It is with a sense of deep sadness that I heard of the passing of Ray Harryhausen this morning. If I were to pick two things which influenced me as a kid growing up in the 1960s, it would have been the Apollo Space Program and the films of Ray Harryhausen, although at no time did I ever imagine that my own path would lead me toward a career in the film industry. What I found truly astounding about his work is that (perhaps by necessity) he excelled at all facets of his craft: from sculpting and character design, to animation and to the technical innovation necessary to make stop motion animation plausible in films. His work was always at the cutting edge of what was possible in special effects, and in spite of decades of progress they still remain vibrant films, important for their technical advances, but also because they are just fun to watch. Ray visited Pixar on several occasions, and while I didn’t get much personal time with him, I did get to thank him for his work and for helping to serve as inspiration, and he was kind enough to sign a copy of his book for me.

Pixar gave a nod to Harryhausen by naming a restaurant (curiously a sushi restaurant) after him in our 2001 film, Monsters, Inc. I doubt that there is anyone in the animation or visual effects industry who wouldn’t name Harryhausen as inspiration for what they do. So long Ray, and thanks for the films.