At first glance, Pixar and Nintendo couldn’t be more different. The former is an animation giant that’s produced modern day classics likeToy StoryandThe Incredibles, while doubling as one arm of the Walt Disney empire. The latter became a juggernaut in the video game space, creating characters and video game franchises that have become instant icons while recently stepping into the world of feature films withThe Super Mario Bros. Movieand the upcomingLegend of Zeldafeature film fromWes Ball. But a legal case connects the two companies:specifically the one where Pixar sued Nintendo over the video gameUniracers.
Pixar Believed Nintendo’s ‘Uniracers’ Was Similar to ‘Red’s Dream’
True to its name,Uniracers(orUnirallyas it was known internationally) mostly consisted of players using unicycles to ride around a track. Every once in a while, they could spice things up by performing a trick or utilizing different parts of the track to gain an edge against their opponents.Uniracersreceived mixed reviews and would have been little more than a footnote in Nintendo’s history if it weren’t for the Pixar lawsuit. While Pixar had yet to become the pop culture juggernaut it currently is, it had put out a few short films —and claimed thatNintendohad lifted the idea fromUniracersfrom one of them.
The short in question,Red’s Dream, features an anthropomorphic red bike that dreams of becoming the star attraction of a circus. Much likeUniracers,Red’s Dreamcould have merely been a footnote in Pixar’s history as it made its debut beforeTin Toy,the short that would playa major role in influencingToy Story.But Pixar chose to sue Nintendo because it felt the unicycles inUniracerswere deliberately infringing on the one inRed’s Dream,despite the fact that none of the unicycles in the game are anthropomorphic.“We modelled the unicycle exactly, based on a real life unicycle. The problem with Pixar was that they seemed to think that any computer generated unicycle was owned by them,“UnirallydeveloperMike Daillyrecalled duringa retrospective about the making of the game. “They took footage from Red’s Dream and compared it toUnirallyand the unicycles were virtually the same; this isn’t a big surprise as there’s not a lot of ways you can bring life to a unicycle without looking like the one Pixar did.”
Pixar did wind up winning the case,which led to Nintendo discontinuing further production ofUnirallyunits. “The deal was that Nintendo wouldn’t make any more carts soUnirallyonly sold the 300k initial run,” Dailly said. Despite this setback, DMA Design — the studio that ended up creatingUnirally— was about to have a major glow up.
The Studio Behind ‘Unirally’ Became a Gaming Force With the Introduction of ‘Grand Theft Auto’
Unirallywasn’t the only time that DMA Design found itself in hot water with one of its games. The alien invasion action adventureBody Harvestran into a whole host of problems as Nintendo kept requesting changes; not to mention the fact that there was a massive language barrier to overcome between the Japanese-led Nintendo and the American-led DMA Design. “Their overriding concern was that the story be comfortingly familiar. Ironically, they didn’t wish to challenge the players too much,” former DMA Design headSteve Hammondadmittedwhen talking about the making ofBody Harvest.
DMA Design would eventually become Rockstar Games after a series of acquisitions, and the creation of theGrand Theft Autovideo game franchise.Grand Theft Autobecame a critical and commercial success, with multiple installments — the trailer for its latest version,Grand Theft Auto VI,becoming one of the most watched videos in YouTube history. Ironically, Pixar has had a bit of a rough streak as three of its most recent films —Soul, Turning RedandLuca— were sent straight to Disney+ whileElementalstruggled to find its footing when it hit theaters. Time will tell if Nintendo and Pixar cross paths again, but this court case was one of the most bizarre to ever grace the annals of pop culture history.
