WI No Pixar (or Lucas Doesn't Divorce)

Here's my thought -- what if George and Marcia Lucas, for whatever reason,* do not get divorced; as a result, LucasFilms doesn't look into selling it's computer division, so Steve Jobs doesn't purchase it, and Pixar is not formed.

What happens? How is cinema and the movie industry different without Pixar? What impact of theirs in OTL can be taken up by Lucas Films' still intact division? And what becomes of Steve Jobs? What other potential butterflies are there in this?

*actually, if anyone can elaborate on the OTL reasons, I'd appreciate it; I'm conceiving this as part of a TL with an early, unrelated 1981 PoD, FWIW
 
Well, for one you just got rid of Pixar Place at Disney Hollywood Studios.

Speaking of Disney, this may cause Steve Jobs not to hold a position within the Board. Indirectly, I can see some of the "classic" attractions that are now defunct to possibly still be around instead of being replaced with redesigning for product placements.

This probably sets back animation/CGI technology in films as well, but I don't think by much because the idea for 3D computer programming animation stuff was already there, Pixar just provided the resources needed to accomplish it.

I can see one of two things happening. Apple has a division that evolves into a film division and thus current animation tech is only delayed by a few years (of course no Toy Story, Nemo, etc) or Jobs searches for another company computer division willing to sell and they step up to fill that niche.

Of course my knowledge is limited and others may be able to provide you with better answers.
 
^^Fine start; could the idea of CGI films be propelled by Lucas Films TTL, since some of the main people who made Pixar (Lasseter, et el) are with them?
 
Well, Disney relies more on traditional animation...though LucasFilm could deal with them. (after all, they have Indiana Jones and Star Tours at Disney...)
Of course, perhaps this means Star Wars: The Clone Wars might get made earlier...
 
^^Fine start; could the idea of CGI films be propelled by Lucas Films TTL, since some of the main people who made Pixar (Lasseter, et el) are with them?

Thank you.

As for your question, this is actually interesting. LucasFilms was already on its way to becoming the standard that Pixar became in OTL, albeit at a bit of a slower rate. However, the company is still going to take a hit from the Star Wars merchandise growing stale and the Howard the Duck movie bombing. So I can see some of the key people moving around within the company. So Disney will either step in, the animation division becomes neglected, or outside help is required for it. I believe Disney will make a deal with LucasFilms which will give it its footing.

As for Jobs animation division, it depends if it will view LucasFilms animation division as a competitor or as a resource. I will go with the later, and we will see a cooperation between the two. But like with all good alliances, once LucasFilms gets on its feet, the two may quickly become competitors or one will buy out the other. Assuming they start out as competitors though, we will get a lot more CGI based films, but probably at a lower quality. If Toy Story does get made, it won't be the same Toy Story we have today unfortunately.

Sounds similar to an earlier DreamWorks, with LucasFilm being OTL Pixar without Jobs and Jobs Division playing OTL DreamWorks but with Jobs. I do believe LucasFilms will have the early lead in this scenario, but Jobs will give better direction toward his company therefore having the technological lead when it comes along.
 
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Does Dreamworks pick up CGI first, or challenge Disney more in traditional animation?

Also may be no Best Animated Feature Oscar. Although Shrek won first (there may be no Shrek here anyway), I think Pixar was really the fuel to its creation.
 
Here's another effect unrelated to Pixar, as a result of George & Marcia Lucas not divorcing: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is much less grimdark and darkly grim. They were making it right around the time of the divorce and a lot of that grimness is because Lucas was in a really bad place at the time.

It's also possible that George Lucas doesn't stop making Star Wars movies after Return of the Jedi, but moves straight on to (a completely different) Episode I for a 1986 release date. Or alternatively if they're still having marital trouble but decide to stay together Lucas may end up deciding to drop Star Wars for good so they can move on together. And maybe more Indiana Jones movies are made during the 80s -- they originally planned for five but only ended up doing three in OTL, so maybe they make an extra one ITTL.
 
Here's an interesting notion. Lets say that Lucas decides not to sell what will eventually become Pixar. At the same, he wants to keep Star Wars going in some fashion, but isn't ready to dive into anther live action trilogy. Instead, he decides to produce a series of direct to video animated films. Being that this is Lucas, the results are not a series of Disney style cheapquels. Rather, these are high quality feature length films with feature animation and the voices of the cast from the OT. The end result is a Star War Expanded Cinematic Universe.
 
From another thread:

Folks - it seems that Lucas divorce has profund repercussions over Steve Jobs, Pixar, and Star Wars prequels respective fates. The consequences were far reaching!... I found this article, which deals with Marcia lucas and their divorce)

That link seems to offer a fitting post 1981 PoD -- sometime late that year, or in 1982 (maybe 83), George agrees to his wife's suggestion for marriage counseling. Even if it doesn't save the marriage, it likely delays it, and it may well make the break up a less bitter, destructive affair.
 
The largest non-technical influence that Pixar has had on CGI moviemaking, IMO, comes from John Lasseter's storytelling style. Lasseter was first a Disney employee, and his genius seems to have been appreciated both at Disney and at Pixar.

So it's possible that a no-Pixar timeline may be surprisingly butterfly-resistant in terms of the movies that eventually get made.
 

Archibald

Banned
Eureka !!!

Without the divorce and Pixar spinoff and Jobs taking over - have John Lasseter write the Star Wars prequels in the late 80's !
He is the perfect story teller, the very (only?) one who can correct George Lucas huge flaws in that domain - flaws that were so visible (huge!) in the Phantom Menace...

What would a Lasseter Star Wars prequels look like ? No Toy Story trilogy obviously... (glancing at my DVD shelf while typing that)
 
Eureka !!!

Without the divorce and Pixar spinoff and Jobs taking over - have John Lasseter write the Star Wars prequels in the late 80's !
He is the perfect story teller, the very (only?) one who can correct George Lucas huge flaws in that domain - flaws that were so visible (huge!) in the Phantom Menace...

What would a Lasseter Star Wars prequels look like ? No Toy Story trilogy obviously... (glancing at my DVD shelf while typing that)
I do also recommend another noted animation writer working for Lucas, and a future Emmy winner...Paul Dini.
 
The largest non-technical influence that Pixar has had on CGI moviemaking, IMO, comes from John Lasseter's storytelling style. Lasseter was first a Disney employee, and his genius seems to have been appreciated both at Disney and at Pixar.
Without the divorce and Pixar spinoff and Jobs taking over - have John Lasseter write the Star Wars prequels in the late 80's !
He is the perfect story teller, the very (only?) one who can correct George Lucas huge flaws in that domain - flaws that were so visible (huge!) in the Phantom Menace...

Assuming Lasseter still gets fired from Disney in 1986 -- or perhaps, something else...
 
This is very interesting. Actually, one of the reasons Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney was because CEO Michael Eisner refused to promote him to President after the death of Frank Wells. When he saw the success Pixar was having at the time, he decided to form his own animation group. So, essentially, had Wells not gone skiing that day in 1994, Dreamworks may not have been founded. (Will add more later, I'm in between classes at the moment.)
 
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