Entertainment/Pixar Films

Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the computer division of Lucasfilm before its spin-out as a corporation in 1986 with funding by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs

The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006 at a valuation of $7.4 billion, a transaction that resulted in Jobs becoming Disney's largest single shareholder at the time. Luxo Jr., the desk lamp character from a 1986 Pixar short film of the same name, is the mascot of the studio

The company is based in Emeryville, California

Pixar is best known for its CGI-animated feature films created with PhotoRealistic RenderMan, its own implementation of the industry-standard RenderMan image-rendering application programming interface used to generate high-quality images

A113 is an inside joke in animated films created by alumni of California Institute of the Arts, referring to the classroom used by graphic design and character animation students including John Lasseter and Brad Bird. It has appeared in every Pixar movie

The Pizza Planet truck appears in every Pixar film except The Incredibles

John Ratzenberger has had a voice part in all of Pixar's feature films made to date

Directors

John Lasseter oversees all of Pixar's films and associated projects as executive producer. In addition, he directed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, and Cars 2. Since 2007, he also oversees all of Walt Disney Animation Studios' films

Andrew Stanton wrote and directed A Bug's Life (as co-director), Finding Nemo, WALL-E and Finding Dory. He also co-wrote all four Toy Story films and Monsters, Inc.

Pete Docter directed Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out and Soul, and is a key figure and collaborator in Pixar Animation Studios

Brad Bird directed The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Both films place among Pixar's highest-grossing features and gave Brad Bird two Academy Award for Best Animated Feature wins. He also directed Incredibles 2 which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature

Lee Unkrich started at Pixar as a film editor. After co-directing Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo, Lee Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with Toy Story 3. He also directed Coco

Music

Randy Newman has scored nine Pixar films – A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Cars 3, Monsters University, and all four Toy Story films

“You've Got a Friend in Me” is a song written and first recorded by Randy Newman. Originally written as the theme song for Toy Story, it has since become the theme song for the three sequels

Thomas Newman is the cousin of Randy Newman. He scored Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Finding Dory

Michael Giacchino composed the scores for The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up, Cars 2, Inside Out, Coco, and Incredibles 2

The Films

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story follows a group of anthropomorphic toys who pretend to be lifeless whenever humans are present, and focuses on the relationship between Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The toys are owned by a boy named Andy Davis.

Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase is "To infinity... and beyond!"

Toy Story was the first Disney/Pixar film to be made, as well as the first feature film in history to be made entirely with CGI

Woody                    Tom Hanks

Buzz Lightyear        Tim Allen

Mr. Potato Head      Don Rickles

Slinky Dog              Jim Varney. A dachshund

Rex                        Wallace Shawn. A green Tyrannosaurus rex

Hamm                    John Ratzenberger. A piggy bank

Bo Peep                 Annie Potts. A shepherdess and Woody’s love interest

Andy Davis             John Morris

A Bug’s Life (1998)

Tells the tale of an oddball individualist ant, Flik, who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" (actually circus performers) to fight off greedy grasshoppers. The film is a retelling of Aesop's fable The Ant and the Grasshopper

Flik                         Dave Foley

Hopper                   Kevin Spacey. Dictator of the grasshopper gang

Princess Atta          Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The soon-to-be queen of the colony

Dot                         Hayden Panettiere. Princess Atta's younger sister

Queen                    Phyllis Diller. The leader of the ant colony

P.T. Flea                 John Ratzenberger  The owner of the circus

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Woody is stolen by a toy collector, Al McWhiggin, prompting Buzz Lightyear and his friends to vow to rescue him.

