Ed Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar and the former president of Disney Animation. He grew up in 1950s Utah wanting to animate for Disney. Convinced he couldn’t draw well enough, he studied physics and computer science at the University of Utah instead, landing in one of the great talent incubators in computing history. In 1972, he animated his own left hand—one of the first 3D computer renderings ever made. Since childhood he had carried a single ambition: to make the first feature film animated entirely by computer. Reaching it took more than 20 years. George Lucas hired Catmull in 1979 to build a computer division at Lucasfilm. When Lucas needed cash, Steve Jobs bought that division in 1986 for $5 million and spun it out as Pixar. For years it sold imaging computers and lost money while Catmull and John Lasseter made short films to keep the dream alive. Jobs sank roughly $50 million of his own money into it. In 1995, Pixar released Toy Story, the first feature animated entirely by computer, and went public days later. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Up followed. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion and put Catmull in charge of both studios; he revived a faltering Disney Animation with films like Frozen. Catmull cared about the conditions that let creative work survive its own fragility. Every original idea, he argues, starts out ugly and broken, and management exists to protect it long enough to get good. At Pixar that meant the Braintrust: a room where directors got blunt feedback with no authority attached and the conversation stayed on the problem, never on who was right. He laid it all out in Creativity, Inc.

Join the cast and crew of DAVID for an exclusive roundtable conversation as they go behind the scenes of the film. In this discussion, the voices behind the story share insights into the creative process, the heart behind the music, and the challenges and joys of bringing David’s journey to life through animation. From storytelling and songwriting to performance and production, this roundtable offers a deeper look at the people, purpose, and passion that shaped DAVID.

🎬 DAVID is a modern, animated retelling of the biblical story of King David, celebrating themes of faith, identity, courage, and calling.

Aaron Blaise is an animation feature film director and wildlife artist. For 21 years Aaron worked with Disney helping to create some of the greatest animated films ever made. During that time he worked as an animator or supervising animator on „The Rescuers Down Under“, „Beauty and the Beast“, „Aladdin“, „The Lion King“, „Pocahontas“, „Mulan“ and more. In 2003 he was co-director of „Brother Bear“ for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. After „Brother Bear“ he helped to develop several projects but ultimately left Disney to pursue an opportunity back home in Florida. Aaron recently served as 2D Animation Supervisor and Character Designer for the „The Bear and the Hare“ an advertisement loved by millions around the world.