Luxo Jr. - Release

Release

Luxo Jr., alongside Flags and Waves and Beach Chair, premiered at SIGGRAPH in the Dallas Convention Center Arena, where the audience of six thousand immediately recognized Luxo Jr. as a breakthrough. Before Luxo Jr. finished playing at SIGGRAPH, the crowd had already risen in applause. "Pixar's marketing department did not go out of its way to point out that none of the film, not a single frame, had been rendered on a Pixar Image Computer," wrote David Price in his book The Pixar Touch. The audience was captivated by the far more realistic look than André and Wally B.. More significant than its photorealism, however, was its emotional realism. "It was perhaps the first computer-animated film that enabled viewers to forget they were watching computer animation," wrote Price.

Afterward, Lasseter saw Jim Blinn, longtime professional colleague, approaching him, obviously readying a question. Lasseter braced for a question about the shadowing algorithm or some other recondite technical issue that he knew equally little about. Blinn instead asked whether the big lamp was the mother or the father. Although the memories of those involved are now hazy, Lasseter elsewhere referred to the parent lamp as the father. Lasseter then realized that he had succeeded in applying the Disney touch of thought and emotion to his characters.

"Luxo Jr. sent shock waves through the entire industry – to all corners of computer and traditional animation. At that time, most traditional artists were afraid of the computer. They did not realize that the computer was merely a different tool in the artist's kit but instead perceived it as a type of automation that might endanger their jobs. Luckily, this attitude changed dramatically in the early '80s with the use of personal computers in the home. The release of our Luxo Jr. ... reinforced this opinion turnaround within the professional community.” –Edwin Catmull, Computer Animation: A Whole New World, 1998.