Bullseye is Woody’s horse. Evil Emperor Zurg is a space villain action figure and Buzz Lightyear's archenemy

Woody                    Tom Hanks

Buzz Lightyear        Tim Allen

Mr. Potato Head      Don Rickles

Slinky Dog              Jim Varney

Rex                        Wallace Shawn

Hamm                    John Ratzenberger

Bo Peep                 Annie Potts

Andy Davis             John Morris

Jessie                     Joan Cusack

Mrs. Potato Head    Estelle Harris

Barbie                    Jodi Benson

Stinky Pete             Kelsey Grammer

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

The film centres on two monsters employed at the titular Monsters, Inc.: top scarer James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and his one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski. Monsters, Inc. employees generate their city's power by targeting and scaring children, but they are themselves afraid that the children may contaminate them. Randall “Randy” Boggs, a multi-legged lizard-shaped monster with a chameleon-like ability to change skin colour and blend in completely with his surroundings, is Mike and Sulley's rival in scream collection

Sulley                               John Goodman

Mike                                 Billy Crystal

Randy                              Steve Buscemi

Abominable Snowman       John Ratzenberger

Finding Nemo (2003)

Tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who along with a regal tang called Dory, searches for his son Nemo. Along the way he learns to take risks and that his son is capable of taking care of himself

Marlin                     Albert Brooks

Dory                       Ellen DeGeneres

Nemo                     Alexander Gould

Gill                         Willem Dafoe

Bruce                     Barry Humphries

The Incredibles (2004)

The film's title is the name of a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers and live a quiet suburban life. Mr. Incredible's desire to help people draws the entire family into a battle with a villain (Syndrome) and his killer robot

The Pizza Planet truck appears in every Pixar film except The Incredibles

Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible    Craig Nelson

Helen / Elastigirl                Holly Hunter

Violet Parr                        Sarah Vowell

Dash Parr                         Spencer Fox

Frozone                            Samuel L Jackson. Bob’s best friend

Edna Mode                       Brad Bird. Costume designer

Cars (2006)

While traveling to California for the dispute of the final race of the Piston Cup against The King and Chick Hicks, Lightning McQueen accidentally damages the road of the small town Radiator Springs and is sentenced to repair it. Lightning McQueen has to work hard and finds friendship and love in the simple locals.

Pixar's last film before the company was bought by Disney. It is the second Pixar film – after A Bug's Life – to have an entirely non-human cast

Lightning McQueen           Owen Wilson

Doc Hudson                      Paul Newman. A 1951 Hudson Hornet

Sally Carrera                     Bonnie Hunt. A 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera

Mater                                Larry the Cable Guy. A 1951 tow truck

Ratatouille (2007)

The plot follows Remy, a rat who dreams of becoming a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a Parisian restaurant's garbage boy, Linguini. The restaurant was made famous by Reme’s culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Remy guides Linguini like a marionette by pulling on his hair while hidden under Linguini's toque

Remy                     Patton Oswalt

Skinner                   Ian Holm. Head chef

Linguini                   Lou Romano

Anton Ego              Peter O’Toole. Food critic nicknamed “The Grim Eater”

Colette                   Janeane Garofalo. Gusteau's rôtisseur (roast cook)

WALL-E (2008)

Follows the story of a robot named WALL-E who is designed to clean up a polluted Earth, facilitated by the megacorporation Buy 'n' Large ("BnL") in 2805. He eventually falls in love with another robot named EVE, and follows her into outer space on an adventure

WALL-E – Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth class

EVE – Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator

Sigourney Weaver is the voice of the Axiom‍ '​s computer

WALL-E so far has been the only Pixar film to not be completely animated, as it featured a small element of live-action footage

WALL-E                  Ben Burtt

EVE                       Elissa Knight

Captain McCrea      Jeff Garlin. Commander of the starliner Axiom

Up (2009)

The film centres on an elderly widower, named Carl Fredricksen, and a young Wilderness Explorer, named Russell, who fly to South America in a house suspended by helium balloons. Carl idolizes famous explorer Charles Muntz. Muntz has been accused of fabricating the skeleton of a giant exotic bird he says he discovered at Paradise Falls, and vows to return there to catch one alive

