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DISNEY WIKI

Pixar

GENERAL INFORMATION

TYPE Subsidiary of The Walt Disney

Studios

INDUSTRY CGI animation

Motion pictures

FOUNDED 1979 (as Graphics Group)

February 3, 1986 (as Pixar)

HEADQUARTERS Emeryville, California, United

States

FOUNDER(S) Ed Catmull
Alvy Ray Smith
Steve Jobs

KEY PEOPLE Jim Morris (President)

Pete Docter (CCO)
John Lasseter (CCO; 2006-
2018)

PRODUCTS Pixar Image Computer

RenderMan
Presto Animation System
Animated /lms

PARENT The Walt Disney Studios

(The Walt Disney Company)

PREDECESSOR(S) The Graphics Group (1979-

1986)

WEBSITE www.pixar.com

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Pixar Animation Studios is an American

computer animation /lm studio based in
Emeryville, California and a part of the Walt Disney
Studios group. The studio has earned 27 Academy
Awards, 8 Golden Globes, and 3 Grammy Awards,
along with many other awards and
acknowledgements.

It is best known for its CGI-animated feature /lms

created with PhotoRealistic RenderMan, its own
implementation of the industry-standard
RenderMan image-rendering application
programming interface used to generate high-
quality images. Pixar began in 1979 as the
Graphics Group, part of the Computer Division of
Lucas/lm before it was acquired by Apple
Computer founder Steve Jobs in 1986. The Walt
Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006 at a
valuation of $7.4 billion; the transaction made
Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney. It is
currently one of the main four Disney branches,
the other three being the Disney Animated Canon,
the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Star Wars.

Pixar has produced twenty-six feature /lms,

beginning with Toy Story in 1995, which is best
known for being the /rst long-length feature /lm
made in CGI animation format ever.

Eighteen of the /lms has received both critical and

/nancial success, with the notable exceptions
being Cars 2, The Good Dinosaur, Onward, and
Lightyear. The former, which, although was a
/nancial success, received substantially less
praise than Pixar's previous /lms, while the latter,
although met with favorable reviews, was a
considered a box oZce [op (mostly due to the

COVID-19 pandemic
). As of December 2013, its feature /lms have
made over $8.5 billion worldwide, with an average
worldwide gross of $607 million per /lm. In
addition, a good majority of the /lms produced by
Pixar are among or have been the top 50 highest-
grossing animated /lms of all time, with Finding
Nemo (#47), Finding Dory (#32), Toy Story 3 (#26),
and Incredibles 2 (#15) all currently in the top 50
highest-grossing /lms of all time.

Since the award's inauguration in 2001, most of

Pixar's /lms have been nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, with
ten winning; Finding Nemo, The Incredibles,
Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside
Out, Coco, Toy Story 4, and Soul. Up and Toy Story
3 are two of only three animated /lms to be
nominated for the Academy Award for Best
Picture.

On September 6, 2009, executives John Lasseter,

Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee
Unkrich were presented with the Golden Lion for
Lifetime Achievement by the Biennale Venice Film
Festival. The award was granted by Lucas/lm
founder George Lucas.

In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Anna referred to it as

"the other studio".

It is a member of Disney's big three animation

studios, the other two are Walt Disney Animation
Studios and 20th Century Animation.

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History of Pixar

Early history

The eleven movies made by Pixar up to 2010.

Pixar was founded as The Graphics Group, one

third of the Computer Division of Lucas/lm which
was launched in 1979 with the hiring of Dr. Ed
Catmull from the New York Institute of Technology
(NYIT), where he was in charge of the Computer
Graphics Lab (CGL). At NYIT, the researchers
pioneered many of the CG foundation techniques
—in particular the invention of the "alpha channel"
(by Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith); years later, the
CGL produced an experimental /lm called The
Works.

After moving to Lucas/lm, the team worked on

creating the precursor to RenderMan, called
REYES (for "renders everything you ever saw") and
developed a number of critical technologies for CG
—including "particle ehects" and various animation
tools.

The team began working on /lm sequences with

Industrial Light & Magic
on special ehects in 1982. After years of research,
and key milestones in /lms such as the Genesis
Ehect in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and the
Stained Glass Knight in Young Sherlock Holmes,
the group, which numbered about 45 individuals
back then, was purchased in February 1986 by
Steve Jobs shortly after he left
Apple Computer
. Jobs paid $5 million to George Lucas and put $5
million as capital into the company.
A factor contributing to Lucas' sale was an
increase in cash [ow diZculties following his 1983
divorce, which coincided with the sudden drop-oh
in revenues from Star Wars licenses following the
release of Return of the Jedi. Pixar spun oh from
Lucas/lm as a result. The newly independent
company was headed by Jobs, who served as
Chairman and Chief Executive OZcer of Pixar. Dr.
Edwin Catmull served as Chief Technology OZcer
and Dr. Alvy Ray Smith as Executive Vice
President and Director. In 2001, Edwin Catmull was
named President of Pixar.

Initially, Pixar was a high-end computer hardware

company whose core product was the Pixar Image
Computer, a system primarily sold to government
agencies and the medical community. One of the
buyers of Pixar Image Computers was Disney
Studios, which was using the device as part of
their secretive CAPS project, using the machine
and custom software to migrate the laborious ink
and paint part of the 2-D animation process to a
more automated and thus eZcient method. The
Image Computer never sold well. In a bid to drive
sales of the system, Pixar employee John Lasseter
—who had long been creating short demonstration
animations, such as Luxo Jr., to show oh the
device's capabilities—premiered his creations at
SIGGRAPH
, the computer graphics industry's largest
convention, to great fanfare.
As poor sales of Pixar's computers threatened to
put the company out of business, Lasseter's
animation department began producing
computer-animated commercials for outside
companies. Early successes included campaigns
for Tropicana, Listerine, Life Savers, and
Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In April 1990, Jobs
sold Pixar's hardware division, including all
proprietary hardware technology and imaging
software, to Vicom Systems, and transferred 18 of
Pixar's approximate 100 employees.

The same year, Pixar moved from San Rafael to

Richmond, California. During this period, Pixar
continued its relationship with Walt Disney Feature
Animation, a studio whose corporate parent would
ultimately become its most important partner. In
1991, after a tough start of the year when about 30
employees in the company's computer
department had to go (including the company's
president, Chuck Kolstad), which reduced the total
number of employees to just 42, Pixar made a $26
million deal with Disney to produce three 3D
computer-animated feature /lms, the /rst of
which was Toy Story. At that point, the software
programmers, who were doing RenderMan and
CAPS, and Lasseter's animation department, who
made television commercials and a few shorts for
Sesame Street, was all that was left of Pixar.

Despite the total income of these products, the

company was still losing money, and Jobs often
considered selling it. Even as late as 1994, Jobs
contemplated selling Pixar to other companies,
among them Microsoft. Only after con/rming that
Disney would distribute Toy Story for the 1995
holiday season did he decide to give it another
chance. The /lm went on to gross more than $350
million worldwide. Later that year, Pixar held its
initial public ohering on November 29, 1995, and
the company's stock was priced at US$22 per
share.

Disney

Disney's Pixar custom logo used from 1995-2007.

Pixar and Disney had disagreements after the

production of Toy Story 2. Originally intended as a
straight-to-video release (and thus not part of
Pixar's three-picture deal), the /lm was eventually
upgraded to a theatrical release during production.
Pixar demanded that the /lm then is counted
toward the three-picture agreement, but Disney
refused. Pixar's /rst /ve feature /lms have
collectively grossed more than $2.5 billion,
equivalent to the highest per-/lm average gross in
the industry.

