Walt Disney Animation Studios (1979–1983, 2006–2018)
Lucasfilm (1983–1986)
Pixar Animation Studios (1986–2018)
Skydance Animation (2019–present)[1]
Spouse
Nancy Lasseter
(m. 1988)
[2]
Children
5[3]
Awards
Academy Award (1989, 1996) Golden Globe Award (2007) Inkpot Award (2009)[4]
Signature
John Alan Lasseter (/ˈlæsətər/LASS-ə-tər; born January 12, 1957)[5] is an American film director, producer, and animator. He has served as the Head of Animation at Skydance Animation since 2019.[6] Previously, he acted as the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.[7]
Lasseter began his career as an animator with The Walt Disney Company. After being fired from Disney for promoting computer animation, he joined Lucasfilm, where he worked on then-groundbreaking usage of CGI animation. The Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm was sold to Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986. Lasseter oversaw all of Pixar's films and associated projects. He personally directed Toy Story (1995), A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Cars (2006), and Cars 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 than US$19 billion, making him one of the most financially successful filmmakers of all time. Of the eight 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—and Frozen (2013)—the third-highest-grossing animated film of all time—as well as Zootopia (2016), Finding Dory (2016), and Incredibles 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 two Academy Awards, for Best Animated Short Film (for Tin Toy), as well as a Special Achievement Award (for Toy Story).[8]
In November 2017, Lasseter took a six-month sabbatical from Pixar and Disney Animation after acknowledging what he called "missteps" in his behavior with employees.[9] According to various news outlets, Lasseter had a history of alleged sexual misconduct toward employees.[10][11] In June 2018, Disney 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 by Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison to run the animation division Skydance Animation.[1]
^ abCite error: The named reference SkyDAnim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^O'Connor, Stuart (February 12, 2009). "How to tell a great toy story". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on March 24, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2013. I was doing a lot of amateur 3D photography – in 1988, when I got married to my wife Nancy, we took 3D wedding pictures.
^Cite error: The named reference SFGateGeneration was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Inkpot Award". December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
^Craine, Anthony G. "John Lasseter: American Animator". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
^Cite error: The named reference Skydance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Grover, Ronald (March 10, 2006). "The Happiest Place on Earth – Again". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
^"John Lasseter – Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
^Masters, Kim (November 21, 2017). "John Lasseter Taking Leave of Absence From Pixar Amid 'Missteps'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^Cite error: The named reference hollywoodreporter_20171121A was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference washingtonpost_20171121A was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Chitwood, Adam (January 18, 2019). "'Toy Story 3', 'Coco' Director Lee Unkrich Is Leaving Pixar". Collider. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference Barnes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
John Alan Lasseter (/ˈlæsətər/ LASS-ə-tər; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, and animator. He has served as the Head of Animation...
promising animators such as Andreas Deja, Mike Gabriel, JohnLasseter, Brad Bird and Tim Burton. Lasseter was fired from Disney in 1983 for pushing the studio...
film, as well as the first feature film from Pixar. It was directed by JohnLasseter (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Bonnie Arnold and...
Academy Award for Best Picture. On February 10, 2009, Pixar executives JohnLasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich were presented...
later delayed to 2012, but it had finally been canceled by early 2010. JohnLasseter noted that the film's proposed plot line was similar to another film...
Animation hired former Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO JohnLasseter as Head of Animation, supplanting Damaschke. This decision was met with...
technological advancements. 2015 – Richard Sherman 2016 – Marty Sklar 2017 – JohnLasseter Miller died on November 19, 2013, at age 79 (less than one month short...
Story franchise and the sequel to Toy Story (1995), it was directed by JohnLasseter, co-directed by Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich (in their feature directorial...
many of the same filmmakers and franchises. Former Pixar filmmaker JohnLasseter directed or executive-produced each of the first 20 Pixar films, all...
running time of 400 minutes. 2003 Lasseter-san, Arigatou Thank You, Mr. Lasseter A thank you video created for JohnLasseter, following Hayao Miyazaki and...
was I thinking?" He started at Pixar in 1990 at the age of 21 after JohnLasseter asked his former classmate the late Joe Ranft, who was one of Docter's...
Queen, and the writing team of Eyal Podell and Jonathan E. Stewart. JohnLasseter, who directed the first two Cars films, served as executive producer...
million, production of Spirited Away began in 2000. Pixar animator JohnLasseter, a fan and friend of Miyazaki, convinced Walt Disney Pictures to buy...
shorts were made while Pixar was still a computer hardware company, when JohnLasseter was the only professional animator in the company's small animation...
and the 12th animated film from the studio. The film was directed by JohnLasseter (in his final outing as director of a Pixar film to date), co-directed...
January 2006, the film was then shut down about a week before Catmull and JohnLasseter were placed in charge of the studio, and one of their first decisions...
Stanton and Stephany Folsom; the three also conceived the story alongside JohnLasseter, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Valerie LaPointe, and Martin Hynes....
animation program at the California Institute of the Arts alongside JohnLasseter and Brad Bird. After two years, Ranft's student film Good Humor caught...
erupted between Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks and Steve Jobs and JohnLasseter of Pixar, due to the production of their similar film A Bug's Life,...