| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pixar_2019_logo.png]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350: Assassinating "I"s and making us cry since '79.]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"Story is king."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Pixar's company motto''' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[http://pixar.com Pixar]] is an animation studio based in Emeryville, California. It began in 1979 when Creator/GeorgeLucas used some of his money to form a new division at Lucasfilm known as "Graphics Group". The company originally did this and that for a while, most notably the Genesis planet simulation from ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' and the stained-glass knight from ''Film/YoungSherlockHolmes''. Working there was one Creator/JohnLasseter, a former Disney animator who got fired for trying to push the company to experiment with computer animation. He created a CGI short entitled ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfAndreAndWallyB'' in his downtime, with the assistance of computer genius Ed Catmull. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Seeking money for his divorce costs, and because of the financial failure of ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' and the infamous bomb known as ''Film/HowardTheDuck'', Lucas eventually sold it to Creator/SteveJobs for $10 million. The company was named Pixar after their first product, a video rendering computer intended for medical use. Though it didn't sell very well, Steve Jobs continued to pour money into it, and Pixar repurposed itself as a firm creating computer-animated commercials for companies such as Listerine Mouthwash and Lifesavers candies. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | At the same time, Lasseter continued to use CGI to make short films and showed them around at conventions, specifically the computer-graphics convention SIGGRAPH. While other people were showing landscapes and technical demos, Lasseter's short ''WesternAnimation/LuxoJr'' put storytelling first, demonstrating the narrative ability of the art. [[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Pixar's subsequent shorts]] secured their status as the leader in computer animation. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | In short order, Pixar moved away from medical imaging, instead continuing to refine their proprietary digital rendering software, [=RenderMan=], while making commercials even as they set out to accomplish a very lofty goal -- to make the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 first ever feature-length all-CGI film]]. The rest is history: Pixar signs a distribution deal with Creator/{{Disney}}, Pixar makes a lot of hits, Pixar and Disney boss Michael Eisner have issues, Disney gets a new boss (whose wife was also Steve Jobs' wife's roommate in college), Pixar and Disney kiss and make up, Disney wholly acquires Pixar for more than '''$7 billion''' (for scale, when they bought the entire Marvel empire it cost $4 billion), making Jobs' ten-million-dollar purchase a real steal considering the purchase made him a major shareholder in Disney, and all is well. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | And finally, things come full circle with Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, bringing it under the same umbrella as its own former division. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Pixar's films are well-known for their formula copied by [[FollowTheLeader every western animation company for the past 20 years.]] Nearly all of their films take their subjects and [[{{Deconstruction}} turn them]] [[{{Reconstruction}} on their heads]] ([[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1 friendly monsters who only scare for their day jobs]], [[WesternAnimation/Cars1 race cars who learn to take it slow and that there's more to life than winning]], [[WesternAnimation/WallE robots who teach humans how to feel emotions again]], etc.) and in doing so pack them full of humor (including jokes that go way over the heads of kids) and drama. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | When Pixar makes a movie, more often than not, it will be well done ''at worst''. 21 out of the 27 films released so far [[note]]''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'' being the exceptions[[/note]] have been nominated for at least one Oscar; in 2010, ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' became the second animated film (and first CGI film) to be nominated for Best Picture, and the next year, ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' became the third animated film to get that nomination. Only one of the studio's films (''WesternAnimation/Cars2'') has really failed critically; on Website/RottenTomatoes, the first two ''Franchise/ToyStory'' films have ''perfect scores'' [[note]]the third has a 99% rating, tying it with ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' for second place[[/note]]. Many of their films sit on the Internet Movie Database's "top 250 films" list, and Pixar is usually topping that site's "50 best animated films" list. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Of course, if you think they're not business-minded, keep in mind that except for ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}''[[note]]whose release was severely impacted by the onset of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic[[/note]] and ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', their theatrically-released films have hardly failed financially. Out of their films, only seven [[note]]''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', ''The Good Dinosaur'', ''Cars 3'', ''Onward'' and ''Lightyear'' [[/note]] never broke the $200 million dollar mark in the US; the studio's four highest-grossing films [[note]]''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4''[[/note]] made over a billion dollars worldwide. [[note]]''Toy Story 3'' became the highest-grossing animated film of all time until ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}'' exceeded it, as well as the first animated film to earn a billion. Likewise, ''Finding Dory'' became the highest-grossing animated movie at the domestic box office, shattering the record that was set by ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek 2}}'' more than a decade earlier... until the studio beat their own record with ''Incredibles 2''.[[/note]] The average domestic box office take of a Pixar film is around $250 million, and their films have made almost ten billion dollars total in combined domestic and foreign box office take. Also worth noting: every single Pixar film had opened at the #1 spot in the weekend box office [[BrokenWinLossStreak until]] ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut's'' release in 2015. [[note]]Though ''Inside Out'' ended up being Pixar's second-biggest opening weekend behind ''Toy Story 3'', and is currently the second largest opening for an original film in Hollywood; it didn't reach #1 because Comcast [=NBCUniversal=]'s ''Film/JurassicWorld'' opened the previous weekend, but the two films together bulldozed most of their competition. ''The Good Dinosaur'' was less fortunate, and, unlike ''Inside Out'', never made it to #1. As for ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', it suffered the same fate as ''Inside Out'' by being beaten out at the top spot by a ''Jurassic World'' film. Unlike ''Inside Out'', however, the film never climbed back to the top. ''WesternAnimation/Elemental2023'' opened behind WB’s ''Film/TheFlash2023'' but did better in the long run, winning some individual days despite never spending a weekend at #1.[[/note]] |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Lest you think that they're just a bunch of artists, though, you should know that their first Academy Award wasn't for a movie -- it was for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhotoRealistic_RenderMan PhotoRealistic RenderMan]], the software that they make and license to other filmmakers that fuels an innumerable amount of [=CG=] in films. It was the first Academy Award given out for ''a piece of software''. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | They also seem to be a very personal and humble company: |
| 26 | * 10-year old Colby Curtin was a young girl who was dying of vascular cancer; her dying wish was to see the movie ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', so a family friend cold-called Pixar, [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2009/06/20/colby-curtin-california-g_n_218451.html which eventually led to them flying out an employee with a specially-pressed DVD for a private screening of the film]] just hours before the young girl passed away. Again, Pixar did this [[HumbleHero without any promotion or comments to the press]] in any way. This simple event is simultaneously selfless and heartwarming. |
| 27 | * They did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a4MR8oI_B8 video]] for the ''It Gets Better'' project that really shows the diversity of their staff and their commitment to helping the community. |
| 28 | * Some Pixar employees visited Creator/JasonSegel and Nick Stoller for a few days and gave input on the screenplay for ''Film/TheMuppets2011'', which became a hit. |
