John Lasseter, Pixar’s first animator and the creative spark behind the Emeryville animation studio’s early rise, knew the company would need a sequel. “In cinema history, there are times when a collection of artists come together and make some films. It’s just a magical time, and great stuff is done. And rarely, if ever, that golden age lasts beyond that original group,” Lasseter told The Chronicle in 2010. “Either they split up, like a band .