Pixar Canada

Pixar Canada was a wholly owned subsidiary of Pixar Animation Studios. It was located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The studio was tasked to produce short films based on Pixar's feature film characters.

In October 2013, Pixar Animation Studios permanently closed Pixar Canada and laid off its approximately 100 employees, to refocus Pixar's efforts at its main headquarters in Emeryville, California. The former studio space is currently Industrial Light & Magic's Vancouver studio.

History
Pixar Canada was founded in 2009 and officially opened on April 20, 2010 in Gastown area of Vancouver, British Columbia. The location was chosen for tax incentive reasons, for Vancouver's computer-generated animation talent pool and for time zone compatibility with the Hollywood studio. Studio's initial three-year plan was to produce animated short films based on established Pixar film characters, to be shown in all of Disney-related businesses, including television, DVD compilations, internet, theme park attractions, and theatrical presentations. Post-production and stereoscopic 3D work remained in the hands of the Pixar's main studio in California.

Disney was attracted to Vancouver's location because of tax incentives, and this closure comes in the wake of British Columbia incentives falling behind those offered by Ontario and Quebec. Pixar Canada produced a number of short films, including Air Mater, Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex since 2010. Pixar’s shorts have been a proving ground for new directors and concepts for the studio.

The studio was built to develop animated shorts presenting Pixar characters which would be packaged with DVDs or featured on screens through its theme parks as a skillful way to draw attention away from long waits for rides. A company spokesperson said the work done in Vancouver would be transferred to the company’s headquarters in Burbank, California.

The Vancouver animation establishment opened with much fanfare around Gastown in 2010, with an approval to produce short films based on esteemed Pixar characters. The Vancouver company worked on layout, sets and characters, animation, effects, lighting and rendering departments.

Walt Disney Studios closed its Vancouver-based Pixar Canada studio leaving nearly 100 Pixar employees without a job three years after opening. Viewers of the animation scene in Vancouver disregarded Pixar’s departure, suggesting the industry is robust enough in the province to easily absorb the displaced Pixar workers. When Pixar set in motion in British Columbia came the arrival of U.S. studios such as Digital Domain and Sony Pictures Imageworks, with Pixar touting Vancouver’s talent base, proximity and shared time zone with Los Angeles and a digital animation tax credit offered by the B.C. government. Provincial Jobs Minister Shirley Bond said that it is “disappointing” that Pixar is leaving the province, however, she saw the decision as tied to the company’s overall business strategy as opposed to the B.C. business climate.

Shortly after the studio's closure and Disney having then recently acquired Lucasfilm and its subsidiary companies, Industrial Light & Magic's satellite division in Vancouver - originally opening into smaller offices in 2010 - moved into Pixar Canada's former Gastown studio. ILM's Vancouver studio has since done primary character animation and visual effects, with ILM's San Francisco headquarters, on several Hollywood films including Warcraft, The Revenant, and Thor: Ragnarok.