Carl Fredericksen    Ed Asner

Russell                   Jordan Nagai

Charles Muntz         Christopher Plummer

Dug                        Bob Peterson. A Golden Retriever

Kevin                      Pete Docter. The “Beast of Paradise Falls”, a large prehistoric bird

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Andy is now 17 and ready to head off to college. When the toys are accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare they are welcomed by Lotso but soon they discover that the children mistreat them

Woody                    Tom Hanks

Buzz Lightyear        Tim Allen

Mr. Potato Head      Don Rickles

Slinky Dog              Blake Clark

Rex                        Wallace Shawn

Hamm                    John Ratzenberger

Andy Davis             John Morris

Jessie                     Joan Cusack

Mrs. Potato Head    Estelle Harris

Barbie                    Jodi Benson

Lotso                      Ned Beatty. Full name Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear

Ken                        Michael Keaton

Mr. Pricklepants      Timothy Dalton. A hedgehog

Stretch                   Whoopi Goldberg. An octopus

Bonnie                    Emily Hahn

Cars 2 (2011)

Lightning McQueen and Mater head to Japan and Europe to compete in the World Grand Prix, but Mater becomes sidetracked with international espionage

Lewis Hamilton voices himself in Cars 2

Despite being the first and so far the only Pixar to receive mixed reviews from critic, it was both a commercial and box office success

Finn McMissile                  Michael Caine

Holly Shiftwell                   Emily Mortimer

Miles Alexrod                    Eddie Izzard

Francesco Bernoulli           John Turturro

Brave (2012)

Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of a princess named Merida who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire to not be betrothed. After consulting a witch for help, Merida accidentally transforms her mother into a bear and is forced to undo the spell herself before it is too late

Merida                    Kelly Macdonald

Queen Elinor           Emma Thompson

King Fergus            Billy Connolly

The Witch               Julie Walters

Lord Dingwall          Robbie Coltrane

Monsters University (2013)

Prequel to Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley start off as rivals at college, but slowly become best friends. Sulley joins the prestigious Roar Omega Roar fraternity. Mike joins the Oozma Kappa fraternity

Mike                                 Billy Crystal

Sully                                 John Goodman

Randy                              Steve Buscemi

Abominable Snowman       John Ratzenberger

Dean Hardscrabble           Helen Mirren. Chair of the Scarer program at Monsters University

Inside Out (2015)

The film is set in the mind of an 11-year-old girl, Riley, where five personified emotions try to lead her through life as she moves with her parents from Minnesota to San Francisco

Pete Docter first began developing Inside Out in 2009 after noticing changes in his daughter's personality as she grew older

Riley Andersen       Kaitlyn Dias

Joy                         Amy Poehler

Sadness                 Phyllis Smith

Fear                       Bill Hader

Anger                     Lewis Black

Disgust                   Mindy Kaling

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

In an alternate timeline where Earth was never hit by an asteroid and dinosaurs never became extinct, a young Alamosaurus named Arlo loses his father in a tragic accident. He befriends a human caveboy that he names Spot

Arlo                        Raymond Ochoa

Spot                       Jack Bright

Butch                      Sam Elliott. A Tyrannosaurus

Finding Dory (2016)

Finding Dory is focused on the amnesiac character Dory, who journeys to be reunited with her family. Sequel to Finding Nemo. Became the second Pixar film to gross $1 billion after Toy Story 3

Marlin                     Albert Brooks

Dory                       Ellen DeGeneres

Nemo                     Hayden Rolence

Hank                      Ed O’Neill. An octopus

Destiny                   Caitlin Olson. A whale shark

Bailey                     Ty Burrell. A beluga whale

Cars 3 (2017)

Lightning McQueen sets out to prove to a new generation of high-tech race cars like Jackson Storm that he is still the best racing car

Lightning McQueen           Owen Wilson

Cruz Ramirez                    Cristela Alonzo. Lightning McQueen's trainer

Jackson Storm                  Arnie Hammer

Smokey                            Chris Cooper

Sterling                             Nathan Fillon. Rust-eze team owner

Mater                               Larry the Cable Guy

Coco (2017)

Inspired by Day of the Dead. A boy seeks the help of a deceased musician to return him to his family among the living and to reverse his family's ban on music.  