| 29 | * They tracked down John Morris, who voiced Andy in the first two ''Toy Story'' films and is all grown up, so he could reprise the role for the third one, 11 years after his last acting role. Similarly, Creator/AlexanderGould, the original voice of Nemo, was too old to reprise the role in ''Finding Dory'', but they gave him a cameo role so he could return anyway. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | Pixar itself is located in Emeryville, California on a huge campus of the type more commonly associated with tech companies in nearby Silicon Valley-- complete with a high-quality cafeteria (with dedicated chef), an exercise facility, a soccer field, and hallways lined with concept art, employee projects, and life-size statues of Pixar characters (including a 2-story-tall Luxo lamp). The best part: it is possible (though difficult) to get tours. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | You can now vote for your favorite Pixar flick [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/Sandbox/BestFilmPixar here.]] |
| 34 | ---- |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | !!Filmography: |
| 39 | |
| 40 | [[index]] |
| 41 | [[folder:Film series]] |
| 42 | * ''Franchise/ToyStory'': |
| 43 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' (1995) -- The world's first feature-length AllCGICartoon stars two toys who have nothing in common--a {{cowboy}} doll who is a kid's favorite toy, and the new toy on the block: [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth a space ranger action figure]] who thinks that he's an actual space ranger. When they find themselves in the house of a nasty kid who loves torturing toys, they'll have to do everything they can to escape. (First {{Creator/Disney}}[=/=]Pixar project. Re-released in 3D in theaters in October 2009)[[labelnote:*]]This movie featured a special Pixar-designed Walt Disney Pictures logo: It starts with the camera zooming out the gates of a CGI castle, followed by the standard opening with the corporate signature and "Pictures" flashing in and the starburst going in an arc over the castle from right to left; a different, march-band type jingle played instead of the "[[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} When You Wish Upon A Star"]] jingle, which segues into the opening of the movie. The Pixar logo is notable for appearing at the ''end'' of the movie as opposed to the beginning, though the logo is grandfathered into the beginning in later releases of the film.[[/labelnote]] |
| 44 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' (1999) -- Left behind by Andy because of an arm rip, Woody gets toy-napped by a toy collector at a garage sale and meets some new, yet strikingly familiar, friends. (Same re-release as ''Toy Story'') |
| 45 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' (2010) -- A teenage Andy is ready to go to college, and his toys are sent to a daycare that's a sweet, sugary wonderland by day, but is actually [[CrapsaccharineWorld the exact opposite by night]]. |
| 46 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' (2019) -- Woody helps Forky, a hand-made toy willed into existence, with an existential crisis, and is reunited with Bo Peep after her absence from ''Toy Story 3''. |
| 47 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'' (2022) -- An origin story for Buzz Lightyear. No, not the toy Buzz we all know, but the “real” Buzz Lightyear that the Buzz toy is based on, the protagonist of the blockbuster movie this film serves as a Main/{{Defictionalization}} of. |
| 48 | ** ''Toy Story 5'' |
| 49 | * ''Franchise/MonstersInc'': |
| 50 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' (2001) -- Two monsters working at a factory scaring children must send home an actual human child running amok in their world. (Re-released in 3D in December 2012) |
| 51 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' (2013) -- Takes place before ''Monsters, Inc.'' where Mike and Sulley meet each other at college. (Pixar's first {{Prequel}} film) |
| 52 | * ''Franchise/FindingNemo'': |
| 53 | ** ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' (2003) -- A clownfish, with help from a blue tang with short-term memory loss, goes on a ocean-sized quest to find his son. (Re-released in 3D in September 2012) |
| 54 | ** ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' (2016) -- The blue tang [[ArcWords just keeps swimming]] in search of her parents. |
| 55 | * ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'': |
| 56 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' (2004) -- Years after the ban of {{superhero}}es, a normal family must relive their heroic days fighting an old foe. |
| 57 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' (2018) -- The Parr family must deal with a changing world while battling a new masked foe. |
| 58 | * ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'': |
| 59 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' (2006) -- A famous race car gets lost in Radiator Springs and meets new friends down at Route 66. |
| 60 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' (2011) -- Lightning [=McQueen=] and Mater travel across the globe while one of them becomes a spy. |
| 61 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'' (2017) -- A new generation of racers surpass [=McQueen=] in talent, so he trains with the help from a peppy technician. |
| 62 | * ''Inside Out'': |
| 63 | ** ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' (2015) -- The lives of [[AnthropomorphicPersonification five emotions]] whose job is to control the personalities of a girl. When two opposing emotions, Joy and Sadness, get lost together, they must find a way back before the girl sinks further into depression. |
| 64 | ** ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut2'' (2024) -- When Riley starts going through puberty, a whole new group of emotions suddenly manifest in her head. |
| 65 | [[/folder]] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[folder:Other feature films]] |
| 68 | * ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' (1998) -- To save his colony from a bunch of evil grasshoppers, an ant enlists the help of a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Ragtag Bunch of Circus Bugs]] who he thinks are "warriors".[[labelnote:*]]This is the first Pixar movie to have the Pixar Animation Studios logo at the start, which features Luxo Jr. hopping in from the right, turning, looking at the I, and hopping on it and squishing it, replacing the I and looking right into the camera as the screen fades out. The end logo at Pixar movies is the exact same sequence, except it has Luxo's light blub remain on as the screen fades out, only for it to turn off a second later, concluding the film. The Pixar logo was at the end on Toy Story due to different distribution agreements at the time.[[/labelnote]] |
| 69 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' (2007) -- When a rat ends up in UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}, France, he hopes to make his dream of becoming a chef come true.[[labelnote:*]]This is the last Pixar Animated Classic to feature the original CGI castle Disney logo, which does not have the march music on it, due to being the final release in the original agreement; all Pixar movies after this use the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo.[[/labelnote]] |
| 70 | * ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' (2008) -- After spending centuries cleaning up the Earth, a robot janitor falls for a shiny, newer robot and ends up launching into space.[[labelnote:*]]First Pixar Animated Classic to forgo the older Toy Story Walt Disney Pictures logo; to symbolize Pixar's integration into Disney, it instead uses the fully-animated 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo with the "When You Wish Upon a Star" excerpt. The end logo features Luxo Jr's light bulb go out before the screen fades out, and WALL•E shows up, screws a new one in, and knocks over the R on the way out, forcing HIM to replace the R; the logo then ends normally before TheStinger that this movie has.[[/labelnote]] |
| 71 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' (2009) -- A balloon salesman takes his own house up to Paradise Falls and is partnered with a [[ScoutOut scout trooper]]. (The first Pixar film released in 3D) |
| 72 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' (2012) -- Taking place in Scotland during TheMiddleAges, a [[Franchise/DisneyPrincess princess]] wants her mother to be changed. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Bad things happen.]][[labelnote:*]]First Pixar Animated Classic to use the alternate 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo that just says "Disney". First Franchise/DisneyPrincess created by Pixar.[[/labelnote]] |
| 73 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' (2015) -- In a world where dinosaurs never went extinct, a young ''Apatosaurus'' finds himself lost and gains the help of a WildChild to get back home. |
| 74 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'' (2017) -- A musical set in Mexico about a music-lover whose family bans music. On the Day of the Dead, he ends up transported to the Land of the Dead, where he learns the importance of family. |
| 75 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'' (2020) -- Two suburban elf brothers search for magic that can allow them to spend one day with their father who died when they were too young to remember him. |
| 76 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'' (2020) -- Right after a middle school music teacher finally gets a chance at his dream of performing jazz onstage, he falls down a manhole into an ethereal plane of existence where souls develop their personalities and passions before inhabiting newborns. [[note]]This movie is Pixar's first direct-to-digital film upon release ([[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic there's a reason for this]]), although it was theatrically released in countries where Creator/DisneyPlus is not yet available.[[/note]] |
