Lasseter was taught by three members of Disney's Nine Old Men team of veteran animators- Eric Larson, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston-and his classmates included future animators and directors like Brad Bird, John Musker, Henry Selick, Tim Burton, and Chris Buck. His mother further encouraged him to take up a career in animation, and in 1975 he enrolled as the second student ( Jerry Rees was the first) in the CalArts Character Animation program created by Disney animators Jack Hannah and T. Lasseter heard of a new character animation program at the California Institute of the Arts (often abbreviated as 'CalArts') and decided to follow his dream of becoming an animator. When he saw Disney's 1963 film The Sword in the Stone, he finally made the decision that he should become an animator. The book covered the history of Disney animation and explored the making of Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, which made Lasseter realize he wanted to do animation himself. While in high school, he read The Art of Animation by Bob Thomas. As a child, Lasseter would race home from school to watch Chuck Jones cartoons on television. He often drew cartoons during church services at the Church of Christ his family attended. His mother's profession contributed to his growing preoccupation with animation. Lasseter grew up in Whittier, California. Lasseter is a fraternal twin his sister Johanna Lasseter-Curtis, who became a baker based in the Lake Tahoe area, is six minutes older. His mother, Jewell Mae (née Risley 1918–2005), was an art teacher at Bell Gardens High School, and his father, Paul Eual Lasseter (1924–2011), was a parts manager at a Chevrolet dealership. Lasseter was born in Hollywood, California.
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He was also the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. John Alan Lasseter ( Template:IPAc-en born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, filmmaker, and former chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar and the defunct Disneytoon Studios.