Though pro/table for both, Pixar later complained

that the arrangement was not equitable. Pixar was
responsible for creation and production, while
Disney handled marketing and distribution. Pro/ts
and production costs were split 50-50, but Disney
exclusively owned all story and sequel rights and
also collected a distribution fee. The lack of story
and sequel rights was perhaps the most onerous
aspect to Pixar and set the stage for a contentious
relationship.

The two companies attempted to reach a new

agreement in early 2004. The new deal would be
only for distribution, as Pixar intended to control
production and own the resulting /lm properties
themselves. The company also wanted to /nance
their /lms on their own and collect 100 percent of
the pro/ts, paying Disney only the 10 to 15 percent
distribution fee. More importantly, as part of any
distribution agreement with Disney, Pixar
demanded control over /lms already in production
under their old agreement, including The
Incredibles and Cars. Disney considered these
conditions unacceptable, but Pixar would not
concede.

Disagreements between Steve Jobs and then

Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner made
the negotiations more diZcult than they otherwise
might have been. They broke down completely in
mid-2004, with Jobs declaring that Pixar was
actively seeking partners other than Disney. Pixar
did not enter negotiations with other distributors.
After a lengthy hiatus, negotiations between the
two companies resumed following the departure
of Eisner from Disney in September 2005.

In preparation for potential fallout between Pixar

and Disney, Jobs announced in late 2004 that
Pixar would no longer release movies at the
Disney-dictated November time frame, but during
the more lucrative early summer months. This
would also allow Pixar to release DVDs for their
major releases during the Christmas shopping
season. An added bene/t of delaying Cars was to
extend the time frame remaining on the Pixar-
Disney contract to see how things would play out
between the two companies.

Pending the Disney acquisition of Pixar, the two

companies created a distribution deal for the
intended 2007 release of Ratatouille, in case the
acquisition fell through, to ensure that this one
/lm would still be released through Disney's
distribution channels. (In contrast to the earlier
Disney/Pixar deal, Ratatouille was to remain a
Pixar property and Disney would have received
only a distribution fee.) The completion of Disney's
Pixar acquisition, however, nulli/ed this
distribution arrangement. Unlike the earlier
Pixar/Disney deal used for the earlier /lms, this
one has the following caveats:

Pixar is responsible for 100% of the production

costs.
Pixar owns the /lm and the rights to the
characters.
Disney is paid only a straight distribution fee.
Acquisition by Disney

Disney announced on January 24, 2006 that it

had agreed to buy Pixar for approximately $7.4
billion in an all-stock deal. Following Pixar
shareholder approval, the acquisition was
completed May 5, 2006. The transaction
catapulted Steve Jobs, who was the majority
shareholder of Pixar with 50.1%, to Disney's largest
individual shareholder with 7% and a new seat on
its board of directors. Jobs' new Disney holdings
exceeded holdings belonging to former CEO
Michael Eisner, the previous top shareholder, who
still held 1.7%; and Disney Director Emeritus Roy E.
Disney, who held almost 1% of the corporation's
shares. Pixar's shareholders received 2.3 shares of
Disney common stock for each share of Pixar
common stock redeemed.

As part of the deal, John Lasseter, by then

Executive Vice President, became Chief Creative
OZcer (reporting to President and CEO Robert Iger
and consulting with Disney Director Roy Disney) of
both Pixar and the Walt Disney Animation Studios,
as well as the Principal Creative Adviser at Walt
Disney Imagineering, which designs and builds the
company's theme parks. Catmull retained his
position as President of Pixar, while also becoming
President of Walt Disney Animation Studios,
reporting to Bob Iger and Dick Cook, chairman of
Walt Disney Studio Entertainment. Steve Jobs'
position as Pixar's Chairman and Chief Executive
OZcer was also removed, and instead, he took a
place on the Disney board of directors.

Lasseter and Catmull's oversight of both the

Disney and Pixar studios did not mean that the
two studios were emerging, however. In fact,
additional conditions were laid out as part of the
deal to ensure that Pixar remained a separate
entity, a concern that analysts had expressed
about the Disney deal. Some of those conditions
were that Pixar HR policies would remain intact,
including the lack of employment contracts. Also,
the Pixar name was guaranteed to continue, and
the studio would remain in its current Emeryville,
California location with the "Pixar" sign. Finally,
branding of /lms made post-merger would be
"Disney•Pixar" (beginning with Cars).

Jim Morris, producer of WALL-E, has been named

general manager of Pixar. In this new position,
Morris is in charge of the day-to-day running of
the studio facilities and products. There were
additional conditions laid out as part of the deal to
ensure that Pixar remains a separate entity, a
concern that many analysts had about the Disney
deal [1]:

If Pixar should pull out of the deal, they must

pay Disney a penalty of US $210 million.
The Disney board would include Steve Jobs.
John Lasseter has the authority to approve
/lms for both Disney and Pixar studios, with
Disney CEO Robert Iger carrying /nal
approving authority.
The deal requires that Pixar's primary directors
and creative executives must also join the
combined company. This includes Andrew
Stanton, Pete Docter, Brad Bird, Bob Peterson,
Brenda Chapman, Lee Unkrich, and Gary
Rydstrom.
There would be a steering committee that will
oversee animation for both Disney and Pixar
studios, with a mission to maintain and spread
the Pixar culture. This committee will consist
of Catmull, Lasseter, Jobs, Iger, Cook, and Tom
Staggs. They would meet at Pixar
headquarters at least once every two months.
Pixar's HR policies would remain intact,
including the lack of employment contracts.
Ensures the Pixar name would continue, and
that the studio would remain in its current
Emeryville, California location with the "Pixar"
sign.
Branding of /lms made post-merger would
"Disney Pixar".
Expansion

On April 20, 2010, Pixar Animation Studios opened

a new studio in the downtown area of Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. The roughly 2,000
square meters studio is primarily producing shorts
and TV specials based on characters from Pixar's
feature /lms. The studio's /rst production was the
Cars Toons episode "Air Mater".

Traditions

While some of Pixar's /rst animators were former

cel animators, including John Lasseter, they also
came from stop motion animation and/or
computer animation or were fresh college
graduates. A large number of animators that make
up the animation department at Pixar were hired
around the time Pixar released A Bug's Life and
Toy Story 2. Although Toy Story was a successful
/lm, it was Pixar's only feature /lm at the time. The
majority of the animation industry was and is still
located in Los Angeles, California, while Pixar is
located 350 miles north in the San Francisco Bay
Area. Also, traditional 2-D animation was still the
dominant medium for feature animated /lms.

With the death of Los Angeles–based animators

willing to move their families so far north, give up
traditional animation, and try computer animation,
Pixar's new-hires at this time either came directly
from the college or had worked outside feature
animation. For those who had traditional
animation skills, the Pixar animation software
(Marionette) is designed so that traditional
animators would require a minimum amount of
training before becoming productive.

In an interview with PBS talk show host Tavis

Smiley, Lasseter said that Pixar /lms follow the
same theme of self-improvement as the company
itself has: with the help of friends or family, a
character ventures out into the real world and
learns to appreciate his friends and family. At the
core, Lasseter said, "it's gotta be about the growth
of the main character, and how he changes."

