Luxo Jr. (character)

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This article is about the character. For the film, see Luxo Jr.

Luxo Jr. is a desk lamp character and the corporate mascot of Pixar Animation Studios. Luxo Jr. is the protagonist of the short film of the same name and appears on the production logo of every Pixar film, hopping on screen and bouncing on the letter I. John Lasseter created Luxo Junior, modeling the character after his own Luxo brand lamp.[1] The manufacturer of Luxo lamps sued Disney, the parent company of Pixar, for selling Luxo Jr. branded merchandise in 2009.[2]

Creation

John Lasseter used a Luxo lamp on his drawing table as a graphic rendering model.[3] Lasseter experimented with the model, using it for motion studies.[4] He demonstrated the animated Luxo model at an animation festival in Brussels. 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." [5]

The inspiration for the Luxo Jr. character came from Lasseter's interactions with Spencer, the young son of Tom Porter, a Pixar team member. Lasseter wondered if the body proportions of a child could be applied to a lamp.[6] Lasster said that "Spencer was about one and a half, and seeing him hold his arms up over his head made me laugh, because he couldn't really touch the top of his head yet. After he left, I started thinking, what would a baby lamp look like?"[7] He changed the proportions of the lamp model to make it more infant-like, giving a large head and a small body. Lasseter did not modify the size of the light bulb. He imagined that the store-bought bulb was separate from the "body" of the lamp and did not age.[8]

Films

Luxo Jr.

Lasseter followed Servais' advice and conceived the plot for a short film starring Luxo Jr. as the protagonist. The story would have two characters, Luxo Jr. and a bigger "parent" lamp.[9] Luxo Jr. plays with a small ball, but jumping on it 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 her head.[10]

The film demonstrated advances in the technology of self-shadowing.[11] Lasseter said that "The animation of a lamp whose head is a light-source, moving around and self-shadowing the world around him, was a perfect matching of technology and subject matter."[12] Luxo Jr. made its debut at the 1986 SIGGRAPH show in Dallas. The film received critical acclaim for its photorealistic style and emotional impact.[13]

Toy Story series

In Toy Story 3, a red Luxo lamp appears on Andy's desk.[14]

Disney World

An animatronic Luxo Jr. was once displayed at the Disney World theme park. It was six feet high,[15] and stood near the Toy Story Midway Mania attraction. The animatronic Luxo Jr. danced to music on a ledge near the entrance. Disney removed the device in 2010 without offering an official explanation, but the Luxo ASA lawsuit may have been a factor.[16]

Lawsuit

Luxo ASA, the Norwegian company that manufactures Luxo lamps, sued Pixar and its parent company Walt Disney in 2009. Luxo ASA said that Disney had violated its trademarks by selling promotional lamps branded as the Luxo Jr. character.[17] Disney had planned on bundling the Luxo Jr. lamp with the collector's edition of the Up Blu-ray release.[18] 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. Luxo ASA did not object to "artistic renditions" of the lamp and allowed Pixar to keep using Luxo Jr. as a character.[19]

References

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