CalArts to Recognize John Lasseter with Honorary Doctorate Degree

John Lasseter Photo © Disney•Pixar - CalArts Image © CalArts

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) will soon be honoring a very special alumni with one of their highest honors. John Lasseter will receive the 2014 honorary doctorate degree during the graduation ceremony on May 16, 2014. Upcoming graduates, couldn't have timed their degree completions more perfectly as the CalArts blog also notes that, "The next generation of CalArtians will welcome back Lasseter to campus as he ushers them into the real world at the 2014 graduation ceremony". All we can hope is that John's speech with be posted online for others to view - we're certain it will be nothing short of inspirational.

Photo © Vanity Fair

The CalArts post also refers to the Vanity Fair article which celebrated the inaugural class of the Character Animation program. Be sure to dig into the article if you want to get a great background into the formation of CalArts, the famed A113 classroom and a profile on the members of the original Character Animation program. John is of course quoted in the article and noted,

“I loved cartoons. I grew up drawing and watching them. And when I discovered as a freshman in high school that people actually made cartoons for a living, my art teacher started encouraging me to write to the Disney Studios, because I wanted to work for them one day.”

Be sure to check out the article if you haven't and discuss it in the Pixar Post Forum.

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