Pixar has been criticized for its lack of female

protagonists. Brave, Pixar's 13th cinema release, is
the studio's /rst with a female lead (voiced by Kelly
Macdonald). By the MPAA, most of the /lms are
rated G, while 13 of them are rated PG (The
Incredibles, Up, Brave, Inside Out, The Good
Dinosaur, Finding Dory, Coco, Incredibles 2,
Onward, Soul, Luca, Turning Red, and Lightyear).
However, the G rated Cars 2 contained violence
and rude humor, making it be considered to be too
dark for its rating. Except for Cars 2, their /lms
have had positive reviews, with 10 /lms (the only
exceptions being Cars, Brave, Monsters University,
The Good Dinosaur, Cars 3, and Onward) being
above 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.

All Pixar /lms are box oZce successes except for

The Good Dinosaur, which worldwide made $317.5
million on a $200 million budget, and Onward
made $109.4 million in worldwide on a $200
million budget.

Sequels, prequels, and spin-o;s

Toy Story 2 was commissioned by Disney as a

direct-to-video, 60-minute /lm. Feeling the
material was not very good, John Lasseter
convinced the Pixar team to start from scratch
and make that their third full-length feature /lm.
Toy Story 3 was the second big-screen sequel and
was released on June 18, 2010. On June 27, 2011,
Tom Hanks implied that a fourth Toy Story movie
was in the works, and in 2015, Toy Story 4 was
announced for a June 16, 2017 release date.

Pixar states that they believe that sequels should

only be made if they can come up with a story as
good as the original. Following the release of Toy
Story 2, Pixar and Disney had a gentlemen's
agreement that Disney would not make any
sequels without Pixar's involvement, despite their
right to do so. In 2004, after Pixar announced they
were unable to agree on a new deal, Disney
announced that they would go ahead with sequels
to Pixar's /lms with or without Pixar. Toy Story 3
was put into pre-production at the new CGI
division of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Circle 7
Animation.

When Lasseter was placed in charge of all Disney

and Pixar animation following the merger, he
immediately put all sequels on hold; Disney stated
that Toy Story 3 had been canceled. However, in
May 2006, it was announced that Toy Story 3 was
back in pre-production, under Pixar's control when
a new plot had been conceived.

In 2020, Pete Docter revealed a spin-oh to Toy

Story titled Lightyear.

Cars 2, the studio's third theatrical sequel, was

released on June 24, 2011.

Lasseter further fueled speculation on future

sequels when he stated, "If we have a great story,
we'll do a sequel". Cars 2, Pixar's /rst sequel not
based on Toy Story, was oZcially announced on
April 8, 2008.

Monsters University, the prequel to Monsters, Inc.

and Pixar's /rst prequel, was announced on April
22, 2010, for release on November 2, 2012.
However, on April 5, 2011, it was announced that
the /lm's release date had been pushed back to
June 21, 2013, due to the success of Pixar /lms
that are released in the summer, according to
Disney distribution executive Chuck Viane.

In 2014, Brad Bird claimed to have begun pre-

production on a sequel to The Incredibles, with it
being eventually revealed as Incredibles 2.

After Toy Story 4, Pixar chief Pete Docter said that

the studio would take a break from sequels and
focus on original projects. However, in a later
interview, Docter said the studio would have to
return to making sequels at some point as they are
more "/nancially secure and help keep the studio
running." On September 9, 2022, during the D23
Expo, Docter and Amy Poehler (voice of Joy)
con/rmed that Inside Out 2 is in the works,
scheduled to release on June 14, 2024.

Expansion to television

Toy Story was the /rst Pixar /lm to be extended

into television, with the Buzz Lightyear of Star
Command /lm and TV series, plus a series of
shorts known as Toy Story Toons, which not only
run between regular Disney Channel shows, but all
of them were also shown theatrically in front of
certain movies.

Cars was expanded to television via Cars Toons,

two diherent lineups of shorts running between
regular Disney Channel shows. The /rst batch was
known as Mater's Tall Tales (3 to 5 minutes),
where Mater (voiced by comedian Larry the Cable
Guy) tells Lightning McQueen (voiced by Keith
Ferguson) a story about something he did in the
past that is eventually revealed to be real. The
second batch was known as Tales from Radiator
Springs (around 1 minute), where diherent
characters get into a quick scenario. Only 1 of
these shorts feature Owen Wilson reprising
McQueen. The series has also had its own TV
series released on Disney+.

Monsters, Inc. extended into television through

Monsters at Work, which takes place before the
epilogue in the original movie and sees Tylor
Tuskmon trying to get accepted to be part of the
Laugh Floor while helping his friends and co-
workers as a mechanic in the Monsters, Inc.
Facilities Team.

Animation and live-action

All Pixar /lms to date have been computer-

animated features (WALL-E has so far been the
only Pixar /lm not to be completely animated,
featuring a small live-action element). 1906, the
live-action /lm by Brad Bird about the 1906 San
Francisco earthquake, is currently in development.
Bird has stated that he was "interested in moving
into the live-action realm with some projects"
while "staying at Pixar because it's a very
comfortable environment for me to work in."
However, Pixar did develop a live-action reality
show for Disney+, known as Pixar: In Real Life.

Product pipeline

In 2008, Pixar announced Newt, a story about the

last two blue-footed newts in existence destined
to mate to save their species from extinction,
scheduled for release in June 2012. This project
was to be followed by the fantasy /lm The Bear
and the Bow.

In April 2010, Disney/Pixar announced that,

instead, The Bear and the Bow would be released
/rst, under the new name Brave, followed by a
sequel (actually a prequel) to their 2001 feature
Monsters, Inc. later that year. Newt was also
removed from the oZcial Disney A to Z
Encyclopedia supplement by chief archivist Dave
Smith, who con/rmed that the /lm had been
canceled. In May 2011, Pixar CCO John Lasseter
implied that Newt had been shelved due to it
having a similar plot-line to Blue Sky Studios' /lm
Rio.

In April 2012, Pixar announced their intention to

create a /lm centered on the Mexican holiday Día
de los Muertos and to be directed by Lee Unkrich,
under the new name Coco.

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Executive leadership

Up until his death in late 2011, Jobs continued in

his role as chairman and was also the company's
CEO. Catmull remains president. Lasseter —a two-
time Academy Award-winning director and
animator— oversaw all the company's projects as
Executive Vice President of the Creative
Department until 2018, when he left Pixar and
Pete Docter became the new Executive Vice
President of the Creative Department. Other
notable members of the executive team are Sarah
McArthur (Executive Vice President of Production),
Simon Bax (Executive Vice President and CFO),
and Lois Scali (Executive Vice President and
General Counsel).

Exhibitions

Since December 2005, Pixar has held exhibitions

celebrating the art and artists of Pixar, over their
/rst twenty years in animation.

Pixar: 20 Years of Animation

Pixar held one such exhibition, from April to June

2010, at Science Centre Singapore, in Jurong East,
Singapore. It was their /rst time holding an
exhibition in Singapore.

The exhibition highlights consist of work-in-

progress sketches from various Pixar productions,
clay sculptures of their characters, and an
autostereoscopic short showcasing a 3D version
of the exhibition pieces which is projected through
4 projectors. Another highlight is the Zoetrope,
where visitors of the exhibition are shown
/gurines of Toy Story characters "animated" in
real-life through the zoetrope.

The logo is the same as the 1995 version, except

as the screen darkens to reveal only Luxo's light,
"20 Years of Animation" appears on-screen, with
Luxo's light as the "0".

Pixar: 25 Years of Animation

Pixar celebrated 25 years of animation in 2011 with

the release of its twelfth feature /lm, Cars 2. Pixar
had celebrated its 20th anniversary with the /rst
Cars. The Pixar: 25 Years of Animation exhibition
was held at the Oakland Museum of California
from July 2010 until January 2011. The exhibition
tour debuts in Hong Kong and was held at the
Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin, between
March 27 and July 11, 2011.

