Buzz Lightyear has touched down in Vancouver.
CGI animation giant Pixar, the Disney-owned studio with a resume of 10 hit movies including Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and WALL-E, launched its Canadian arm in Gastown yesterday. Pixar Canada aims to have 75 employees by 2012 and will produce short films, between three and five minutes in length, which feature characters from Toy Story and Cars movies.
Darwyn Peachey, the company’s chief technical officer, said Vancouver was chosen because of its close proximity to L.A., its deep local talent pool and “very attractive” provincial tax credits.
Pixar Canada even has its own logo — the Pixar lamp (named Luxo Jr. after Pixar’s first computer-animated short film) silhouetted over a red maple leaf.
Creative director Dylan Brown said the company had been in talks with the city for the past year and a half.
However, he added, the new company is already looking to move into new digs nearby. At several thousand square feet, the current office space is too small.
Brown said the company is looking for a 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot space in either Gastown, Downtown or Yaletown.
Mayor Gregor Robertson, who received a Buzz Lightyear figurine to commemorate the event, said the studio is exactly what Vancouver needs to grow its “green” economy.