| 77 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'' (2021) -- A boy has an amazing summer in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera with his best friend Alberto. However, the duo is hiding a major secret; they're strange sea monsters who only look human when on dry land.[[note]]Another direct-to-Disney+ release due to the pandemic.[[/note]] |
| 78 | * ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' (2022) -- A teenage girl finds herself struggling with changes happening to her mind, life, and body. What makes it worse is that, whenever she gets excited or stressed (which, given her interests and age, is often) she transforms into a giant red panda. [[note]]The third direct-to-Disney+ release.[[/note]] |
| 79 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'' (2023) -- In a city populated by elemental beings based on fire, water, land, and air, a (literally) fiery young woman named Ember and a (literally) go-with-the-flow guy named Wade learn that they may have more in common than they think. |
| 80 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' (2025) -- An 11-year-old boy who can't fit in finds himself going to outer space and making contact with aliens who mistaken him for the intergalactic Ambassador for Earth. |
| 81 | [[/folder]] |
| 82 | |
| 83 | [[folder:TV series]] |
| 84 | * ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' (2000-2001) -- '''Not''' directly produced by Pixar, but they did provide animation for the opening ''Toy Story'' framing device in the PilotMovie ''The Adventure Begins''. |
| 85 | * ''WesternAnimation/DugDays'' (2021) -- Dug settles into his new suburban home, experiencing many things a regular dog would experience. A spinoff of ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' (the first Pixar TV series produced in-house by the studio). |
| 86 | * ''WesternAnimation/CarsOnTheRoad'' (2022) -- Lightning [=McQueen=] and Mater take a road trip across the country, meeting friends old and new along the way. A sequel series to ''WesternAnimation/Cars3''. |
| 87 | * ''Win or Lose'' (2024) -- A middle school softball team prepare for their championship game, with each episode focusing on a different member of the team. (Pixar's first original long-form TV series) |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Short films]] |
| 91 | * WesternAnimation/PixarShorts -- a list of the studio's shorts. |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | [[/index]] |
| 94 | ---- |
| 95 | !!Related topics: |
| 96 | * ''Film/ThePixarStory'' (2007) -- about Pixar's early history. Produced by Leslie Iwerks Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. |
| 97 | * To get a little information about the people behind the 'toons, see Creator/PixarRegulars. |
| 98 | * ''VideoGame/KinectRushADisneyPixarAdventure'': An Platform/Xbox360 Platform/{{Kinect}} video game featuring characters from ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', and the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' franchise. A 2017 remaster for Platform/XboxOne and Platform/MicrosoftWindows added ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and traditional controls, and dropped the Kinect requirement and brand from the title. |
| 99 | * In 2018, the Collective Animation Archive posted on [=YouTube=], in full, a DVD-rip of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvjEKGe7iA0&list=PL0tK8FP89zCITOr5vJZ3oO-KgdWH3BIBb&index=1 Made in Port Richmond]]'': a rare, exhaustive collection of Pixar's shorts, commercials, and wacky holiday party videos. |
| 100 | ---- |
| 101 | !!Tropes commonly used by Pixar include: |
| 102 | |
| 103 | [[folder:#-O]] |
| 104 | * AbandonedMascot: Their first major mascot was Tinny from ''Tin Toy''. He was later replaced with the lamp from ''Luxo Jr''. |
| 105 | * AdvertisingByAssociation: Ads for their movies tend to reference previous Pixar films in this manner. |
| 106 | * AllCGICartoon: TropeCodifier, with ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1''. |
| 107 | * AnimationBump: |
| 108 | ** Pixar often make noticeable technology developments in between films, such as animation of fur in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' and water in ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''. |
| 109 | ** Just take a look at the difference between ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', with only four years and one movie between them; the improvement is astronomical. For comparison, ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' doesn't look ''that'' much better than ''2'' - no need to fix what wasn't broken. ''3'' does look significantly less artificial due to ''eleven'' years and ''seven'' films between them, but also out of necessity: their software had become so sophisticated with those films that they ''couldn't recognize the old software,'' meaning the characters had to be remade from scratch. |
| 110 | ** Pixar also was partly responsible for the Bump that Disney's traditionally animated films went through in TheNineties, since before they started making their own films they helped develop the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) that Disney used to make all of their 2D films after ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}''. |
| 111 | * ArcNumber: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A113 A113]] shows up in every Pixar film. |
| 112 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', it's the license plate number on Andy's mom's car. |
| 113 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', it's written on the side of a cardboard box in Bug City. |
| 114 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', it's once again Andy's mom's license plate, as well as the number of Al's flight to Japan, spoken over the airport's speakers. |
| 115 | ** While it's said to still be in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', nobody has ever conclusively found it in the movie. |
| 116 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', it's the model number on the diver's camera. |
| 117 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', it's spoken rather than seen; Mirage tells Bob to meet her in conference room [=A113=], where he is attacked by Syndrome. Later, Bob is held in Level A1, Cell Block 13. |
| 118 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'', it's Mater's license plate number, and also on the train that nearly runs into Lightning when he jumps the tracks after losing Mack. |
| 119 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', it's a tag on the ear of Git, the lab rat. |
| 120 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', [[spoiler: it's Auto's prime directive to never return humanity to Earth. It's also the only film to use the number for something beyond an EasterEgg]]. |
| 121 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', it's the number of the courtroom for Carl's assault trial. |
| 122 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', it's once again Andy's mom's plate number. |
| 123 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', it's once again Mater's plate number, as well as being written on Siddeley the spy plane. |
| 124 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', it's written in Roman numerals above the door in the witch's cottage. |
| 125 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' calls back to the number's origin; it's the number of Professor Knight's classroom. |
| 126 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', it can be seen as graffiti on a wall as [[spoiler: Riley tries to run away]]. |
| 127 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', it's arranged as a pile of sticks on Arlo's farm. |
| 128 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', the tags on Rudder and Fluke respectively read "[=A1=]" and "13". |
| 129 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', it's again Mater's plate number, and Sterling's office number. |
| 130 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', it's on the office door of the Department of Family Grievances. |
| 131 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', it appears no less than five times: graffiti'd onto a dumpster Frozone hides behind after the Underminer fight; on the runaway hover train Elastigirl stops; on the door of the editing room where Elastigirl discovers the Screenslaver's true identity; in the corner of the International Superhero Accord contract,and on the movie theater marquee at the end. |
| 132 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'', it's stylized on a sign in the antiques shop. |
| 133 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'', it's hidden as a StealthPun in a police dispatch code: "We've got ''a one-one-three''". |
| 134 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', it's on a street sign in the Hall of Everything. |
| 135 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', it's on [[spoiler: Luca's train ticket to Genova]]. |
| 136 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', it's on the cart Jin uses to draw the circle at the climax. |
| 137 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', it's printed on Aisha's office window. |
| 138 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'', it appears as a room number for the Department of Departments. |