Pixar: 25 Years of Animation includes all the

artwork from Pixar: 20 Years of Animation, plus art
from Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and Toy Story 3.

The Science Behind Pixar

Main article: The Science Behind Pixar

The Science Behind Pixar is a traveling exhibition,
developed by the Museum of Science in Boston,
Massachusetts in collaboration with Pixar, that
teaches about the production pipeline at Pixar in
the form of the /lmmaking process. The
exhibition's tour started at the Museum of Science
in mid-2015 and is expected to last ten years with
limited tour availability beginning in 2021.

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Films

Toy Story (November 22, 1995) A Bug's Life (November 25,

1998)

Toy Story 2 (November 24,

1999) Monsters, Inc. (November 2,
2001)

Finding Nemo (May 30, 2003)

The Incredibles (November 5,
2004)

Cars (June 9, 2006)

Ratatouille (June 29, 2007)

WALL-E (June 27, 2008)

Up (May 29, 2009)

Toy Story 3 (June 18, 2010)

Cars 2 (June 24, 2011)

Brave (June 22, 2012)

Monsters University (June 21,

2013)

Inside Out (June 19, 2015)

The Good Dinosaur (November

25, 2015)

Finding Dory (June 17, 2016)

Cars 3 (June 16, 2017)

Coco (November 22, 2017)

Incredibles 2 (June 15, 2018)

VIEW MORE

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Short Flms ("Shorts")

Main article: List of Pixar Shorts

The Adventures of André and Wally B. (1984,
Lucas/lm, prior to the creation of Pixar)
Luxo, Jr. (1986, became the source of today's
Pixar logo and is an Academy Award nominee
and released with Toy Story 2 in 1999
complete with an introduction about the
titular lamp becoming a mascot)
Red's Dream (1987)
Tin Toy (1988, Academy Award winner 1988
released on various home video releases of
Toy Story since 2000)
Knick Knack (1989 and released with Finding
Nemo in 2003, albeit remastered, and is the
/nal pre-1995 short to be released with a
feature /lm)
Geri's Game (1997, Academy Award winner
1997 and released with A Bug's Life in 1998)
For the Birds (2000, Academy Award winner
2001 and released with Monsters, Inc. in 2001)
Mike's New Car (2002, based on characters
from Monsters, Inc. and is an Academy Award
nominee)
Boundin' (2003, Academy Award nominee
2003 and released with The Incredibles in
2004)
Jack-Jack Attack (2005, based on characters
and situations from The Incredibles)
One Man Band (2005, Academy Award
nominee 2005 and released with Cars in
2006)
Mater and the Ghostlight (2006, based on
characters from Cars)
Lifted (2006, Academy Award nominee 2006
and released with Ratatouille in 2007)
Your Friend the Rat (2007, based on
characters from Ratatouille)
Presto (2008, Academy Award nominee 2008
and released with WALL-E)
BURN-E (2008, based on characters and
situations from WALL-E)
Partly Cloudy (2009 and released with Up)
Dug's Special Mission (2009, based on
characters and situations from Up)
George & A.J. (also 2009, based on characters
and situations from Up)
Day & Night (2010, Academy Award nominee
2010 and released with Toy Story 3)
La Luna (2011, Academy Award nominee 2011
and released with Brave in 2012)
The Blue Umbrella (2013 and released with
Monsters University)
Party Central (2013, based on characters from
Monsters University and released with
Muppets Most Wanted in 2014)
Lava (2014; was released with Inside Out in
2015)
Riley's First Date? (2015, based on the
characters from Inside Out)
Sanjay's Super Team (2015, Academy Award
nominee 2015 and released with The Good
Dinosaur)
Piper (2016, Academy Award winner 2016 and
released with Finding Dory)
Marine Life Interviews (2016, based on
characters from Finding Dory)
Lou (2017, Academy Award nominee 2017 and
released with Cars 3)
Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool (2017, based on
characters from Cars 3)
Bao (2018 Academy Awards winner and
released with Incredibles 2 as (so far) the last
Pixar short to be theatrically released with a
feature /lm. Future short /lms would be
released exclusively for Disney+ via
SparkShorts)
Auntie Edna (2018, based on characters and
situations from Incredibles 2)
Purl (2019 the /rst installment of the
Sparkshorts series)
Smash and Grab (2019)
Kitbull (2019)
Float (2019)
Wind (2019)
Loop (2020)
Lamp Life (2019, based on characters from Toy
Story 4)
Out (2020)
Burrow (2020)
22 vs. Earth (2021, based on the characters
from Soul)
Twenty Something (2021)
Nona (2021)
Ciao Alberto (2021, based on the characters
from Luca)

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Feature Flm traditions

The Pixar Format

All Pixar features have a common theme. The

setting of the /lm is always a world in which
people/creatures/objects that are not commonly
thought to have normal everyday lives live in
societies resembling modern American society.
For example:

Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Toy

Story 4 — Toys come to life and have
adventures when their owners are away.
A Bug's Life — Insects live in harmony and
have their own hierarchy and tiny little cities.
Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University —
Horrifying monsters live everyday lives in their
own community. Scaring kids is just their day
job.
Finding Nemo and Finding Dory — The ocean,
like Earth's land mass, has its own cities,
schools, and communities ruled by /sh.
The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 —
Superheroes live among us and take ordinary
jobs and have ordinary problems, such as a
greedy boss or a troublemaking son.
Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3 — Vehicles live by
themselves without humans.
Ratatouille — A rat visits Paris and wants to
cook.
WALL-E — A little robot /nds adventure in
space.
Up — An old man's house gets lifted by
balloons and he /nds adventure.
Brave — In a kingdom, a rebellious princess
wants to live as freely as she desires.
Inside Out and Inside Out 2 — Taking place
inside a girl's mind, /ve emotions have con[ict
helping her adjust to a new life in a new place.
The Good Dinosaur — A young dinosaur tries
to /nd his way home with the help of a
strange caveboy.
Coco — A living boy ends up in the Land of the
Dead, a place where people live as skeletons
after they die.
Onward — Takes place in a world consisting of
fantasy creatures that depended on modern
appliances and abandons magic.
Soul — A jazz performer's soul wants to try
and get back into his original body after an
accident.
Luca — A young sea monster explores the
surface above the ocean and shape shifts into
a human.
Turning Red — A con/dent thirteen-year-old
"poofs" into a giant red panda whenever she
gets too excited or stressed due to her
ancestor's mystical connection with red
pandas.
Lightyear — Buzz Lightyear, a young
astronaut, tries to /nd a way back home
through space and time, while also
confronting a threat to the universe's safety
after being marooned on a hostile planet.
Elemental — The spirits of /re, water, earth,
and air live together in a world separated of
the Earth.
Elio — An 11-year-old boy /nds himself
transported across the galaxy and is mistaken
for the intergalactic ambassador of our planet
Earth.
John Ratzenberger

John Ratzenberger, most widely known as the

postman Clih Clavin from the television sitcom
Cheers, is always a character voice, referred to by
the studio as their "good luck charm". The
following is a list of his roles:

Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Toy

Story 4 — Hamm (a piggy bank)
A Bug's Life — P.T. Flea (the manager of a
traveling insect circus)/a [y in his soup at the
Bug Bar.
Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University — The
Abominable Snowman (a yeti)
Finding Nemo — the ringleader of a school of
 moon/sh
The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 — The
Underminer (a supervillain)
Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3 — Mack (a Mack
truck). This includes in-jokes parodying his
use as a voice and characters in parodies of
Toy Story ("Toy Car Story"), Monsters, Inc.
("Monster Trucks, Inc."), and A Bug's Life (using
Volkswagen Beetles) and how the voice is the
same.
Ratatouille — Mustafa (the head waiter)
WALL•E — John
Up — Tom the construction foreman
Brave — Gordon the Guard
Inside Out — Fritz
The Good Dinosaur — Earl
Finding Dory — Bill (a crab)
Coco — Juan Ortodoncia (a skeleton)
Onward — Fennwick (a construction worker)
He also voiced a character in the English dub of
Spirited Away, overseen by John Lasseter. He has
become such a stable part of the company that he
plays on its softball team.

