A Brief History of PDI

PDI, short for Pacific Data Images, was founded by Carl Rosenthal in 1980 in Redwood City, California. Their goal, much like Pixar's, was to bring computer animation to new heights. Some of their early work includes short films like Teddy Bear Maelstrom (1983), Chromosaurus (1984), Locomotion (1989), and Elephant Bubbles (1984).

Some notable people who got their start at PDI include Steve Goldberg, a visual effects supervisor for Disney, and Glenn McQueen, a talented Pixar animator who died too soon.

In 1989, PDI helped Jim Henson make the impossible: A CGI Muppet named Waldo C Graphic. You may recognize him from Muppet*Vision 3D at Walt Disney World.

They also helped bring Homer Simpson into the third dimension with Treehouse of Horror VI's Homer3 in 1995.

Also in 1995, PDI formed a partnership with the newly-founded DreamWorks Animation, in which they worked on the second computer animated feature film to be released after Toy Story, Antz. It premiered October 2nd, 1998.

Keep in mind that computer animation was in its infancy by this point.

The success of Antz lead to more successful co-productions with DreamWorks including Shrek, Madagascar, and Megamind.

In case you're wondering, PDI was not involved with Shrek Forever After or Puss in Boots.

In 2014, DreamWorks released two big-budget CGI films with PDI: Mr. Peabody and Sherman and The Penguins of Madagascar (not to be confused with the TV series).

Unfortunately, both films were box-office failures. PDI was closed on January 22nd, 2015, and over 500 employees were laid off.