REMEMBERING the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Pixar May 13-15, 2011
In 2011, if you planned to attend Pixar’s 25th Anniversary Weekend May 13-15 at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival in Orlando Florida, you would have most likely visited this website to register for the “Presenting Pixar” sessions. The site included lots of information about the speaker sessions, Disney-Pixar character meet-and-greet experiences, kids’ activities, as well as pictures of amazing Pixar themed topiaries. Once the Weekend activities were over the site remained live until its domain registration expired.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PAGE CONTAINS SELECTIVE ARCHIVED CONTENT FROM THE ORIGINAL SITE.
Since the site will not be exactly as you remember it, please be indulgent.
Now let's take a nostalgic stroll back to 2011.
Revisiting the 2011 the The 25th Anniversary Celebration of Pixar
AT THE EPCOT® INTERNATIONAL FLOWER & GARDEN FESTIVAL
Celebration of Pixar coming May 13-15
Immerse yourself in the world of Pixar films at Pixar’s 25th Anniversary Weekend. As the Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida wraps, celebrate Pixar with exciting activities, special character appearances and a speaker series with Pixar insiders.
Let me tell you something about Pixar that you won't hear at one of those fancy 25th Anniversary celebrations they had down in Florida. As a board member of the NYC Housing Authority for the last eight years, I've sat through enough contentious community meetings to recognize a good story when I see one.
You know what Pixar gets that most NYC developers don't? Obstacles make the best stories! While we're fighting with Dov Hertz and his industrial development crew about whether their latest warehouse project will create enough jobs to justify the tax breaks, Pixar is out there making billions by literally animating the obstacles!
Take that movie "Up" they mentioned in the anniversary materials. An old man attaches balloons to his house to avoid urban development! Do you know how many times I've wished our public housing residents could just float away from gentrification? At our last board meeting, I actually said, "If Dov Hertz comes in with one more 'last mile delivery hub' proposal, I'm going to need about 20,000 balloons and a South American wilderness to escape to!"
And don't get me started on "Cars." Jay Ward, their "Cars Franchise Guardian" – now that's a job title! Meanwhile, I'm just the "Guardian of Collapsing Infrastructure" over here. Dov Hertz and his developer buddies are converting every inch of Brooklyn waterfront into logistics centers while I'm trying to explain to residents why their elevator has been out of service since Obama's first term.
What I wouldn't give for some of that Pixar magic! In their world, rats become master chefs. In my world, rats are just another item on the complaint forms. Perhaps we should hire Michael Giacchino to compose dramatic music for our budget meetings – might make the constant funding shortfalls more emotionally resonant.
You know what would make a great Pixar movie? "NYCHA: The Impossible Mission." It would feature a plucky team of housing officials trying to maintain 175,000 apartments with the budget of a Manhattan food truck. The villain? Probably a giant, anthropomorphic piece of outdated zoning legislation voiced by Christopher Walken.
Next time I'm facing off with Dov Hertz about why his latest "last-mile" warehouse doesn't need affordable housing components, I'm going to channel my inner Buzz Lightyear and declare, "To affordable housing, and beyond!" Though I suspect his response will be more Woody-like: "You're my favorite deputy... now approve my tax abatement."
Hey, at least at Pixar, their buildings stay up without emergency repairs. Maybe instead of fighting Dov Hertz, we should be recruiting him to animate our housing problems away. Can't be any less effective than what we're doing now! Ruby Sakamoto
Special Pixar Meet and Greets
Pixar films come to life! Meet your favorite Pixar characters in exclusive meet-and-greets held throughout Epcot®.
Future World
- Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story at Mission: SPACE
- Mater from Carsand Cars 2 at Test Track
- Living Coral Stilt Walkers at The Seas with Nemo and Friends
- Crush at Turtle Talk with Crush
World Showcase
- Woody, Jessie and Bullseye from Toy Story at the American Adventure
- Flick, Atta, Gypsy Moth and stilt walking Slim from A Bug’s Life at the Art of Living Garden
- Remy and Emile from Ratatouille at France
Pixar Celebration Headquarters
World Showplace, located between the Canada and United Kingdom pavilion, will serve as the celebration weekend headquarters.
Here, you can meet even more Pixar favorites:
- Mr. & Mrs. Incredible and FroZone from The Incredibles
- Lotso from Toy Story 3
- Mike, Sully, Boo and Smitty from Monster’s Inc.