Joe Ranft

Like John Ratzenberger, Pixar animator Joe Ranft

had made the voice of characters in all the Pixar
/lms until "Cars", which was completed after his
untimely passing and noted in the credits of the
/lm. The following is a list of his roles in the /rst
seven Pixar movies:

Toy Story — Lenny the Binoculars

A Bug's Life — Heimlich the
Caterpillar/additional voices including the [y
who demanded a refund
Toy Story 2 — Wheezy the Penguin/Heimlich
the Caterpillar during the outtakes.
Monsters, Inc. - Pete “Claws” Ward/additional
voices
Finding Nemo — Jacques the Shrimp
The Incredibles — additional voices
Cars — Red the /re truck and Peterbilt
(released posthumously)
Following his death, many of his characters were
taken on by his younger brother Jerome, who is
also a Pixar animator.

Bonnie Hunt

Joe Ranft holds the second-long Pixar vocal

performance tenure, but the person who has
appeared in the second most Pixar /lms is Bonnie
Hunt. The following is her list of roles in Pixar
movies:

A Bug's Life – Rosie (a Black Widow spider)

Monsters, Inc. – Ms. Flint (a monster desk
worker)
Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3 – Sally Carrera (a
Porsche 916
)
Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 – Dolly (a stuhed
doll)
Monsters University – Karen Graves (a
monster school teacher)
Onward – Mermaid (a mermaid)
References to Upcoming Films

Some of Pixar's notorious Easter eggs are

references to Pixar /lms that were still in
production at the time of release, making them
references to upcoming Pixar Jlms. Although it
hasn't been as consistent as some of their other
Easter eggs, in recent years it has become a
tradition for Pixar to put in each of their /lms a
cameo of or an allusion to a character from their
following /lm. The /rst Toy Story is the only /lm
not to have a reference to an upcoming /lm.

Examples

A Bug's Life - Woody makes a cameo in one of

the alternate outtakes during the end credits,
an allusion to Toy Story 2.
Toy Story 2 - Geri the repairman has a drawer
of loose eyeballs, a reference to monster Ted
Pauley in Monsters, Inc. when Ted grabs a
handful of loose eyeballs and attaches them
to his face.
Monsters, Inc. - Clown/sh, the main
characters of Finding Nemo, are depicted
three times:
Harryhausen's has a painted mural
featuring a clown/sh.
A Nemo model is seen hanging in the
trailer where Randall is banished.
Boo gives Sulley a Nemo toy.
Finding Nemo has allusions to the two /lms
that followed it:
A boy in the dentist's waiting room is
reading a Mr. Incredible comic book, a
reference to The Incredibles.
A non-anthropomorphic version of Luigi
from Cars drives by when the tank gang
/nally escapes.
The Incredibles - A non-anthropomorphic
version of Doc Hudson from Cars is parked in
a street of Metroville during the /nal battle.
Cars - Whitewall Tires from Luigi's Shop are
the Same ones from Carl and Ellie's truck from
Up.
Ratatouille:
A shadow of Dug from Up is seen when
Remy wanders in an apartment.
Hal, from WALL•E, also makes a cameo.
Your Friend the Rat - WALL•E from the /lm of
the same name is the driver of the vehicle on
Mars. This reference is unique as this was in a
short, not a movie.
WALL•E - Carl Fredricksen's walking stick from
Up can be seen upside down (with the tennis
balls attached to the feet) on two occasions.
Firstly, when WALL•E is about to pull across
the magnifying screen the walker is sitting
behind the iPod. Secondly, when WALL•E falls
down from the ceiling of his truck (after being
knocked there by EVE), he collides with the
walker.
Up - Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story 3 is
placed next to the bed of a little girl.
Toy Story 3:
Finn McMissile from Cars 2 is featured on
a poster in Andy's room.
Also in Andy's room is a "Newt Xing" sign,
an allusion to newt. Even though newt
was canceled, it had been set to be
released in 2012 (two years after Toy Story
3), and as such, this was technically a
reference to an upcoming /lm.
Cars 2 - A car-i/ed version of the DunBroch
family tapestry from Brave appears in the Ye
Left Turn Inn in London.
Brave - A wood engraving of Sulley appears in
the witch's hut. Although Sulley is an original
character from Monsters, Inc., this cameo was
advertised as an allusion to Monsters
University.
Monsters University - Toy versions of dinosaur
characters from The Good Dinosaur appear in
the Scare simulators used for the /nal event
of the Scare Games.
Toy Story of Terror - The paintings hung in the
motel room depict dinosaurs under a tree,
another allusion to The Good Dinosaur.
Toy Story That Time Forgot - According to
director Steve Purcell, the three posters in
Mason's gaming room were allusions to three
of Pixar's then-upcoming /lms: Inside Out,
Cars 3, and Coco.
Inside Out - Giant statues of Forrest
Woodbush and Arlo from The Good Dinosaur
are seen in Riley's memories of the road trip to
San Francisco.
The Good Dinosaur - Hank from Finding Dory
appears at the bottom of the water when Arlo
learns to swim.
Finding Dory - The driver of the truck heading
for Cleveland at the end of the /lm has a
Band-Aid with an image of Lightning
McQueen on his right hand, in honor of Cars 3.
Cars 3:
The image Cruz Ramirez displays to
motivate a homesick trainee is the Santa
Cecilia Grave from Coco.
The Shiny Guitar from Coco is hung on the
wall behind the band playing at the Cotter
Pin Bar at Thomasville.
Coco: As Miguel and Hector are on their way
to the Land of the Dead talent show, an
Incredibles poster is brie[y seen, an allusion to
Incredibles 2.
Incredibles 2:
Woody's hat appears on a billboard when
Elastigirl swings to one of the
Ambassador's helicopters, an allusion to
Toy Story 4.
A Duke Caboom action /gure from Toy
Story 4 is seen in Jack-Jack's playpen.
Toy Story 4 - The pegasus on the side of
Barley Lightfoot's van is seen on the bouncy
castle at the carnival, an allusion to Onward.
Onward - When Colt Bronco knocks over
Barley Lightfoot's Quests of Yore board game,
in the left side on a bookshelf, you can see a
music album of Dorothea Williams, a human
jazz performer in the Pixar /lm, Soul.
Soul - A poster on a travel agency's window
reads "Visit Portorosso", a major location in
Luca.
Luca - There is an Italian record player in
Giulia's bedroom that says "4*Villaggi", a
reference to the boy band 4*Town in Turning
Red.
Monsters at Work - In episode 3, a toy red
panda is seen, an allusion to Turning Red.
Turning Red - Miriam's skateboard has a
sticker of Buzz Lightyear's Star Command logo
and Sox on it, an allusion to Lightyear.
Lightyear - One of the drinks is called "Wade
Water", with a mascot of Wade, referencing
Elemental.
Elemental -TBA
Elio — TBA
Inside Out 2 — TBA
A113

Similar to George Lucas' 1138, the letter-number

sequence A113 is an animation in-joke that
appears in all Pixar /lms to date, except Monsters,
Inc. It is a reference to one of the room numbers at
CalArts (where several of the employees are
alumni).

