April 20, 2010 – Pixar Canada Opens in Vancouver
“Located in beautiful Vancouver BC, Pixar Canada’s mission is to produce animated shorts and television specials, featuring characters from Pixar’s prior films.”
On April 20, 2010, the animation studio Pixar Canada opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The studio, an offshoot of Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California, was created to focus on Pixar’s short films, including Partysaurus Rex and Small Fry. The idea was to let this studio create the short films that would be packaged with Pixar films, or used in the Disney parks as a way to entertain guests during long wait times. Unfortunately, after only three years, Pixar closed down the studio to focus on its main studio in Emeryville, laying off close to 100 employees. However, Pixar’s interest in opening in Vancouver led to other animation studios setting up their own branch studios there.