SIGGRAPH 2025 will open its conference on August 10 by honoring Pixar’s Toy Story, the world’s first fully computer-animated feature film, with a 30th anniversary tribute. Presented by SIGGRAPH’s Computer Animation Festival in partnership with ACM SIGGRAPH Pioneers, the celebration will begin with a featured introduction by Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and a pioneering figure in computer graphics. In “Pioneers Featured Speaker: Catmull Story: To SIGGRAPH and Beyond,” Catmull will share personal reflections on the breakthroughs, challenges, and triumphs that made Toy Story possible. Following the talk and a live audience Q&A, attendees will enjoy trivia and giveaways before a special 4K screening of the iconic film. Catmull explains that the technical hurdles to make the film were tremendous, but SIGGRAPH's annual gathering helped Pixar find answers, with innovations like new illumination models from Cornell, early ray tracing from the University of North Carolina, stochastic sampling methods developed at Lucasfilm, and advancements that led to the creation of Pixar’s “RenderMan.” “SIGGRAPH wasn’t just a conference; it was our lifeline," said Catmull. “We published everything we did because we believed in growing the field together. The breakthroughs shared openly at SIGGRAPH — on lighting, shading, rendering — they became the building blocks that we stitched together to make Toy Story.” Before Woody and Buzz became household names, Pixar presented early test footage at SIGGRAPH. “Showing work-in-progress footage at the conference was a milestone moment for us at Pixar,” said Bill Reeves, supervising technical director of Toy Story. “We didn't know how it would be received. Everyone sat in silence as we waited for the footage to finish. When it ended, and the applause exploded in the room, it was a mind-blowing moment for us. We were in shock. We were excited. We knew we were on to something big. The audience at SIGGRAPH that day gave us a much-needed boost of confidence." “Looking back on making Toy Story, I realize now that none of us really knew what we were doing," added Pete Docter, supervising animator on Toy Story and Pixar’s current CCO. “At the time it didn’t feel that way; the young, talented team was brimming with confidence and optimism, too inexperienced to seriously consider that the whole thing might fail. Maybe that was why it worked! What we did understand early on was that the film’s success would depend on the strength of its story and characters. Without that, even the world’s first fully computer-animated feature would just be a gimmick. Thirty years later, people around the world are still enjoying ‘Toy Story’ and its sequels, shorts, and theme park attractions — so I guess we got something right!” “Toy Story’s place in history is a remarkable milestone for computer graphics,” said Dawn Fidrick, SIGGRAPH 2025 Computer Animation Festival Director. “It showed CG wasn’t just about producing images — it proved CG images could create the illusion of life, emotion, and storytelling. It paved the way for everything that followed.” Source: SIGGRAPH 2025 Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions. Source: https://www.awn.com/news/siggraph-2025-honor-pixars-toy-story-30th-anniversary #siggraph #honor #pixars #toy #story #30th #anniversary