Examples

Toy Story: As Ms. Davis' license plate number.

A Bug's Life: As a code on a cereal box as Flik
enters the bug city. Also, on the Casey Jr.
Cookies wagon as "Vitamin A113."
Toy Story 2: One of the announcements at the
airport calls for a "LassetAir Flight A113," also
referencing John Lasseter. Appears again on
Ms. Davis' license plate.
Finding Nemo: As the model code for the
diver's underwater camera.
The Incredibles: A room number in Syndrome's
lair, as Level A1, Room #13, the conference
room where Mr. Incredible was attacked by
Omnidroid v.X9.
Cars: Mater's license plate number. Also
appears on the train Lightning McQueen
almost crashed into.
Ratatouille: Git, the lab rat, has a tag on his
left ear that bears the sequence. Also, on the
train in the movie Linguini was watching.
WALL•E: As the directive code for Auto to
carry out. This is the /rst time the sequence
has bore any signi/cance to the movie's plot.
Up: On the sign of the courtroom.
Toy Story 3: Once again as Ms. Davis' license
plate number.
Cars 2: Again as Mater's license plate number
and on Siddeley the spy jet's rudder.
Brave: Appears as "ACXIII" above the front
door of the Witch's cottage.
Monsters University: The number of the
classroom when Sulley bursts in.
Inside Out: GraZti on the wall when Riley gets
a call as she is running away.
The Good Dinosaur: Formed by sticks on the
fence around the chicken pen.
Finding Dory: The license plate on the truck
with CAL in front of it: "CALA113." Also, on
Fluke and Rudder's tags.
Cars 3: Once again as Mater's license plate
number, on the door of Sterling's main oZce in
Rusteze Research Center and on Shannon
Spokes' press sticker.
Coco: Seen in one of Ernesto's albums and on
the door entrance of the "Department of
Family Reunions" in the Land of the Dead's
Grand Central Station.
Incredibles 2: Seen on a dumpster, on the
front of the Metrolev hover train, on the door
entrance of the editing room in DEVTECH
building, on the International Superhero
Accord contract and on the marquee of the
movie theater.
Toy Story 4: Seen on the carpet of Second
Chance Antiques.
Onward: At the end of the /lm, Colt Bronco
receives a call on his police radio of a 1-1-3 in
progress.
Soul: When Joe and 22 go into the Hall of
Everything, the number can be seen on a
street sign.
Luca: Seen on Luca's train ticket to Genoa as
his seat number.
Turning Red - Used on "The Chalker", a line
marker used by Jin Lee labeled as
"Professional Model A113". Also appears as a
seat number on a ticket for a 4*TOWN concert
shown during the credits.
Lightyear - A113 is not fully seen anywhere
during the moving, however during the scene
where the trainees put on their space ranger
suits to avoid the bugs. Commander
Hawethorne's suit number is 01, while
Featheringhamstan's suit, worn by Mo
Morrison at the time, has the number 13.
Making them 0113 when standing side by side.
A few scenes later while they are in stealth
mode, Featheringhamstan's name is
shortened to Featheringha . . 13. Giving us A13.
Elemental — On the sign 'Now Approaching
Element City' three sets of letters are seen. A,
H, and Al. This is a nod to the abbreviations
within the Periodic Table. ('A' is not a real
periodic abbreviation) That is 'H' (Hydrogen)
has an atomic number of 1. And 'Al'
(Aluminum) as an atomic number of 13.
Therefore, A 1 13.
Elio — TBA
Inside Out 2 — TBA
Pizza Planet Truck

The Pizza Planet Truck which featured prominently

in Toy Story appears in each of the Pixar /lms,
except The Incredibles (although it did appear in
the video game). The truck is noticeable for only
showing the letters "Yo" (the only letters left from
the car's brand; "Gyoza"- Gyoza is a Chinese
Food/dish, not "Toyota" as is commonly thought).
In the Cars franchise, the Pizza Planet Truck is
named Todd (who does not speak).

Examples

Toy Story: Buzz and Woody get to Pizza Planet

in this truck so they can catch up to Andy and
his family.
A Bug's Life: As the two bugs are talking about
seeing the light, the truck can be seen on-
screen.
Toy Story 2: The toys steal and drive the truck
to the airport in order to save Woody.
Monsters, Inc.: At the end of the movie,
Randall is thrown through a door and ends up
in a caravan where he is mistaken for a gator.
The caravan is next to the Pizza Planet truck.
It also happens to be the same place as the
one with the bugs (above).
Finding Nemo: While the escape plan is being
shown, as the bags of water cross the road,
the truck drives past.
The Incredibles (video game): The truck is
seen in the level where Dash has 10 minutes
to run to school.
Cars: Todd is seen in the Life is a Highway
scene, and is also next to the Elvis car where
Bob Cutlass and Darrell Cartrip are talking
about the race towards the end of the /lm.
Ratatouille: The truck is seen driving in the
background of the sequence where Remy is
chased by Skinner.
WALL•E: Eve looks in the engine while she is
looking for the plant.
Up: It is shown parked next to the sidewalk in
the city as Carl's house is [oating above.
Toy Story 3: Lotso, Chuckles, and Big Baby ride
on a Pizza Planet truck's rear bumper in the
rain at night to get from Daisy's house to
Sunnyside.
Cars 2: Todd is attending to the Radiator
Springs Grand Prix. He also appears in the
background of a triptych poster of the movie,
in front of Buckingham Palace.
Brave: The truck is a wooden carving in the
Witch's cottage.
Monsters University: The Pizza Planet truck is
parked outside the /rst house party.
Inside Out: In a memory orb that Bing-Bong
knocks down, in a memory orb that Bing-Bong
holds on the Train of Thought, and in several
memory orbs at headquarters during the time
Riley is trying out for hockey.
The Good Dinosaur: There is an asteroid
shaped like it in outer space at the beginning
of the /lm.
Finding Dory: It is shown underwater during
the giant squid chase scene.
Cars 3: Todd is seen participating in the
demolition derby race, losing his rocket topper
in the process.
Coco: The truck is seen passing by the Riveras'
during the "no music" montage.
Incredibles 2: The truck is stylized in 60s style
and is seen outside the apartment where
Screenslaver resides.
Toy Story 4: The truck is seen in the form of a
tattoo on Axel the Carnie's leg.
Onward: At the tollgate when Ian and Barley
start their adventure by heading to the
Manticore's Tavern. The text on the rocket
reads "Pizza Realm", as to keep in tone with
the fantasy theme.
Soul: The truck can be seen on a street sign in
the Hall of Everything.
Luca: The truck is seen as a three-wheeled
pickup truck.
Turning Red: The truck is seen when Mei is
going to the Skydome in the traZc scene.
Lightyear: The truck is seen as a futuristic
pickup truck.
Elemental: TBA
Elio: TBA
Inside Out 2: TBA
Luxo Ball

The yellow ball with the blue stripe and red star
that /rst appeared in Luxo Jr. was used in many
projects.

The Chinese food's box

It's a box of Chinese food wearing the inscription

⼭珍海味 (shānzhēnhǎiwèi), who means "exotic
delicacies" or "abundant food".