| 139 | * ArchEnemy: With Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, though greatly exaggerated by some. |
| 140 | ** FriendlyEnemy: Both of them (and third competitor [[Creator/BlueSkyStudios Blue Sky]], (which was later bought by Disney) among others) were involved in a pact to fix the wages of their employees in 2014. |
| 141 | * ArtEvolution: Invoked. "Art challenges technology, technology inspires art" is one of their mottos for a reason. [[http://aboltoutoftheblue.tumblr.com/post/113918784683/tumbleupondisney-allons-y-el-buzzo-please-take-a Compare]] their first attempt at animating a baby in 1988's ''Tin Toy'' to the scene of Riley as a newborn in 2015's ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut''. "World of difference" doesn't even begin to describe it. |
| 142 | * AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The studio's name (or at least the video rendering computer it was named after) was originally a portmanteau of "picture" and "laser," but Aly Ray, Loren Carpenter and Rodney Stock, who chose the name, thought "Pixer" wasn't catchy enough, so they replaced the "e" with an "a" to make it "Spanish-sounding." They claimed that it was a word they invented which meant "to make pictures" (which is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin what the computer did]]), but it doesn't actually mean anything. |
| 143 | * AuthorAppeal: |
| 144 | ** Much in the same way that the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' directors each had their own take on the same handful of chatacters, each Pixar film reflects on it's director's personal taste. For example, Pete Doctor tends to favor simplistic, almost child-like designs with geometric shapes and bright, primary colors, while Andrew Stanton's films tend to be more ambient. |
| 145 | ** Butt-pinching comes up in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' (Mr. and Mrs. Parr), ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' and the "El Materador" short (the old lady car slapping "Nice Butte" stickers on cars' behinds, Mater and the two Miatas, via yanking their rear bumpers with his crane), and ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' (The King and Queen Elinor). |
| 146 | ** Parental/child relationships, or allegories thereof, are easily the most common narrative theme in their films, the most obvious ones being the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' series, ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', the ''Franchise/FindingNemo'' series, ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'' franchise, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''. Most likely a case of WriteWhatYouKnow, as most of the studio's star employees are parents. |
| 147 | * AvoidTheDreadedGRating: Initially averted; as of their first fourteen films, only [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1 three]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} of]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} them]] were rated PG. However, as UsefulNotes/TheNewTens progressed, it seems like Pixar now plays this trope straight. The final nail to the G-rated coffin was when ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', a sequel to a G-rated film, was granted a PG, despite it being identical to Nemo content-wise. ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' averted this, however. |
| 148 | * AwesomeDearBoy: Why John Lasseter decided he wanted to be an animator: "I get paid to make cartoons!" |
| 149 | * BittersweetEnding: Their films actually put this trope to [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools pretty good use]]. It's common in most Pixar movies for the main protagonist(s) to not get what they want but, through support from others and learning how to deal with it, manage to get over their troubles and continue on with their lives. |
| 150 | * BookEnds: Their first and last films released during the TurnOfTheMillennium (''Monsters, Inc.'' and ''Up'') were both directed by Pete Doctor. |
| 151 | * BrokenWinLossStreak: |
| 152 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' was the first--and so far, only--movie to be met with widely-negative reception from both critics and audiences. However, it still did well at the box office in spite of that, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff and the sequel actually outdid the original at the worldwide box office]]. |
| 153 | ** Both of Pixar's 2015 movies. |
| 154 | *** ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' became their first film to not open at #1 at the North American box office (due to heavy competition from ''Film/JurassicWorld''), although it had the biggest opening ever for a non-sequel movie and went on to do very well, taking the top spot in its third week. |
| 155 | *** ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', on the other hand, became the first film in Pixar's 20 years of movie-making [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/good-dinosaur-analyzing-pixars-first-857317 to lose the studio money]]. The film becoming a BoxOfficeBomb was mitigated by the success of ''Inside Out'', and the smash hit of their immediate follow-up (''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'') allowed the company to take such a blow in stride. |
| 156 | * CelebrityVoiceActor: While just as guilty of this as Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, they tend to get less flack for it because they go for the best-suited voice rather than simply the biggest names on the market. For instance, while ''Finding Nemo'''s leads were voiced by Creator/AlbertBrooks and Creator/EllenDeGeneres, there was little fanfare about it. On the other hand, [=DreamWorks=]'s ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' was headlined by Creator/WillSmith, Creator/AngelinaJolie, and Creator/RobertDeNiro, whose names dominated the film's marketing and whose characters [[InkSuitActor looked frighteningly like them]]; this didn't get them many fans for their movie. |
| 157 | * CentralTheme: Growing up, dealing with insecurities and flaws, morality, dreams and intentions, emotions. |
| 158 | * CharacterInTheLogo: In the logo of Pixar, the flex light jumps on the "I" and substitutes that letter. Also, some films have variations, like WesternAnimation/WallE [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjWzocfBxAk replacing the "R"]]. |
| 159 | * ContinuityNod: They frequently reference past productions, from shorts ([[{{Mascot}} Luxo Jr.'s]] ball is a frequent sight) to movies ([[OnceAnEpisode the Pizza Planet truck]] being the most blatant example) |
| 160 | * DemotedToExtra: Prior to ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', it was a RunningGag, if not an outright rule, that almost every film of theirs would feature an acting role from John Ratzenberger. These roles get increasingly [[TheCameo cameo]]-ish as time goes on. This reached its presumable peak in ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', in which his only line is "Gracias," but then actually went up to eleven in ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', in which, in lieu of featuring him as a voice actor at all, a ''background character'' is a caricature of him. |
| 161 | * DoingItForTheArt: Creator/JohnLasseter, former head of Pixar, said this, relating to this idea: |
| 162 | --> "Yes, we worry about what the critics say. Yes, we worry about what the opening box office is going to be. But really, the whole point of why we do what we do is to entertain our audiences. The greatest joy I get as a filmmaker is to slip into an audience for one of our movies anonymously and watch people watch our film. Because people are 100 percent honest when they're watching a movie. And to see the joy on people's faces, to see people really get into our films... to me is the greatest reward I could possibly get." |
| 163 | * DubNameChange: The release of Pixar movies in Chinese-speaking countries often leads to them being renamed "X Team" in Mandarin, a practice that even spreads to some non-Pixar CGI animated movies. Hence, ''Franchise/ToyStory'' = "Toys Team", ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' = "Insects Team" etc. This sometimes leads to a TitleDrop in the Mandarin dubs, like at the end of ''WesternAnimation/Cars1''. |
| 164 | * DuelingMovies: |
| 165 | ** [[DefiedTrope Averting this trope]] is the reason Pixar stopped production on ''Newt'' (Blue Sky's ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'' had roughly the same plot). |
| 166 | ** Retroactively played straight three times: [[WesternAnimation/{{Antz}} ant]] [[WesternAnimation/ABugsLife movies]], [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo fish]] [[WesternAnimation/SharkTale movies]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}} rat]] [[WesternAnimation/FlushedAway movies]]. |
| 167 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' is a Creator/ReelFXCreativeStudios film about Dia de los Muertos. Pixar later released ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''. ''¡Hijole!'' |
| 168 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Every movie contains a brief appearance by a character from their next movie. For example, [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo Nemo]] appears as a toy in [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1 Boo's]] bedroom. |
