John Lasseter

Pixar films are not realistic. They are believable for the worlds we are creating.

Everything I do and everything Pixar does is based on a simple rule: Quality is the best business plan, period.

You know, going to the movies has always been recession-proof. It's fairly cheap entertainment; it's classic escapism.

At Pixar, good ideas may be cut from a film, but they are never forgotten.

If you're sitting in your minivan, playing your computer animated films for your children in the back seat, is it the animation that's entertaining you as you drive and listen? No, it's the storytelling. That's why we put so much importance on story. No amount of great animation will save a bad story.

Pixar is not about computers, it's about people.

I worry about kids today not having time to build a tree house or ride a bike or go fishing. I worry that life is getting faster and faster.

When you take something that's inert, and through motion, give it life, make it appear to be alive, living, breathing thinking and having emotions, that's animation. But when you take something that's live-action, and move a part of it, that's a special effect.

You can achieve all the things you want to do, but it's much better to do it with loved ones around you; family and friends, people that you care about that can help you on the way and can celebrate you, and you can enjoy the journey.

I believe in the nobility of entertaining people and I take great, great pride that people are willing to give me two or three hours of their busy lives.

Every animator is really an actor performing in slow motion, living the character a drawing at a time.

Sure, they were simple desk lamps with only a minimal amount of movement, but you could immediately tell that Luxo Jr. was a baby, and that the big one was his mother. In that short little film, computer animation went from a novelty to a serious tool for filmmaking.

I love the Sonoma wine community. It's like Pixar - nothing competitive, only supportive. They're always rooting for you.

Animation is the one type of movie that really does play for the entire audience. Our challenge is to make stories that connect for kids and adults.

The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art.

Pixar has been compared to fine furniture makers who polish the backs of drawers - even if you don't see everything in a particular scene, you still feel that every little detail has been met.

Every Pixar movie at one time was the worst motion picture ever made.

The hardest thing to get is true emotion. I always believe you need to earn that with the audience. You can't just tell them, 'Ok, be sad now.'

To me, I would much rather be part of a healthy industry than being the only player in a dead industry.

In an animated film you can do whatever you want, but that doesn't mean you should do everything you want.

People want to be creatively satisfied, and having fun is such an important part of that.