Teaser trailers

The Pixar teaser trailers since A Bug's Life consist

of footage created speci/cally for the trailer,
spotlighting certain central characters in a comic
situation. Though similar scenes and situations
may appear, these sequences are not in the /lms
being advertised, but instead are original
creations. They basically get us introduced to
certain characters.

Examples

A Bug's Life: All the insects from the circus

troupe and Flik gather onto a leaf right before
Heimlich bites the end of it oh, causing them
to fall.
Toy Story 2: The green alien toys come up to a
center with the claw coming down. First, the
claw was carrying down Toy Story with the
aliens doing their trademark "Oooh". Second,
the claw brings down a "2" and with the aliens
turning around and looking at the audience
and saying "Twoooo". Then Woody and Buzz
come up with little greetings.
Monsters, Inc.: Sulley and Mike stumble into
the wrong bedroom. (Also, in a preview show
before the /rst Harry Potter /lm, Sulley is
shown playing charades with Mike, but Mike is
unable to guess the phrase 'Harry Potter', but
the end states that Monsters, Inc. is playing
right next door.)
Finding Nemo: Marlin asks the school of /sh
for directions and Dory scares them away.
The Incredibles: An out-of-shape Mr.
Incredible struggles to get his belt on.
Cars: Mater, a rusty tow truck, talks to
Lightning McQueen after hitting and killing a
baby bumblebee.
Ratatouille: Remy, a grayish-blue rat, steals a
piece of cheese by a food café.
WALL•E: Andrew Stanton talks about a time
when they went to lunch in the summer of
1994 and had great ideas (Toy Story, A Bug's
Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and WALL-
E) WALL•E pops out of his yellow body. Then,
he makes a cube out of trash. Then, when he
puts the cube into a cube of trash square, he
looks up at the sky turning to night. Then he
says "WALL•E (Walla-Eee!)"
Up: A bunch of balloons lift a house and in the
house we see Carl sitting on the front porch.
He says "Afternoon".
Toy Story 3: All the toys in Andy's bedroom
look like they're building something. Then they
show that they have built the Toy Story 3 logo.
Then Woody bumps into Buzz, who has built a
more re/ned logo. Later, Woody puts up a set
of magnets that say "June 18, 2010" (the
release date). Then when Woody leaves, Buzz
puts up another re/ned logo, and Woody; who
is oh-screen says, "I saw that!", then Buzz
leaves nervously.
Cars 2: Lightning McQueen and Mater are
caught in red lasers.
Brave: Merida, in her normal dress, stumbles
into the hall of stones alone, sensing Mor'du's
presence from a distance as she prepares to
attack.
Monsters University: Sulley invites all the
students of MU and they start throwing a
party in Mike's room, much to Mike's dismay as
he is used as a disco ball. There are four
diherent versions of this where Mike says
something diherent in his sleep.
Inside Out: The characters from Pixar's
previous /lms display their emotions. Then
Joy introduces herself, Anger, Fear, Sadness,
and Disgust and they are seen doing a group
hug in Riley's mind.
Finding Dory: The scene where Dory sleep-
swims is played out diherently, and she sleep
swims further than in the /lm.
Cars 3: Lightning McQueen's crash in the Los
Angeles 500 race takes place during daytime
and is grittier.
Coco: Dante gets a bone which brings him to
a painful adventure to Santa Cecilia's
graveyard, A visitor from the Land of the Dead
takes the bone. Dante then chases the
skeleton. The short ends with the skeleton
walking away while dragging the xolo who
clings to him via the femur bone.
Incredibles 2: The animation of Jack-Jack
using his eye lasers is used in creating the
logo. Later, the scene where Bob Parr
discovers Jack-Jack's powers takes place in
the living room and a portion of his hair is cut
by Jack-Jack's laser, which was not seen in
the /lm.
Toy Story 4: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Mr. Potato
Head, Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, one of
the aliens, Slinky, and Forky move in a circle
while holding hands until Forky panics about
not belonging here and breaks from the circle,
 causing the other toys to crash into each
other.
Onward: Ian has to fend oh winged unicorns
as he takes out the trash, before joining his
brother on a quest (which he preferred to
have it be a small errand).
Soul: 22 does a funny cowboy dance after
Joe's question on "What would you like to be
remembered for?" Which disappoints him.
Luca: A brief scene of Ercole spotting
something in the water, which he says to
Guido "Did you see that?"
Elemental: A vast subway approaches on a
waterway. Ember is seen in a metallic covering
to keep the others safe and herself hidden
aside from her face. The audience is shown
the looks of the various air, water, and Earth
elements and how they interact with one
another. Along with how each of them have
their own qualities. The bus suddenly brakes
and Ember drops her headphones and she is
about to get them, along with another water
element; Wade. He accidentally releases a
water droplet on her, having her quietly hiss in
pain. The camera pans to his nervous face as
he apologizes. Ember takes oh her hood,
revealing her /ery self. The screen turns to
black as Wade and Ember introduce
themselves.
Elio: TBA
Inside Out 2: TBA
Theme of Friendship

The central theme of Pixar is the true meaning of

friendship, where a majority of /lms have dynamic
duos or groups.

Examples

Toy Story franchise: Woody and Buzz

A Bug's Life: Flik and the colony or Flik and the
circus bugs
Monsters Inc. and Monsters University: James
P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski
Finding Nemo and Finding Dory: Marlin and
Dory for the /rst movie, then Dory and Hank
for the second one
The Incredibles movies: The Parr family
Cars franchise: Lightning McQueen and Mater
(general), Lightning and Doc Hudson (/rst
movie), Mater, Finn McMissile, and Holly
Shiftwell (second movie), and Lightning and
Cruz Ramirez (third movie)
Ratatouille: Remy and Linguini
WALL-E: WALL-E and EVE (romantic duo
which is a /rst for the friendship theme)
Up: Carl Fredricksen and Russell
Brave: Princess Merida and Queen Elinor
(mother and daughter duo)
Inside Out movies: Joy and Sadness
The Good Dinosaur: Arlo and Spot
Coco: Miguel Rivera and Hector
Onward: Ian and Barley Lightfoot (dynamic
brother duo)
Soul: Joe Gardner and 22
Luca: Luca Paguro, Alberto Scorfano, and
Giulia Marcovaldo
Turning Red - Mei Lee, Miriam Mendelsohn,
Abby Park, and Priya Mangal
Lightyear - Buzz Lightyear, Sox, Izzy
Hawthorne, Mo Morrison, and Darby Steel
Elemental — Wade and Ember
Elio — TBA
Theme of Self Improvement

Pixar's /lms have a recurring theme of self-

improvement.