| 169 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Pixar is well known for their premier trailers not featuring actual scenes from the film, instead basically being purpose-written short skits to establish the tone and characters of the film with music from the picture's score. However, Toy Story had a traditional trailer with narration and sequences from the film set to [[Music/ThinLizzy Thin Lizzy's]] "The Boys Are Back In Town". |
| 170 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: In several cases, notably the ''Toy Story'' films. |
| 171 | * EasterEgg: The Pizza Planet Truck from ''Toy Story'' appears in every Pixar film, except for ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' (Creator/BradBird [[ShrugOfGod doesn't remember why this is]]): |
| 172 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'': Buzz and Woody hitch a ride in the truck when they get lost at the gas station. |
| 173 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': It's parked next to the mobile home with the bug zapper. |
| 174 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'': It serves a major role in the film's climax as the toys hijack it and race Al to the airport to save Woody. |
| 175 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'': It's parked next to the same mobile home from ''A Bug's Life'', which Randall is banished to. |
| 176 | ** ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'': It's shown crossing the highway during the visualization of Gil's escape plan. |
| 177 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'': Present watching the final race. He is sentient, of course. [[AllThereInTheManual According to supplementary material]], his name is Todd. |
| 178 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Seen crossing a bridge during the document chase scene. |
| 179 | ** ''WesternAnimation/WallE'': EVE scans it for plant life at the beginning, it's all rusted and broken. |
| 180 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'': Appears parked behind the ice cream shop at the end. |
| 181 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': Lotso, Chuckles, and Big Baby ride on its bumper in their backstory. |
| 182 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'': Todd reappears, watching the Radiator Springs Grand Prix at the end. |
| 183 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Given the time period, it naturally doesn't appeal in person. Instead, it's a carving in the Witch's shop. |
| 184 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'': Parked next to the JΘX house during their first party. |
| 185 | ** ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'': Appears multiple times within memory orbs. |
| 186 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'': Like ''Brave'', the setting means it can't literally appear. However, there's an asteroid shaped like it at the beginning of the movie. |
| 187 | ** ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'': It's wrecked on the sea floor where Nemo, Marlin, and Dory encounter the giant squid. |
| 188 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'': Todd appears again, this time as a participant in the demolition derby. |
| 189 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Briefly seen driving past the Rivera house at the beginning. |
| 190 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'': Appears in a retro redesign when Elastigirl has [[spoiler:the fake]] Screenslaver arrested. |
| 191 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'': Appears as a tattoo on the leg of the carnie who picks up Buzz. |
| 192 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'': Appears at the toll gate where the brothers begin their quest to the Manticore's tavern. |
| 193 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'': Present in the establishing shot of the Hall of Everything. |
| 194 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'': Appears during the final chase as a three-wheel pickup. |
| 195 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': Parked on a curb as Mei rushes to the [=4*Town=] concert. |
| 196 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'': Parked in a garage as Buzz is driven to the first test flight. |
| 197 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Elemental2023'': Parked next to Wade's apartment building. |
| 198 | * ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: Not counting prologues, epilogues, and flashbacks, the majority of their films (and which tend to be their most well-known and most beloved, although the correlation isn’t perfect)[[note]]''Franchise/ToyStory'', ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''[[/note]] take place over 1-3 days. |
| 199 | * ForeignCultureFetish: Watch some of their movies and just look at how many references they make to UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}. Lasseter is a long time admirer of Creator/HayaoMiyazaki, they've become professional friends, and Miyazaki's stamp of approval was instrumental in helping ''Franchise/ToyStory'' catch on in Japan. Disney, under the direction of a Pixar-related employee, is the only studio Miyazaki blesses with English dubs of his work. Lassetter even flew Japanese girl group Music/{{Perfume}} to the premiere of ''Cars 2'' and surprised them with full knowledge of their back catalogue during lunch together. They recorded a J-Pop single for the film in which the characters visit Tokyo. |
| 200 | * GenreBusting: Their films tend towards this. |
| 201 | * InkSuitActor: |
| 202 | ** Generally averted. Pixar prefer to cast the actor according to the character, not the other way around, but that's not to say they're occasionally guilty of this: several of the characters in the ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' films are based on a certain vehicle associated with their actor (i.e. [[Series/DeadliestCatch Sig Hansen]] as a sentient version of the ''Northwestern''). |
| 203 | ** And then of course, [[Franchise/TheIncredibles Frozone]] basically is Creator/SamuelLJackson (though in this case, that's a good thing). |
| 204 | * KilledOffForReal: [[WesternAnimation/ABugsLife Hopper]], [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1 Syndrome]], [[WesternAnimation/WallE GO-4]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} Charles Muntz]], and [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Mor'Du]] are the only five villains to actually die at the end of their respective films. |
| 205 | * MostWritersAreMale: John Lasseter on why Pixar hasn't had a female main character before ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': "We're a bunch of guys." |
| 206 | * NoAntagonist: ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut''. There's not a main villain or even an ''[[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo unintentional]]'' [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 bad guy]]. The conflict arises from Sadness accidentally creating a sad core memory, which ends up causing Joy and Sadness to be stranded away from Headquarters when Joy tries to prevent it, leaving the other three emotions at a loss as to how to stabilize Riley's mind. Though some characters briefly act antagonistic, there is no outright antagonistic character in this film. [[spoiler:The antagonistic ''force'' is the concept of depression, but it's not given an AnthropomorphicPersonification like the other emotions[[note]]Which makes a lot of sense - true depression isn't sadness, it's a ''lack'' of emotion[[/note]].]] |
| 207 | * OnceAnEpisode: Up until ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', Creator/JohnRatzenberger had voiced a character in every one of their movies. In ''Soul'', his likeness was animated into the film instead. |
| 208 | [[/folder]] |
| 209 | |
| 210 | [[folder:P-Z]] |
| 211 | * PapaWolf: About half of Pixar's male leads are fathers ([[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1 Bob Parr]], [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo Marlin]]) or substitute fathers ([[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1 Sulley]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} Carl]], arguably [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 Woody and Buzz]]) whose main conflict in their respective movies is involves and/or affects their children, as well as dealing with the physical and emotional baggage of that responsibility. Considering that many of Pixar's Regulars were starting to have families of their own during Pixar's earlier filmmaking years, it makes more than enough sense. |
| 212 | * PictorialLetterSubstitution: Invoked in the intro to Pixar movies -- a lamp stomps on the "I" in the word "Pixar" and takes its place. |
| 213 | * ProductionForeshadowing: This has happened enough times for Pixar movies to be used in the trope's page image. Specifically: |
| 214 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'': After staying on the top of Andy's mother's van, Buzz Lightyear gets a fly that resembles one of the dissing flies from ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' smashed into his helmet.[[note]] It's likely that the fly model was originally made for Toy Story before being repurposed for one of the dissing fly characters.[[/note]] |
| 215 | ** Woody from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' makes a cameo as a clapper loader in the outtakes that play over the credits of ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''. |
| 216 | -->[[note]]Woody is using his model from the first Toy Story, as the hat is noticeably different in shape.[[/note]] |
| 217 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', Geri, the man who repairs Woody, has a drawer full of eyeballs that resemble the ones from Theodore Pauly, a character from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1''. |
