Pixar Production Logo

The Pixar production logo is a sequence that appears at the begining and end of most Pixar productions, and features a playful desk lamp. The 1986 short film Luxo, Jr. is the source of the small hopping desk lamp included in Pixar's logo.

In To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios, a book of Pixar's history up through January 2007, film critic Leonard Maltin said that he "like[s] the fact that Luxo still has significance to the people at Pixar", and remarked that it was something like Disney's Mickey Mouse.

Sequence
Luxo Jr., without his cord, serves as the mascot for Pixar Animation Studios, appearing in its production logo before and after each film. He hops in from the right, stops next to the I in PIXAR, and jumps on it until he has completely squashed it down, as he did to the rubber ball in the short. He then looks around and angles his "head" toward the camera as the words 'Animation Studios' appear bottom right of the logo. In the opening logos for the movie, the head fades in time with the light, while in the closing logos, all the light typically fades to black except for his head, which goes out with a click after a moment.

Variations

 * For Cars, the message "Celebrating 20 Years" appeared as the background faded out, with Luxo Jr.'s head used as the zero. Pixar was founded in 1986; Cars, released in 2006, marked their 20th anniversary.


 * In a teaser trailer for WALL•E, Luxo Jr.'s bulb burns out after he has squashed the I down. WALL•E rolls in from the right, changes the bulb to an energy-efficient fluorescent bulb, and pats Luxo Jr. on the head before going back the way he came. However, he trips over the R in PIXAR as he goes, so he stops and positions his body to take its place, after which Luxo Jr. looks at the camera. This is also shown after the end credits of the film, also concluding with a "BnL" jingle and logo.


 * A new variant of the sequence, optimized for 3-D projection, was first played with the 3D version of Up. The same animation as the regular logo plays as normal. However, the camera pans to the right from the P in the PIXAR letters, therefore Luxo Jr. is seen approaching center when he's first seen. Also, as the words 'Animation Studios' appear, it zooms in instead of just fading in.