Miguel                    Anthony Gonzalez

Hector                    Gael Garcia Bernal

Ernesto de la Cruz  Benjamin Bratt

Mama Imelda          Alanna Ubach

Incredibles 2 (2018)

The Parr family as they try to restore the public's trust in superheroes while balancing their family life

Highest grossing Pixar film and the third to gross $1 billion after Finding Dory and Toy Story 3

Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible    Craig Nelson

Helen / Elastigirl                Holly Hunter

Violet Parr                        Sarah Vowell

Dash Parr                         Huckleberry Milner

Frozone                            Samuel L Jackson

Winston Deavor                Bob Odenkirk

Evelyn Deavor                  Catherine Keener

Toy Story 4 (2019)

The toys are joined by Forky, a spork that Bonnie has made into a toy, and embark on a road trip. Directed by Josh Cooley. Dedicated to Don Rickles and animator Adam Burke

Woody                    Tom Hanks

Buzz Lightyear        Tim Allen

Forky                      Tony Hale

Bonnie                    Madeleine McGraw

Bo Peep                 Annie Potts

Ducky                     Keegan-Michael Key

Bunny                     Jordan Peele

Onward {2020)

Ian and Barley, two elf brothers, set out on a quest to find an artifact that will bring back their dead father

Ian Lightfoot                      Tom Holland

Barley Lightfoot                 Chris Pratt

Laurie Lightfoot                 Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Widowed mother of the brothers

‘Corey’ the Manticore         Octavia Spencer

Soul (2020)

Joe Gardner, a jazz musician and music teacher, seeks to reunite his soul and his body. Film was released to stream on Disney+

Joe Gardner           Jamie Foxx

22                          Tina Fey

Moonwind             Graham Norton

Terry                      Rachel House

Luca (2021)

The film follows Luca Paguro, a sea monster boy with the ability to assume human form while on land, who explores the town of Portorosso on the Italian Riviera with his new best friend, Alberto Scorfano. Film was released to stream on Disney+

Luca Paguro           Jacob Tremblay

Alberto Scorfano     Jack Dylan Grazer

Turning Red (2022)

The film follows "Mei" Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who transforms into a giant red panda when she gets too excited

Meilin "Mei" Lee      Rosalie Chiang

Ming Lee                Sandra Oh

Miriam Mendelsohn Ava Morse

Lightyear (2022)

After being marooned on a hostile planet with his commander and crew, Buzz Lightyear tries to find a way back home and encounters an army of ruthless robots

Buzz Lightyear        Chris Evans

Izzy Hawthorne       Keke Palmer

Sox                        Peter Sohn. A robotic cat

Upcoming Films

Elemental (2023)

Pixar at the Academy Awards

Tin Toy is a 1988 Pixar Animation Studios short film using computer animation. It was directed by John Lasseter and won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

Geri’s Game (1997) and For the Birds (2000) also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

John Lasseter won a Special Achievement Award for Toy Story

The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to win more than one Academy Award

Cars 2 was the first Pixar feature film not to be nominated for any Academy Awards

Best Animated Feature winners – Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside Out, Coco, Toy Story 4, Soul

Monsters, Inc, Cars, Incredibles 2, Onward, and Luca were nominated for Best Animated Feature but did not win

Randy Newman won two Oscars – Best Original Song in 2002 for "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc., and Best Original Song in 2011 for "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3

Up won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, by Michael Giacchino

Up and Toy Story 3 were also the second and third animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (the first being Disney's Beauty and the Beast)

Coco won Academy Award for Best Original Song (“Remember Me”)