| 218 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', one of [[CheerfulChild Boo's]] {{toys}} is Nemo from ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''. |
| 219 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', a boy in the dentist's waiting room is reading a comic book of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1''. |
| 220 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', a scene features a Hudson Hornet resembling Doc Hudson from ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' in the background. |
| 221 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'', the Cozy Cone Motel has a picture of the Eiffel Tower, which is located in Paris. ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' takes place in Paris. |
| 222 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': |
| 223 | *** A cockroach resembling Hal from ''WesternAnimation/WallE''. |
| 224 | *** Whilst working his way up to the rooftops of Paris, Remy is chased by a dog (seen only in silhouette) bearing a striking resemblance to Dug from ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. |
| 225 | *** A [[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts DVD bonus short]] has WesternAnimation/WallE making a brief cameo as a Mars rover operator. Parodied on WALL•E's website, which shows him hiding in ''every single past Pixar movie''. |
| 226 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', a walking stick with tennis balls attached to its feet appears two times. 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. This walker belongs to Carl, the protagonist of ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. |
| 227 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'': When Carl's balloon house goes past a little girl's bedroom, a pink teddy bear is in the far left corner of the screen. This is Lotso, who is an important character in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''. |
| 228 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': |
| 229 | *** One of the posters in Andy's room features Finn [=McMissile=] from ''WesternAnimation/Cars2''. |
| 230 | *** In the same movie, Andy also has a "Newt Crossing" sticker next to his computer; and in ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', the Witch uses a Newt as an ingredient for her magic potion. ''Newt'' was a Pixar film that was canceled in development. |
| 231 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' has car-versions of the royal family of ''Brave'' pictured on a tapestry in the British pub. |
| 232 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', there is a bas-relief of [[Franchise/MonstersInc Sully]] in the Witch's hut, for ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity''. |
| 233 | ** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'': |
| 234 | ** At one point, Art gives Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan a dream journal with a unicorn and a rainbow, an allusion to Rainbow Unicorn from ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut''. |
| 235 | ** Dinosaur toys that resemble characters from ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' that appear in the scare simulators used for the final event of the Scare Games. |
| 236 | ** ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'': When Riley thinks about how she and her family stopped by to look at some dinosaur sculptures (and inadvertently damaged their car) on the way to San Francisco, the two statues that appear are of Forrest Woodbrush and Arlo, characters from ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur''. |
| 237 | ** Hank the octopus from ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' makes a background cameo in ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' when Arlo learns to swim. |
| 238 | ** A driver in ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory''[='=]s climax has a [[Franchise/{{Cars}} Lightning McQueen]] bandage on his right hand, for ''WesternAnimation/Cars3''. |
| 239 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'' has a car who loses his focus on the treadmill because he's nostalgic for his hometown, Santa Cecilia. This is the town featured in the next movie, ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', and an image of Santa Cecilia looks like an image shown in the ''Coco'' trailer attached to ''Cars 3''. |
| 240 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', when Miguel and Hector are making their way to the battle of the bands, one can spot a skeletonized ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' poster on the side, for ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''. |
| 241 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', Jack-Jack has a Duke Caboom from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' in his crib. |
| 242 | ** During ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4''[='=]s credits, a bouncy castle can be spotted with the pegicorn design seen on Barley's van in ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}''. |
| 243 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'' has a brief shot of a Dorothea Williams record on a shelf in the Lightfoot house. Williams would be a central figure in the story of ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}.'' |
| 244 | ** In a background shot of ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', a travel advertisement for an Italian town called Portorosso can be seen, the setting of the next Pixar movie, ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}''. |
| 245 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', a record labeled ''4★Vilaggi'' can be seen in Giulia's bedroom, a reference to the BoyBand ''4★Town'' that Mei and her friends are fans of in ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed''. |
| 246 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Miriam's skateboard has stickers of the Star Command logo and Sox, both prominently featured in ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}''. |
| 247 | ** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', a vending machine has bottles labeled "Wade Water". Wade Ripple is one of the two main characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}''. |
| 248 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'': At young Wade's school, several posters can be seen lining the walls, with one reading "Join the Space Club." On the blue poster, a planet with holes and tentacles can be seen, which also appears in ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}''. |
| 249 | * ProductionPosse: Creator/SkywalkerSound is a frequent sound design regular. |
| 250 | * RoleEndingMisdemeanor: John Lasseter was put on a six month leave after numerous sexual harassment complaints came to life. During that time, Disney did an extensive HR screening process with all employees to get their assessments. Once the six-month leave was done, Lasseter fell on his sword by resigning from the company. |
| 251 | * RousseauWasRight: A common theme in some of their movies is that something drives a villain to evil. |
| 252 | * RuleOfAnimationConservation: Among the studio's self-imposed rules is that each project ''must'' be a story that could only be properly told through animation. |
| 253 | * RunningGag: |
| 254 | ** The Pizza Planet truck. The only film of theirs it hasn't appeared in was ''The Incredibles'', although it does appear in the video game adaptation and I the film’s sequel. |
| 255 | ** Giving a role to John Ratzenberger in every film (though this seems to have ended with WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}, as his voice is nowhere to be found in the film. His likeness is featured as an extra in the background). |
| 256 | ** [[EarlyBirdCameo Putting a cameo of a character from the next film to be released]]. |
| 257 | ** The "Production Babies" section in the closing credits of every film, which lists the names of children born to Pixar staff members while it was being made was re-titled "Recent You Seminar Graduates" for ''Soul'', to reflect one of its core ideas. |
| 258 | * SceneryPorn: ''The Incredibles'''s commentary mentions having ''[[SeriousBusiness entire meetings]]'' [[LudicrousPrecision devoted to the placement of the food]] at the dinner table during one scene. |
| 259 | * ScheduleSlip: Between 2013 and 2015, due to the [[TroubledProduction troubled state of]] ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' and not wanting to continue their string of less-than stellar releases. |
| 260 | * SequelGap: Several times. In fact, their only sequel to avert this so far is ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', coming four years after the original. Eleven years passed between ''Toy Story 2'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', nine between ''Toy Story 3'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'', ''twelve'' between ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', '''thirteen''' between ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' and ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', and '''''fourteen''''' between ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' and ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''. To a lesser extent, five years between ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' and ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' and another six years until ''WesternAnimation/Cars3''. |
| 261 | * ShownTheirWork: While Pixar does mix some things around for the sake of ArtisticLicense, it plays this ''very'' straight. |
