pixar's oscar-winning short film "tin toy" (directed by lasseter) and its caps project were among works that gained disney's attention and, after meetings in 1990 with jeffrey katzenberg, pixar pitched a television special called "a tin toy christmas". by july 1991, disney and pixar signed an agreement to work on a film, based on the "tin toy" characters, called "toy story". the deal gave pixar a three-film deal (with "toy story" being the first) as well as 10% of the films' profits.