | Inside Pixar[79] | Television Special | |
| 2014 | The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic | Television Special | |
| 2015 | Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman | ||
| A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman | |||
| 2016 | Imagining Zootopia[80] | Special Thanks | |
| 2019 | Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound | ||
| The Imagineering Story | Disney+ Original Docuseries |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "When I Get Where I'm Going"[81][82] | Himself (uncredited) | Music video byBrad Paisley |
| Year | Title | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | La Salla | Special Thanks |
| 2009 | Calendar Confloption[83] | |
| 2012 | John Carter | Thanks |
| Firefly and the Coffee Machine[84] | Special Thanks | |
| 2015 | Stealth[85] | Special Thanks (with Nancy Lasseter) |
| 2017 | Ventana[86] | Special Thanks |
| 2021 | The Ultimate Playlist of Noise | Special Thanks (with Nancy Lasseter) |
| 2022 | Lightyear | Additional Thanks |
Critical, public and commercial reception to films Lasseter has directed as of August 9, 2022.
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | Budget | Box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toy Story | 100% (96 reviews) | 95 (26 reviews) | A | $30 million | $374.4 million |
| A Bug's Life | 92% (90 reviews) | 77 (23 reviews) | A | $120 million | $363.3 million |
| Toy Story 2 | 100% (171 reviews) | 88 (34 reviews) | A+ | $90 million | $511.3 million |
| Cars | 74% (202 reviews) | 73 (39 reviews) | A | $120 million | $461.9 million |
| Cars 2 | 40% (220 reviews) | 57 (38 reviews) | A− | $200 million | $559.8 million |
I was doing a lot of amateur 3D photography – in 1988, when I got married to my wife Nancy, we took 3D wedding pictures.
Lasseter says he depends heavily on his and wife Nancy's "own test audience" of five sons – ages 16 months to 18.
TEX was born from the fruitful co-operation between Lucasfilm and John Lasseter, at the head of the PIXAR animation studios, responsible for, among other things, for the film, "Toy Story".
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