Luxo Jr.

Luxo Jr. is a curious, child-like baby lamp. Rendered in computer animation, the playful lamp first appeared as the title character in the 1986 short Luxo Jr., written and directed by John Lasseter at Pixar studios, and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject. Luxo Jr. is the official Pixar mascot, appearing as the logo on all of their films.

Beginning in 1991, the character was used for a series of very short Sesame Street segments, around thirty seconds each. Co-directed by Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, each short built upon the original film, focusing on little Luxo discovering a different learning concept, especially opposites, with the help of his dad, Luxo Sr. Pixar artist Craig Good provided minimal voice-over narration.

In a 1997 interview, "Sesame Street" producer Arlene Sherman recalled how the shorts came about:
 * With Pixar, I was helping to train their animators for Toy Story. They needed to gear up a lot of people, so the Pixar people and I had a mutual feeling about the show and sensibility, and so I would never know when I was getting another animation. I would approve the storyboards, then I would get these packages in the mail, with these wonderful Luxo Jr. pieces. I've had to work a lot with relationships, and use the good feeling that Sesame Street is promoting. Working as a producer is a real advantage there, because people want to work for the show.

Individual Segments

 * Surprise


 * Light and Heavy


 * Up and Down


 * Front and Back