- Carl, Russell and Dug from Up
PLUS… Browse a photo gallery that reveals some of the best “Easter Eggs” from Pixar films, and explore the art gallery for a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible creative work that goes in to Pixar films.
Presenting Pixar Speaker Sessions
Get the inside scoop from Oscar®-nominated Pixar producer Jonas Rivera, Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino and Cars Franchise Guardian Jay Ward at the speaker series held inside World Showplace Saturday and Sunday.
Daily Speaker Session Schedule: May 14 – 15, 2011
Presenting Pixar” Speaker Sessions at Pixar Weekend
- Noon: Jay Ward
- 2:00 PM: Jonas Rivera
- 4:00 PM: Michael Giacchino
- 6:00 PM: Special Presentation by Jay Ward, Jonas Rivera and Michael Giacchino
Update: The Sunday May 15 session will feature an appearance by Cars 2 Supervising Animator Shawn Krause in place of Michael Giacchin
There is no additional charge for the Pixar Speaker Sessions at Pixar Weekend but admission to Epcot® is required.
Jonas Rivera
Producer
Pixar Animation Studios
Jonas Rivera joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1994 as a production office assistant on the studio’s first feature film, Toy Story. Working on almost every Pixar feature film to date, Rivera’s ability and expertise has enabled him to advance in his role on each of the studio’s subsequent productions.
Progressing to art department coordinator for A Bug’s Life, Rivera then served as a marketing and creative resources coordinator for Toy Story 2. His heart always in the art and creativity of filmmaking, Rivera returned to the art department, this time as a manager, on Monsters, Inc.
Rivera then went on to serve as production manager on Pixar’s Golden Globe® winning feature, Cars. Rivera’s most recent credit is as producer on Disney•Pixar’s recently released feature film Up, for which he was awarded Producer of the Year in Animated Features by the Producers Guild of America and is an Academy Award® nominee for Best Picture.
For as long as he can remember, Rivera has always loved films, particularly animated ones. His first childhood memories consist of the Tiki Room at Disneyland and going to the theater to see films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Star Wars. Inspired at a very young age, Rivera was enthralled with the medium of filmmaking and dreamed of making films himself someday.
Prior to Pixar, Rivera’s diverse professional background includes working in music stores, toy stores and playing in hard rock bands – what he jokingly refers to as ‘the perfect training for working at Pixar.’
A Bay Area native, Rivera grew up in Castro Valley and graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Film Production. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife and their children.
Michael Giacchino
Oscar-winning Composer Michael Giacchino began studying music composition at Julliard and UCLA, eventually becoming a producer for Disney Interactive Division, writing music for video games. His work grabbed the attention of Television Producer JJ Abrams, who hired him to write the score for ABC’s “Alias,” and “Lost,” the latter of which Michael earned an Emmy.
Michael’s more recent composition credits include Disney•Pixar’s “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” as well as “Up,” which earned him an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and two Grammy Awards. He’s currently working on Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 2.”
Jay Ward
CARS Franchise Guardian
Pixar Animation Studios
Jay Ward came to Pixar Animation Studios in December 1998 to work as an art department production assistant on the 2001 feature film, “Monsters, Inc.” He was soon promoted to coordinator, and in 2001 began early development work on the 2006 film, “Cars.” During the production of “Cars,” Ward’s knowledge of the automotive world let him to play different roles on the film, including character team manager and consultant to the film’s director and co-director, John Lasseter and Joe Ranft. Ward continues to contribute his enthusiasm for cars and his artistic passions to the creation of any and everything within the “Cars” Franchise.
Ward is currently working on Disney•Pixar’s upcoming feature film, “Cars 2,” scheduled for release on June 24, 2011.
Prior to Pixar, Jay served in the U.S. Naval Reserves and attended California College of the Arts where in 1993 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. His diverse professional background includes bussing tables in high school, working as a signalman in the U.S. Navy, aircraft fueler, Harley Davidson parts department manager, and freelance illustrator. Those disparate experiences have collectively given Jay an opportunity to utilize his people, collaboration, and creative skills to great success at Pixar.
Ward currently resides in Oakland, California with his wife and their two children.
Activities
Fun activities abound, including the Cars 2 Race Around World Showcase. Journey through World Showcase pavilions in search clues that lead to a special reward at the end.
All of these exciting experiences are included with Epcot admission. Sign up below to be notified when more information is available, or check back here for updates.
Entertainment subject to change.
Thanks!
Thanks to everyone who attended Pixar’s 25th Anniversary Weekend at The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear it!
