Cagle Picks Pixar Pix

"Cars," the newest animated movie from Pixar Studios, roars into theaters this weekend (June 9). But if you can't wait until then for your Pixar "fix," there are a half dozen classics waiting for you on DVD.

People magazine's editor at large and The Early Show's entertainment contributor Jess Cagle talked to co-anchor Hannah Storm about Pixar's "amazing Hollywood story."

"So far, Pixar Studios has released six feature-length computer-animated movies," Cagle said. "Every single one has been a huge success."

Since the release of "Toy Story" more than a decade ago, Pixar has taken computer animation and creative storytelling to unprecedented heights. John Lasseter founded the studio, has directed most of its films, and he sets Pixar's artistic tone.

"Each Pixar film is very different from one another," Lasseter said. "What we look for is, like, a growth in the main character; a change that he goes through. That's where so much heart comes from."

In "Toy Story," the main characters were cowboy Woody (Ton Hanks) and futuristic spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen).

"I love that Buzz Lightyear never really thought that he was a toy," Lasseter said. "It helped us with the whole storyline, 'cause he could just look at anything, and he was honest about it. But it was deluded!"

Of "A Bug's Life," Lasseter said: "It was our first wide-screen movie. It was an epic of miniature proportions, and it was epic. And I still think it was one of the most beautiful films we made."

In Lasseter's opinion, "Toy Story 2" yielded one of his studio's most special moments: the cowgirl's lament, "When She Loved Me," written by Randy Newman and sung by Sarah McLachlan.

And Lasseter told Cagle that "Monsters Inc," star Billy Crystal once lamented to him about a bad career move.

"We had actually approached Billy Crystal very, very early in 'Toy Story,' and he had turned us down," Lasseter said. "And he always said it was, like, the worst decision he had ever made, so we got him to come back (for 'Monsters')."

From the moment he heard the story of "Finding Nemo," Lasseter knew the underwater world would look beautiful in computer animation. But it was the befuddled fish, Dory, as voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, who stole the show.

"It was a beautiful way to be, this kind of naïve, innocent child-like character," DeGeneres said. "I never felt like, 'What are people going to think?' I really got lost in that character, being that free."

Sometimes a character's voice comes from a surprising source. Even though "The Incredibles" is a story about a family of superheroes, one of the film's most memorable characters was costume designer Edna Mode, voiced by none other than the film's director, Brad Bird.

"He's a very good actor, and he does a lot of the temporary voices," Lasseter said of Bird. "And he did Edna, and it was just slaying me every time. I love this! But he was insisting that we try to cast an actress for it. I'm going, 'Brad, it's like, NO.' "

Pixar's movies have grossed $3 billion worldwide. Disney recently bought Pixar for about $7 billion.

And, in the end, Cagle and Storm agreed that their favorite Pixar movie is "Finding Nemo," with Storm calling it "one of the great movies of all time."