Pixar, Disney Trade Barbs About Breakup

"It's also sad and unfortunate that he has resorted to insults and name-calling in the wake of the disagreement," she added. "We expected better of him."

Pixar's latest film, "Finding Nemo," has earned more than $800 million at the international box office to date, surpassing the record previously held by Disney's 1994 film, "The Lion King."

Jobs said every major studio has expressed interest in working with Pixar. Negotiations with at least four of them will begin in March and Pixar hopes to have a new deal in place by the fall.

Any new deal would begin with a Pixar film due to be released in 2006.

Jobs said it is unlikely Pixar would ever agree to make a sequel of the five films co-produced by Disney and said he would not want to see Disney exercise its right to make sequels on its own.

"We feel sick about Disney doing sequels," Jobs said. "If you look at the quality of their sequels, such as 'Lion King 1 1/2' and (the Peter Pan sequel 'Return to Neverland'), it's pretty embarrassing."

Earlier Wednesday, Pixar said its earnings more than quadrupled in the fourth quarter on the strength of its animated fish tale "Finding Nemo."

Pixar, based in Emeryville, Calif., reported net income Wednesday of $84 million, or $1.44 per share, in the quarter ended Jan. 3, compared to $17 million, or 31 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected earnings of $1.26 per share.

Revenue rose sharply during the quarter to $165 million compared with $39.4 million in the same period last year on the better-than-expected performance of "Finding Nemo."