Overview
Pixar Animation Studios marked forty years at D23 2026 in Anaheim with an anniversary pavilion built around its own history — a long backlit wall running 1986 to 2026 with a framed panel for every film, a walk-through gallery of original concept and production art, character statues placed through the space, and a full themed facade at the entrance beneath the Pixar Animation Studios sign. The Luxo ball hung overhead in the middle of it.
All Exhibit Solutions supplied the install and dismantle labor. The crew stood and finished the gallery walls, set and levelled the backlit film panels along the full length of the timeline, hung the framed art, rigged the overhead ball and the gallery lighting, and placed the character figures and the entrance facade before doors opened on August 14. After close on the 16th the same sequence ran in reverse, with the art and figures crated first.
Anniversary Wall
Challenge
An anniversary wall is a hanging job with no tolerance. Forty years of films run across one continuous backlit surface, and a gallery of original art hangs beside it — so panel spacing, height and light output have to stay consistent along the whole run, and every framed piece has to sit level against walls that were only stood a day or two earlier. The pavilion also carried a full themed facade at the entrance and character statues placed through the floor, all of which had to be handled as artwork rather than as booth parts.
"You are hanging a gallery, not dressing a booth. Every panel gets measured off the same line, and the art gets handled like it is going into a museum."
— Project Lead, AES
Approach
Gallery Walls
Stood and finished the gallery walls first, checking plumb and level along the full length of the timeline run so every panel that followed would land on the same line.
Backlit Timeline Panels
Set the backlit film panels across the 1986 to 2026 run, matching spacing, height and light output panel to panel so the wall reads as one continuous surface.
Art, Figures & Rigging
Hung the framed concept and production art, placed the character statues on their marks, and rigged the overhead ball and the lighting above the gallery.
Facade & Walkthrough
Built out the themed entrance facade beneath the Pixar sign, then walked the full pavilion with the client team before doors opened.
Results
The pavilion opened on schedule on August 14 and drew steady crowds through the gallery for all three days. Every panel stayed lit and level across the run, the art and figures came through untouched, and the crew turned the dismantle after close on the 16th — art and character pieces crated first, then the walls.
Booth Highlights
A few frames from the D23 floor at the Anaheim Convention Center — the anniversary wall, the art gallery, character figures and the themed entrance facade.
Forty Years on One Wall
A continuous backlit run from 1986 to 2026 with a framed panel for every film, spaced and levelled off a single line so the whole timeline reads as one surface.
The Art Gallery
A walk-through gallery of original concept and production art, hung to gallery standards on walls that had been stood only days earlier.
Figures & Themed Facade
Character statues placed through the floor and a full themed entrance facade beneath the Pixar Animation Studios sign, both handled as artwork rather than booth parts.
