Toy Story’s Apple origin


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Cult of Mac, which recently interviewed John Sculley, now has an interview with Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3, in which he reveals his first computer:

Tell me about your first Apple product.

My very first Apple product was an Apple II Plus computer, which I got around 1981, when I was about fourteen. It had 48k of memory.

How many have you owned through the years? Any favorites?

How many Apple products? Wow, I don’t know if I can account for them all. Practically one of everything. And I’m not exaggerating. Yes, even a Newton.

I can tell you how many PC’s I’ve owned: Zero.

Is it coincidence that such a hardcore Apple fan would be employed by Pixar, a company owned by Steve Jobs? Probably. The way the quotation is worded, it’s possible he had a non-Apple computer before the II Plus (available 1979–1982). But that Mr. Unkrich has been so dedicated to the brand in the thirty years since that introduction is telling of the kind of loyalty Apple computers inspire. I wonder if he still has that Apple II somewhere? Would any other machine have led him to create the highest-grossing animated film of all time?

(Hat tip to Michael Gray)