CEC,
and expectations ran high
that he might repair
the broken relationship with Pixar.
As I neared the day
that I was going to become CEO,
and I started to focus more and more
about the future of the company,
it became more and more clear that
for Disney to truly be
successful in the future,
we had to return to
the glory days of animation.
So I began focusing on how to do that,
and it really begins
with finding the right people.
The more I thought about it,
the more I realized that
Pixar had more of the right people
than probably any other
place in the world,
from an animation perspective.
I then went to the opening of
Hong Kong Disneyland in September,
and the parade went by.
It hit me that the characters
that were in the parade
all came from films that had been
made prior to the mid-'90s,
except for some of
the Pixar characters.
I felt that I needed to think
even more out of the box
than I had been thinking,
and I had a much
greater sense of urgency.
I became CEO October 1st.
I called Steve around that time
and said I thought we ought to talk,
I had some bigger ideas.
And that began
a long period of discussion,
because it was very
serious for both sides.
He really needed to feel comfortable
that Pixar was in the right hands
and, more importantly,
respect the talent and the culture.
We were extremely impressed with
his view of where Disney could go.
This changed
the equation dramatically,
and in the end
with weighing everything,
we came to the conclusion
that the best thing we could do
was to join up with Disney.
The $7.4 billion
acquisition deal
provided Steve Jobs a seat
on the Disney board
as the company's largest shareholder,
made John Lasseter
Chief Creative Cfficer,
and Ed Catmull, President of Disney
and Pixar Animation Studios.
We're convinced that Bob
really understands Pixar,
and we think we have
some appreciation of Disney
and love the unique Disney assets
like being able to get the characters
in the theme parks
and really express them throughout
all of Disney's incredible assets.
And we think we understand
how to keep Pixar being Pixar
and how to spread some of
that culture around and maybe,
you know, a few other parts
of Disney as well.
"Cause we think we got something
pretty good going here.
While we will
make 3-D movies,
we're also gonna make 2-D movies
'cause it's part of this wonderful
heritage that we've got here,
and it's a beautiful art form.
It feels like this is the true culmination
of the building of Pixar
and this amazing company into
something which will continue on
and continue to make waves
in the future.
This deal is expected
to close this summer
just about the time
that Pixar will release
its seventh feature film, called Cars.
John Lasseter's return
to the director's chair
came with the release of Cars.
A film inspired by
a cross-country road trip
he took with his family in 1999.
Hi, this is great. Blue Ridge Parkway.
Set in a bygone town
on Route 66,
John's personal love of cars
and the racing world
inspired a new level of beauty,
speed and a heightened reality
in computer animation.
Morning, Sleeping Beauty.
Cars became the seventh
hit in a row for Pixar.
And the new relationship with Disney
was starting off on the right foot.
Ed and John now looked to the future
with the challenge of guiding
two animation studios.
And John, returning to his roots
to creatively oversee
all of Disney's theme parks
and attractions.
This... This is just, it's so beautiful.
Flik up there.
John's a real big Disney fan.
I mean, he worked
in the amusement parks,
he grew up on Disney.
Oh, look at... Look at this.
This is amazing!
He's thrilled to be on that lot
and kind of be able to go everywhere
he wants to go, and see what's there.
And bring things up
from the past, explore...
1978, 27 years ago,
was the last time I skippered
a Jungle Cruise.
And I want everybody as we go...