Luxo Jr. (character)
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2023) |
Luxo Jr. | |
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desk lamp |
Luxo Jr. is a semi-
Creation
John Lasseter used a Luxo lamp on his drawing table as a graphic rendering model.[1] He experimented with the model, using it for motion studies.[3] He demonstrated the animated Luxo model at an animation festival in Brussels, Belgium. Lasseter did not plan on creating a story for the lamp, but the Belgian animator Raoul Servais urged him to write a plot. Servais said that "No matter how short it is, it should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Don't forget the story." Servais persuaded Lasseter that the length of the animation would not impede the story, telling him "You can tell a story in ten seconds."[1]
The inspiration for the Luxo Jr. character came from Lasseter's interactions with Spencer, the young son of
Films
Luxo Jr.
Lasseter followed advice from Servais and conceived the plot for a short film starring Luxo Jr. as the protagonist. The short film would have two characters, Luxo Jr. and a bigger lamp named Luxo Sr.[4] Luxo Jr. plays with a small ball, but jumping on the ball causes it to deflate. Saddened by the loss of the toy, Luxo Jr. hops off-screen. Luxo Jr. finds a beach ball and reappears chasing after it, while the parent lamp shakes its head.[1]
Luxo Jr. demonstrated advances in the technology of self-shadowing.
Sesame Street shorts
Luxo Jr. can also be seen in four educational short films, which were created by Pixar especially for
- Light & Heavy: Luxo Jr. demonstrates both light and heavy by using a beach ball to demonstrate light and later a bowling ball to demonstrate heavy.
- Surprise: Luxo Sr. examines a box in which Luxo Jr. pops out, demonstrating surprise.
- Up and Down: Luxo Jr. demonstrates up and down by jumping on and off of a cardboard box until he falls through.
- Front and Back: Luxo, Jr. demonstrates front and back by showing his front and back until he gets exhausted and falls over.
Toy Story series
In the Toy Story franchise, a red Luxo lamp can be seen on Andy's desk and in Toy Story 3 as a pink Luxo Jr. lamp.[6]
Logo appearances
Luxo Jr. is Pixar's mascot, and as such, has appeared in the logo of every film from the studio since November 22, 1995, when it debuted with Toy Story, the studio's first feature film.
Animatronic
A 6-foot-high (1.8 m)
At
Lawsuit
Luxo ASA, the Norwegian company that manufactures Luxo lamps, sued Pixar and its parent company Disney in 2009 by claiming that Disney violated its trademarks by selling promotional lamps branded as the Luxo Jr. character.[2] Disney had planned on bundling the Luxo Jr. lamp with the collector's edition of the Up Blu-ray release.[9] Luxo ASA claimed that the Luxo Jr. merchandise would "cause devastating damage to Luxo and dilute the goodwill which Luxo has built up." Disney settled with Luxo ASA and agreed not to sell Luxo Jr. lamps while Luxo ASA did not object to "artistic renditions" of the lamp and allowed Pixar to keep using Luxo Jr. as a character.[10]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780307278296.
- ^ a b c Larson, Erik (September 4, 2009). "Pixar's Animated Desk Lamp Triggers Lampmaker Lawsuit". Bloomberg L.P.
- ^ ISBN 9780811850124.
- ^ ISBN 9780811850124.
- ISBN 9780307278296.
- ^ Lesnick, Silas (November 1, 2010). "Your Toy Story 3 Easter Egg Guide". Coming Soon.
- ^ Hochberg, Matt (May 12, 2010). "Luxo Jr's Obituary". Studios Central.
- ^ Niles, Robert (October 31, 2018). "Disneyland finally installs Luxo Jr at Pixar Pier". themeparkinsider.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- ^ Connelly, Brendon (September 6, 2009). "The Creators of The Luxo Lamp Are Suing Pixar". Slash film.
- ^ Gardner, Eriq (November 4, 2009). "Disney settles Pixar 'Luxo, Jr.' lamp case". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 8, 2014.