To infinity, and beyond!

John Lasseter in his office at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California.

"When I went into the industry in the late 1970s, people thought animation was just for kids," Lasseter says of his first years after graduating from the California Institute of Arts. "On the other hand, people who were in the computer-technology industry did not have the basic knowledge of animation.

"So, maybe I was the world's first traditionally trained animator to work in computer animation," he jokes, proudly mentioning his first computer-animated short film, The Adventures of Andre and Wally B (1984), which shook the industry.

"What is important is not what I'd seen, but the potential I saw."

"To infinity, and beyond!" the famous line from Buzz Lightyear, the main character in Toy Story, may aptly apply to what he has pursued in the last few decades.

Lasseter got his first job－a childhood dream－at Walt Disney Animation Studios (called Walt Disney Feature Animation then). He later became one of Pixar's founders and helped built a new entertainment empire, before returning to where he started after the Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006. His resume is a summary of the history of the fast-changing animation industry.

But he's not one who stops and stares. "Life is about the journey, not about the destination," he pronounces.

This was his third trip to China. He first came here in 1986, and then in 1996 to promote Toy Story. "There are so many places I am dying to see," he says. Three of his five children have also been to the country.

Because he is also the principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering, the upcoming Shanghai Disneyland Park may bring him to China more often. There may be other reasons－h(huán)e had many closed-door meetings with Chinese professionals in the film and animation sectors－but Lasseter is cagey about plans for a stronger presence of Disney and Pixar studios in China.

"Possible," he answers cryptically when asked if his recent journey has triggered an inspiration to develop an animated world based on China.