There's no question about it. John Lasseter is the creative guru of Pixar Animation Studios. A former Disney animator, he was already working at the Lucasfilm division when Apple's Steve Jobs acquired Pixar in 1986 and set it up as an independent company under computer scientist Ed Catmull. Lasseter directed Pixra's early acclaimed shorts (including the Oscar-winning "Tin Toy") as well as all three of its previous groundbreaking theatrical films (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2).
With Monsters, Inc., Lasseter moves into a different role, serving alongside Andrew Stanton as the movie's executive producer. It's part of an effort to expand Pixar's production slate so that others — Pete Docter with Monsters, Inc., Stanton with Finding Nemo (a fish story due in 2003) and Brad (The Iron Giant) Bird with a superhero spoof — can helm features, too. Lasseter is currently working on his own next directorial effort, Route 66, involving subject matter that he is "extremely passionate" about.
Co-workers regard the talented Lasseter with the kind of awe, affection and adoration not seen since Jim Henson. To one, he is "the quintessential animator at Pixar." To another, he is "the Walt Disney of his generation." But to everybody who works with him, or merely meets and talks with him, Lasseter is just an incredibly nice guy.
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