Watch John Lasseter’s and Andrew Stanton’s CalArts Student Films

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A screenshot from John Lasseter's CalArts student film, 'Nitemare.'

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A screenshot from Andrew Stanton's CalArts student film, 'A Story.'

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A screenshot from Andrew Stanton's student film, 'Somewhere in the Arctic.'

Vanity Fair’s “Hollywood” (March) issue features “The Class That Roared“—an in-depth look at the early years of CalArts’ Character Animation program. Author Sam Kashner talked to a number of CalArts’ alumni for the piece, including John Lasseter (Film/Video BFA 79), chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Lasseter, a two-time Academy Award winner, is best known for directing the first feature-length, computer-animated feature film in Toy Story (1995). He was the second student accepted into CalArts’ Character Animation program in 1975 (behind Jerry Rees [Film/Video 77], who helmed The Brave Little Toaster).

But before Lasseter directed Toy Story, A Bug’s Life (1988), Cars (2006) and other animated feature films, there was Nitemare—his CalArts student film:

Also featured in the Annie Leibovitz photo that accompanies “The Class That Roared” is director Andrew Stanton (Film/Video BFA 87), who has also won Oscars for Best Animated feature for Finding Nemo in 2004 and Wall-E in 2009.

Here are two of Stanton’s student short films (Somewhere in the Arctic and A Story), below:

Videos courtesy of Buena Vista Home Entertainment.