| 262 | * ShrugOfGod: No one who worked on ''The Incredibles'', not even Brad Bird, knows why the [[RunningGag Pizza Planet truck gag]] wasn't included in the film. |
| 263 | * SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: All their films are heavily on the idealistic end of the scale. |
| 264 | * SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic: Most of their films are bordering between the Unusual and Fantastic parts of the scale. They have basic premises impossible in real life, but always have an internal consistency. ''Coco'' is an example of the Fantastic part, since there are rules about the relationship between the afterlife and the living world. ''Up'' goes beyond what is possible in real life, but there is nothing explicitly magical in it, so it falls into Unusual. |
| 265 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: Despite their accolades, one major complaint about Pixar is the lack of films that have a notable number of prominent female characters. There have been [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} attempts]] [[WesternAnimation/InsideOut to]] [[WesternAnimation/FindingDory remedy]] [[WesternAnimation/TurningRed this]] as of late however. |
| 266 | * SpotlightStealingSquad: Pixar's sidekicks tend to be [[EnsembleDarkhorse more memorable than their leads]]. You can see from their sequels that they embrace it: ''Cars 2'' centered on Mater, ''Monsters University'' on Mike, and ''Finding Dory'' on Dory. Averted, however, with the ''Toy Story'' films: despite Buzz Lightyear arguably being more famous and recognizable, Woody remains the focus of the sequels. |
| 267 | * SquashedFlat: In the company's VanityPlate, the letter I in "PIXAR" gets flattened by Luxo Jr. jumping on it. |
| 268 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: Many a Pixar hero doesn't get along well with his co-protagonist or {{sidekick}} for most of the film. |
| 269 | * UnisexSeriesGenderedMerchandise: Pixar merchandise is mostly aimed to boys, even when their audiences include both boys and girls equally. Some notable examples are ''Cars'' and ''Toy Story'' series, whose toys are aimed at boys only. ''Brave'' is an exception, with Merida being lumped in with the Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es, despite not being part of the Disney canon. |
| 270 | * TheVerse: With each of the films making all kinds of countless Shout Outs to previous movies and shorts and even a few characters making [[CharacterOverlap overlaps]] and ContinuityCameos here and there, this trope is almost impossible to ignore. |
| 271 | ** This may not apply to all films however since ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'' is seemingly set in an [[AlternateUniverse alternate]] PresentDay RetroUniverse and ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'', well, for [[SentientVehicle obvious reasons]]. |
| 272 | ** Then there's ''[[http://jonnegroni.com/2013/07/11/the-pixar-theory/ The Pixar Theory]]'' by Joe Negroni which goes into great detail about how each film is possibly connected. And of course there are those who debunked each of Negroni's points: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlGNPLr4yDI Pixar Theory Debunked]]. |
| 273 | * VileVillainSaccharineShow: Despite the bright colors, the comedy, and the cheerful nature of Pixar, actually have some very dark and malicious villains when they are straight-up evil. Obviously, this type of villain contrasts absolutely with the cheerful nature of the movies. |
| 274 | ** Hopper in ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' is a ruthless tyrant who delights in the fear he instills in the ants, and was fully prepared to publically execute their queen to keep them compliant. He even admits to his minions that they don't even ''need'' the food the ants provide, implying his actions are motivated purely by sadism. |
| 275 | ** ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'': The film is filled with a colorful cast of characters—virtually all of the villains are either mindless predators, [[ObliviouslyEvil oblivious to their own wrongdoing]], or turn out to be not so bad after all. However, there is a dead-set example in the first five minutes, in the shape of the barracuda that kills Coral and every one of Marlin's children except Nemo. It appears for only a minute, but that minute is often regarded as the darkest in the movie. The mood instantly darkens when it appears, it's one of the few creatures not anthropomorphized, and the rest of the scene is just heart-breaking. It's in effect for the rest of the movie, too; the barracuda triggers a lifetime of mental trauma for Marlin and leads to his violent overprotection, driving Nemo to abandon Marlin and get captured as a result. In a sense, this thing is responsible for the entire plot and all the dark and sad moments within. Not bad for one scene. |
| 276 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': Buddy Pine, better known as Syndrome, is a homicidal maniac, a superhero wannabe, and a true [[FromNobodyToNightmare Nobody to Nightmare]]. Early in the film, Buddy interrupts Mr. Incredible, or Bob Parr while fighting the supervillain Bomb Voyage in an attempt to become his sidekick. His careless actions nearly get himself killed and allow Bomb Voyage to escape, leading to Mr. Incredible rightfully turning him down and crushing Buddy's dreams. However, Buddy instead subverts his potential FreudianExcuse by holding on to his petty grudge into adulthood, and initiates the mass murder of retired superheroes by luring them to his island. Once Bob finds out, Syndrome beats him down with his Omnidroid and has him tortured, spitefully launching a missile at a plane that he knows has his family on it. Showing callous indifference to Mirage once her life is under threat by Bob, Syndrome plans to release the Omnidroid on the populace once he's disposed of Bob, then painting himself as a hero by falsely defeating the Omnidroid. Once foiled, Syndrome kidnaps the infant Incredible Jack-Jack with the intent to corrupt him into becoming like him. Selfish, petty, and all-around murderous, Syndrome stood out as one of Pixar's darkest villains. |
| 277 | ** [[spoiler:Charles Muntz]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', though [[spoiler:Carl's childhood hero]] at one point, is a delusional and sociopathic murderer who kills anyone who he even ''thinks'' [[spoiler:threatens his discovery]]. |
| 278 | ** ''Franchise/ToyStory'' is a lighthearted series where the main conflict is usually within the heroes as opposed to external. Villains tend to be either ObliviouslyEvil or relatively harmless. Until ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', that is, where we meet [[spoiler:Lotso, a sadistic teddy bear overlord of a day care center who subjects new toys to being broken by toddlers, tortures, brainwashes, imprisons, and attempts to murder the heroes, and when they save him, he [[UngratefulBastard repays them]] by ''leaving them to die in an incinerator'']]. |
| 279 | ** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'': While the villain of the first Cars film is an arrogant and obnoxious green racecar, the sequel's villains are an organization of evil, beaten-up cars led by a German microcar [[spoiler:and a malfunctioning British SUV]] who commit multiple on-screen murders, torture, sabotage, and attempt terrorism. |
| 280 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' gives us a sweet mother-daughter bonding story...with a villain, Mor'du, that happens to be a red-eyed, twelve-foot-tall bear with a taste for human flesh. As well as plenty of scenes that could have come right out of a horror movie, such as [[spoiler:Mor'du watching a young Merida in the forest, Merida going into a castle and having Mor'du sneak up behind her after she's learned his gruesome origin story, and the end fight, where absolutely nothing hurts him except a bear of similar size and a multiton rock]]. |
| 281 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'' takes place in the vibrant, party-filled, music-laden Land of the Dead, which is populated with fondly remembered skeletons and colorful alebrijes. At first, the conflict seems to be that Miguel’s passion for music conflicts with his family's ban on music and he needs to resolve those two in order to get home. [[spoiler:However, we discover that Miguel's hero and best chance to get home, Ernesto de la Cruz, murdered his homesick songwriter partner simply to get famous off the songs he wrote. He then goes on to try and murder Miguel because HeKnowsTooMuch which also puts Miguel's friend Héctor at risk to die again.]] |
| 282 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Even though the morality is clear, the villains usually have a good motivation (or a FreudianExcuse) to make them less straight-up evil. Pete Docter said that a regular "[[ForTheEvulz doing evil for evil]]" villain is not a "real" one. |
| 283 | * WhatCouldHaveBeen: |
| 284 | ** Of course, the ill-fated ''Newt''. Its plotline was said to be similar to ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'' (and ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega''). On the bright side, when the project was revisited, it led to the creation of a new project that would ultimately become ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut''. |
