A Pixar movie would take 400 years for 1 person to make.

This is based on the 20,000 person-weeks that it takes to make one of these.

It couldn’t be done by a single person.

As a result, Pixar has few competitors, only Disney and DreamWorks come to mind. However, there is a trade off, it feels risky. When you want a beautiful piece of art, find an artist who does work that you admire, and pay him money to commission a piece for yourself. Based on his other work, you’ll get something you like out of it.

To bring together 10, 50, or 100+ artists together and say, “I have this budget, we need to make something spectacular, let’s see what we can make in 2 years.” takes confidence.

When taking on work that next to no one else can do, if done well, huge value can be created. Consider how many paintings have been painted throughout history. And yet the very best of them, is worth less than nearly any Pixar movie made. Out of 21 movies, ending the list at Toy Story 4, Pixar only has 4 movies that made less money than the most expensive painting that ever sold, as of 2020. Adjusted for inflation that goes down to only 2 movies. All of them made more than the second highest painting ever sold. By comparison to the number of paintings out there, the number of animated features list is close to zero. The number of 3D animated feature films could be read in a matter of minutes.

The ability to make movies like Pixar does starts with a leap of faith. That a team of different artists will come together to produce a collective vision that amazes us. The scary part is no one can know what that final product looks like before getting started. Confidence and action need to happen together.