Examples

Toy Story: Woody, who was Andy's favorite, is

jealous of Buzz Lightyear becoming Andy's
favorite. At the end, however, he does not
mind whether he is Andy's favorite, just as
long he is always there for him.
A Bug's Life: An ant colony originally saw
themselves as weak, puny, and unable to /ght
by themselves, leaving them at the mercy of
the grasshoppers. However, Flik eventually
made them realize that they are actually
stronger than the grasshoppers, as they
outnumber them, and eventually manage to
defeat them and exile them from Ant Island.
Toy Story 2: Woody was horri/ed by the
thought of Andy outgrowing him, but
eventually realized that, while it's inevitable,
he can at least enjoy the time he has left with
him.
Monsters Inc.: Sully is proud of how scary he is
and is excited about possibly breaking the all-
time scare record. In the end, he realizes
scaring is not really so good, and even has the
whole factory making children laugh instead.
Finding Nemo: Marlin, at /rst, is a paranoid
father who over-reacts to everything that has
to do with his son, Nemo. In the end, he is not
as safety-conscious.
The Incredibles: Bob prefers to work as a
superhero alone. In the end, he realizes the
importance of teamwork and lets his family
help him.
Cars: Lightning McQueen is arrogant and
believes winning is all that matters. In the end,
he realizes it is not and even helps another
race car in the Piston Cup tie-breaker cross
the /nish line despite it costing him the race.
Ratatouille: Django originally thought that it is
impossible for a rat to be something more
than a scavenger, and that it is impossible for
them and humans to get along. However, after
seeing his son, Remy's passion for cooking
and Linguini's loyalty to him, realizes that they
can indeed be something greater than what
they seem and that humans and rats can be
friends.
WALL-E: The people aboard the Axiom are
overweight and rely on AI machines to do the
most basic of things, including moving about.
At the end, after AUTO and the other
machines mutiny, the people are walking
about on their own two feet.
Up: Carl Fredricksen refuses to leave his
house, because it keeps him closer to his late
wife, so much that when he is forced to move
out via court-order. He attaches millions of
balloons to it, he cares about it more than he
does about living creatures (like Kevin). In the
end, he decides it is just a house, and realizes
his new-found friendship is more important,
as well as having new adventures with them.
Toy Story 3: Woody tries to see the good in
Andy no longer being a kid, but not doing any
good. Eventually, he learns to let go of his
insecurities about his owner growing up and
have him and the remaining toys of Andy's be
passed on to another kid.
Cars 2: Mater originally thought that he wasn't
much help to people due to just being a tow
truck. In the end, with a little help from
Lighting McQueen and Holly, he realizes that
he is more important than he thought, and
uses his advantages to help his friends.
Brave: Merida is constantly arguing with her
mother about wanting diherent things. In the
end, they see each other's arguments and
make amends.
Monsters University: Mike aims to be a great
scarer. When he realizes he is not scary, he is
shattered. He eventually realizes his strengths
are in coaching scary looking monsters.
Inside Out: Joy thinks Sadness is bad for Riley
because she thinks Sadness would only make
Riley feel miserable. However, in the end, she
realizes Sadness actually helps Riley
experience true happiness.
The Good Dinosaur: Arlo is cowardly and low in
self-con/dence. He goes on a big adventure
with a human, and afterward he is brave and
con/dent.
Finding Dory: Hank, the septopus supposed to
be released back to the ocean, desperately
decides to go to an aquarium in Cleveland
instead of being sent back to the ocean due to
a traumatic experience where he loses a
tentacle, but eventually learns that life in the
ocean is better than being isolated in a box.
Cars 3: Lightning McQueen, being
overshadowed by a newer and more advanced
generation of racers, decides to improve his
speed in order to save his career, even if the
newer methods never seem to work on him
and he still hasn't improved, but eventually
decides to have Cruz race on his behalf while
he coaches her, learning that just because
he's not actually racing does not mean he
cannot actually play a big part in the sport.
Coco: The Rivera Family believes that music is
a curse when an ancestor chooses to follow
his dream of becoming a musician, but
eventually learn that said ancestor did care
about his family after all (as his still-surviving
daughter secretly kept his memory alive
throughout her life with poems and letters
sent to her from him throughout his lifetime),
and the family learns that music is not really
that bad and /nally accept it in their lives.
Incredibles 2: Bob tries to be a better father to
his kids.
Toy Story 4: Woody becomes less prominent to
his and the other toy's new owner and is in
denial about the reality of his situation and his
insecurities. He eventually learns that he has
ful/lled his purpose as a child's toy and
decides to be with his love-interest (who also
has no owner), and help other toys /nd new
owners.
Onward: Ian Lightfoot is insecure and lost
because he never knew his deceased father
and wants to spend what little time he has
with when he is magically revived for a day.
But he learns that while his father may have
not been with him in his life, he already
achieved everything he wanted to do with
him, but with his family instead (especially his
older brother, Barley) and thus his spirit lived
in them all this time, and he can move on with
his life.
Soul: Joe hooks his life around getting his big
break that when he gets into a situation where
his body is switched out with an unborn soul,
he starts to see his life in a diherent
perspective. After being disappointed from
the outcome of his gig, he realizes that life
does not need a purpose to be meaningful.
Luca: Luca and Alberto wanted to win the
prize money in the Portorosso Cup (without
revealing their sea monster identities) to buy a
Vespa so they can travel the world. They team
up with Giulia to win the race, but as they
train, Alberto grows jealous of Luca and
Giulia's friendship and him wanting to go to
Giulia's school in Genova, but after they reveal
their sea monster forms to the townsfolk and
winning the race, they /nally accept sea
monsters, and Luca and Alberto got their
Vespa, but eventually, Alberto sold it for Luca's
ticket to Genova so that Luca can go to school
with Giulia.
Turning Red: Meilin Lee is con/dent and
independent because her life as a teenager
has been perfect through the trials and
tribulations of growing up until she starts
turning into a red panda whenever she feels
any strong emotion. She becomes upset
about it at /rst, but after using the panda for
fun with her friends (who wanted to go to the
4*Town concert), she eventually learns that
the panda isn't so bad as she has embraced
herself for who she truly is and decides to
keep the panda.
Lightyear: Buzz Lightyear tries to /nd a way to
get back home through hyper speed after
being marooned on a hostile planet while
teaming up with his robotic cat and ambitious
recruits. However, after learning that traveling
further back in time would wipe out the
current timeline and everyone in it, he realizes
that life on the planet is more important than
/nishing the mission.
Elemental: TBA
Elio: TBA
Inside Out 2: TBA

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Gallery

Posters

Toy Story A Bug's Life

Monsters, Inc. Finding Nemo

The Incredibles Cars

Ratatouille WALL-E

Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible

representing Pixar on a
Disney+ promotional poster

Up

Logos

Original logo (1986-1989) Original Theatrical logo (1986-

1989)

Original logo (1995-2007)

Enhanced logo (2008-2018)

Enhanced logo (2019-present)

3D logo (2009-2018)

WALL-E Closing Variation

Presto variation

Incredibles 2/Auntie Edna

A LEGO version of the logo, as
Variation
seen in LEGO The Incredibles

Toy Story 4 Opening Variation

Toy Story 4 Opening Variation
Pt. 1
Pt. 2

Toy Story 4 Closing Variation

Pixar Popcorn Variation

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Franchises

This a list of Pixar movies that became franchises

after getting 1 or more sequel and/or prequel /lms,
short /lms, or TV specials based on the /lms.

Title Release date [Collapse]

Toy Story 1995-Present

A Bug's Life 1998

Monsters, Inc. 2001-Present

Finding Nemo 2003-Present

The Incredibles 2004-Present

Cars 2006-Present

Ratatouille 2007

WALL-E 2008

Up 2009-Present

Brave 2012

Inside Out 2015-Present

The Good Dinosaur 2015

Coco 2017-2021

Onward 2020

Soul 2020-2021

Luca 2021

Turning Red 2022

Elemental 2023

Elio 2024

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See also

Walt Disney Animation Studios

External links

Pixar Wiki
The Pixar Story: Dick Shoup, Alex Shure,
George Lucas, Steve Jobs, and Disney, by Tom
Hormby, January 23, 2006
Pixar/Disney conference call (with audio)
Pixar History

Blogs

Luxo
UpcomingPixar
The Pixar Blog

v-e-d [Expand]

v-e-d [Expand]

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