The only characters are two Anglepoise desk lamps, one large and one small, inspired by a Luxo brand task-light on John Lasseter´s desk (hence the title). Luxo Jr. (small) plays with a small inflated rubber ball, chasing it and trying to balance on it, as Luxo (large) reacts to these antics. The ball eventually deflates due to Luxo Jr. jumping on it; Luxo Jr. is admonished by Luxo, then finds and plays with an even larger ball.
In 1986, Luxo Jr. received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. It was the first CGI film nominated for an Academy Award.[1] Spinoffs of the short called "Surprise", "Light & Heavy", "Up and Down", and "Front and Back" have appeared on Sesame Street, which are now available on the Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1 though the original narrative track is not included.
Luxo Jr., without the cord, now serves as the mascot for Pixar Animation Studios, appearing in its production logo before and after every feature film. He hops in from the right, stops next to the "I" in "PIXAR", and jumps on it until he has completely squashed it down, as he did to the rubber ball in the short. He then looks around and angles his "head" toward the camera; at this point, all the light typically fades to black except for his head, which goes out with a click after a moment. Occasionally, the head fades in time with the light, but this is exceptional.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxo_Jr.
