Someone has unearthed a truly remarkable piece of animation history: the first animated short connected with the now infamous PIXAR animation studio. My first reaction was “Hey this isn’t that bad.” My second, after reading the text: “Holy crap, 1984!?”

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The Adventures of André and Wally B. is almost 2 minutes of very technical computer animation from 1984. Animated by John Lasseter, in conjunction with Lucasfilm, who would later become a huge player in the development of PIXAR and Disney, the short is reported to have been the first use of manipulatable shapes (stretching and squishing) that gives computer animation the life needed to appear real.

With Wall-E just released and breaking the box office wide open, it’s amazing to revisit the roots of such a creative company.

Via Digg.com and Experience Project.

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