In the case of Sulley, two legs are better than eight in the eyes of the animators.

The tentacle package was used on minor characters. Since there is little scientific evidence about what monsters look like, some of Pixar's creatures have multiple eyes, arms and legs. Many of them are extras designed to be built quickly and then moved by the new system. "They don't talk, but are great background characters as they have strong silhouettes. They are quick and easy to pose."

One monster that stood out from the others moves like a crab. A zoologist was consulted about crab locomotion systems since it is quite different than the walk cycles most animators are used to drawing. McQueen said that none of the monsters were based on recognizable animals. Why should they be familiar looking when there are so many "tantalizing ideas" of what the characters could be.

A typical day for McQueen and his staff of approximately 50 animators began at 8 or 8:30 with 1 1/2 to 2 hours of dailies. At these sessions they critique work currently in production. Everyone is free to participate in these discussions. Another purpose of the dailies is to make sure everyone is animating the same character the same way. Pixar does have lead animators who concentrate on getting great performances out of a character (John Kahrs on Sulley, Andrew Gordon on Mike and Tasha Wedeen and Dave DeVan on Boo), but there are scenes that were animated by others.

After dailies McQueen's day included meeting with individual animators, going over production schedules and working with the technical departments. The model and prop departments were building new props and characters right up to the end of the show. The model department had to test their work constantly to make sure it functions properly before it is turned over to the animators.

To keep the staff of Pixar up-to-date when new proprietary software is developed, they hold classes at Pixar University (good old PU). The school also teaches the basics for new staff members and offers other classes when people are not working on a production. McQueen says, "It behooves us to make sure everyone is as flexible as possible."

Glenn McQueen has started work on "John's next film" as animation supervisor. Lee Unkrich will be a co-director of that feature. Unkrich hinted that it is about something Lasseter has a passion for, just as his love for toys resulted in Toy Story. He didn't elaborate, but he did say, "You can look forward to another great film."

Pixar's next release in summer of 2003 will be Finding Nemo. Andrew Stanton is the director. Also in development is an untitled project being directed by Brad Bird. Bird directed the critically acclaimed Iron Giant for Warner Bros., a remarkable film with a strong message of peace. However you look at it Pixar's winning streak doesn't look like it is going to end soon. Lucky us!

Karl Cohen is President of ASIFA-San Francisco. His first book, Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators, is published by McFarland Publishers. He also teaches animation history at San Francisco State University