2011 First-Class Forever Stamp, Disney-Pixar Films: WALL-E

U.S. #4557

In 2011, digital animation pioneer Pixar celebrated its 25th anniversary.  During those first 25 years, Pixar won 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, three Grammy awards, and countless other awards, honors, and recognitions.

The company was founded in 1979 as the Graphics Group, a computer division at Lucasfilm (the creators of Star Wars).  In the 1980s, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, Inc., bought the firm, which merged with the Walt Disney Company in 2006.  

Every Pixar film is painstakingly researched.  To make the films appeal to audiences young and old, each one has references ranging from real locations, to previous films, and more.  

One reference in every Pixar film is the number “A113.”  It can be seen as a car’s license plate in Toy Story, a train’s number in Cars, a tag on a rat’s ear in Ratatouille, a courtroom in Up, and the computer’s secret directive in WALL-E.  Room A113 was the animation room at the California Institute of the Arts, where a number of Pixar’s animators studied.

In 1995, the release of Pixar’s first feature film, Toy Story, sparked the interest of other industries.  Creators of personal computers and video games adapted similar technology for their media.  Robotics researchers used Pixar’s innovations to simulate artificial intelligence in their machines, to make them seem as real as the characters in the movie.