Acclaimed Animation Director Brad Bird Joins Pixar

"Brad is about the best director in animation," said John Lasseter, executive vice president, creative. "Everything he has touched has been entertaining, inventive and full of heart. He's taken audiences to places they've never been before. We are dancing on our desks to have him join us at Pixar."

Bird's career began at age 11 when he created his first animated motion picture which caught the attention of animation legend Milt Kahl. Mr. Kahl later became Bird's mentor at The Walt Disney Company. Most recently, Bird worked at Warner Bros. as the director and screenwriter of the critically-acclaimed animated feature The Iron Giant. His other credits include serving as an executive consultant on The Simpsons, King of the Hill and The Critic animated television series; creating the "Family Dog" episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories; and co-writing the screenplay for the live-action feature *batteries not included.

"I'm tremendously excited about joining Pixar whose work I've admired for years," said Mr. Bird. "Though they have received much attention for being on the cutting edge technically, they are at heart, like John Lasseter himself, great story-tellers. Their focus is on creating original stories and new characters. That's rare. I can't wait to be a part of it."

About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq: PIXR) combines creative and technical artistry to create original characters and stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar created and produced the first computer-animated feature film, the Academy Award winning Toy Story, released in 1995. Pixar has since released two more animated features: A Bug's Life, the highest grossing animated film released in 1998; and Toy Story 2, the highest grossing animated film released in 1999. The studio is currently in production on its fourth animated feature, Monsters, Inc., scheduled for release in November 2001.