How Pixar Studios Continually Evolved Their Animation Techniques With Each Succeeding Film Over 24 Years

In a truly enlightening video essay, Insider producer Ian Phillips delves into how Pixar Animation Studios continually evolved itself with each succeeding film they put out, beginning with the original and revolutionary Toy Story in 1995 up through the newly released Toy Story 4 in June 2019. Phillips explains how the animators continually learned new techniques from previous films that they were able to incorporate into future films, even if they were completely unrelated in terms of the subject matter.

From “Toy Story” through “Toy Story 4,” Pixar has revolutionized animation in its nearly three decades of existence. Each new movie requires new technical innovations. “Monsters, Inc.” helped them create fur, “Ratatouille” helped them create wet fur, and “Finding Dory” led them to create an octopus from scratch. In “Toy Story 4,” which comes out June 21, they updated Bo Peep, created Forky, and made perhaps the most realistic-looking cat you’ll ever see in animated form.