On reflection I neglected to mention the single most obvious common ground between Pixar and Valve. This is probably the subconscious reason I started thinking about the subject in the first place.
This common ground is the fact that they rose to critical acclaim for adapting well extablished storytelling norms from movies to their own genre. Pixar was one of the first CGI animation studios to realize that just because the graphics were computer generated didn't mean that you couldn't do all the same things traditional movies did. As a result of them embracing this idea they were able to create classics like Toy Story, which combined the advantages of CGI animation with the vital attributes of film- like story, facial expressions, camera angling etc....
As for Valve, their Half Life series was one of the first to ustilize a new method of story telling in first person shooter games. Though I haven't played the original half life, I have played HL2, and from my experience I can say that Valve created an immersive action experience like none other. In the same way that Pixar adapted the conventions of film for its own unique projects, HL steals much from action movie models- but improves on them in significant ways. The most obvious example of this movie idea in Half life 2 for me is the opening sequence of the origianl HL2. In this sequence you are dropped in a train with no clue how you got there or why you're there- you just are left to your own devices, with the level design carefully crafted to lead along a linear path. I first began to feel like I was in a movie when I entered a house only to find that a raid was in motion. I frantically dodged guards, and eventually wound up on the rooftop, and there was a roof top chase- with bullets nipping at my heels the entire way- which was straight out of any action movie.
Both Valve's and Pixar's willingness to borrow from the movie genres has worked to their benefit. It has allowed them to make uniquely fun experiences.
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