| 285 | ** Brenda Chapman's version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}''. We may never be sure why she was laid off, but it seems to have disappointed a lot of people in the industry, including some Pixar employees.[[note]]While she's never come right out and said what happened, her interview on the Bancroft Brothers' Animation Podcast implies that Joe Ranft's death in 2005 had something to do with it. The two were close friends and because the rest of the Pixar staff trusted his opinions, [[NeverASelfMadeWoman he was her go-to guy whenever her input was at risk of being overruled]].[[/note]] |
| 286 | ** While it hasn't happened ''too'' many times as of this writing, directors being replaced mid-production have always led to fan speculation. Creator/BradBird was put on ''Ratatouille'' at the last minute and had to work with revising the script and making the rats less anthropomorphic than what the original director had. Of note, Chef Gusteau was to be alive through the whole movie instead of an imaginary being. |
| 287 | ** When Pixar and Disney first merged, part of the deal was John Lasseter becoming the new head honcho of the Animation Department. His first order of business was completely overhauling ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}},'' the latter of which resulted in the departure of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' directors Creator/ChrisSanders and Dean [=DeBlois=], who [[Franchise/HowToTrainYourDragon moved]] [[WesternAnimation/TheCroods to]] [=DreamWorks=]. Considering the massive changes made, it'd leads one to wonder what the original product of both films would have been like. |
| 288 | ** ''Franchise/ToyStory'' (and thus possibly ''Pixar as a whole'') was almost the victim of ExecutiveMeddling thanks to Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg continually pushed for a [[DarkerAndEdgier more adult, cynical]] ''Toy Story'', making Woody even more of a {{jerkass}} and relying heavily on insult humor. The result, heretofore referred as "the Black Friday Incident", backfired horribly; at a screening for the Disney execs, Roy Disney declared it the worst thing he'd ever seen, and Disney was ready to scrap the whole project until the writers were finally left alone to write the story they wanted to write. The rest is history (Katzenberg dropped the adult subject altogether, and he was gone the next year). |
| 289 | ** The [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 sequel]], mandated upon by Disney, was planned to be released DirectToVideo. However, Pixar put so much effort into it that it convinced Disney to release it theatrically. |
| 290 | ** Later on, Pixar also had to deal with Michael Eisner after Eisner's prediction on ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', leading to Roy E. Disney's "Save Disney" campaign. During the Disney v. Pixar negotiations, Eisner created Circle 7 Animation, which would have made Disney-brand sequels to Pixar films including ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' which would have seen Buzz Lightyear recalled to Taiwan. However, Eisner stepped down from his position, Circle 7 got shut down, and Pixar was finally in the Mouse House. Eventually, Pixar would create the ''[=TS3=]'' we all know and love. |
| 291 | ** Back in 1985, Long before ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', and when they were still part of Lucasfilm. They started pre-production on what would have been their first computer-animated film called ''Monkey'' which was an adaptation of the tale of the Monkey King (also referred to as Sun Wukong). After they spun off as a new company in 1986, they were still working on it. In the end, they realized they had to abandon it because of technical limitations at the time. |
| 292 | ** Creator/GeorgeLucas turned down the chance to get in on the ground floor with the company when several of his employees were involved in starting it, in one of the few times he failed to recognize a major new filmmaking potential. |
| 293 | ** According to the Will Vinton documentary ''Claydream'' If Vinton invested in Pixar he would have been one of the biggest share holders at Disney and by some extent, Creator/{{Laika}} would have not existed, Seeing that he would have not needed Nike to invest in the company leading to his firing in 2003. |
| 294 | * WhiteAndGreyMorality: As mentioned in WellIntentionedExtremist, the antagonists that show up in most Pixar movie are rarely straight up evil. In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', Sid is a destructive kid who has no idea that he's harming sentient beings, and would grow up to a normal adult by the third movie. In ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', the closest thing we have to a "villain" is the dentist's niece who, like Sid, is simply a misbehaving kid who clearly has no idea how to take care of animals. ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'''s primary antagonist is a "demon bear" who is mostly just acting out from instinct and is not malevolent for the sake of it. [[spoiler:When he dies, the spirit of the man he once was thanked the main characters for freeing him from the curse]]. In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', the heroes faced off against a group of {{Jerk Jock}}s, but they're generally pretty harmless and is depicted more as an obstacle the heroes have to surpass to win the Scarer Games than an actual force of evil. Several other films feature antagonists whose actions are undeniably evil but who are given [[FreudianExcuse personal reasons]] for having turned out that way and/or [[VillainHasAPoint understandable motivations]] (though some of these also [[MoralEventHorizon shed these redeemable aspects over the course of the film]]), such as ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''[[note]]Al [=McWhiggin=] kidnaps Woody, but is just a petty thief (from a human's perspective) who wants to be rich, while Stinky Pete intentionally keeps Woody from returning to Andy and tries to take him, Jessie, and Bullseye with him to Japan because he believes its the only way he can be treasured forever after having to spend a lifetime on a dime store shelf alone.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1''[[note]]Syndrome's rejection by Mr. Incredible led him down a path where he [[MoralEventHorizon personally murdered or caused the death]] of literally ''dozens'' of supers with the ultimate goal of [[CutLexLuthorACheck making superpower-simulating technology commercially available]] to discredit the entire notion of such powers being exclusive to those innately gifted with it.[[/note]] and its [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 sequel]][[note]][[spoiler:Evelyn Deavor uses hypnotic technology on Supers (and a random delivery boy) and tries to force them to commit an act of terrorism to cement the world's bias against their kind due to them failing to rescue her father all while bystanders ''expected'' them to and therefore [[HoldingOutForAHero failed to take any action which may have proven sufficient to save him anyway]]]].[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/WallE''[[note]]AUTO keeps the Axiom and its human passengers in outer space because he's following his directive to never return to Earth, no matter what, and it leads him to take extreme measures such as harming and almost killing WALL•E, forcefully locking up the captain, trying to dispose of the plant EVE found, and intentionally tipping the Axiom and causing the passengers to tumble about.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''[[note]]Charles Muntz's FatalFlaw of never giving up his mission of discovering the Snipe has led to his devolution into a murderous, senile hermit who has killed an untold number innocent travelers and eventually tries to murder a child during the climax.[[/note]], and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''[[note]][[spoiler: Lotso's spite over his owner replacing him after accidentally losing him has triggered his devolution into a hateful tyrant who insists to other toys that nobody ever truly loves them amid subjection to torture and eventual death by unruly young children, culminating in [[MoralEventHorizon a particularly infamous moment]] which cements him as beyond saving.]][[/note]]. Only ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''[[note]]Hopper enslaves and extorts an entire ant colony, embracing it as a lifestyle, while also [[WouldHurtAChild threatening Dot's life]] and planning to murder the Queen when he's unsatisfied with the amount of food gathered.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/Cars2''[[note]]Professor Zündapp kills secret agents sent to capture him, activates a bomb that he attached to Mater, and blows up racers who use [[spoiler:Allinol fuel, designed by Miles Axelrod, in order to discredit alternative fuels and get them both rich off of their oil reserve]][[/note]] ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''[[note]][[spoiler:Ernesto de la Cruz murdered his friend and musical partner, then stole his songs and used them to propel himself to fame and fortune, and is willing to murder a child and make sure his former friend is forgotten to keep his status secure.]][[/note]], and ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}''[[note]]Ercole Visconti is a BarbaricBully who competes in a contest against children several years younger than him just to remain champion, acts condescending and egotistical to everyone in town, [[BadBoss treats his cronies like dirt]], shows his willingness to ram his motorboat into Guila's, tries to ruin Luca and Alberto out of petty spite, and finally tries to kill them when they're revealed to be sea monsters.[[/note]] feature villains with no FreudianExcuse to speak of. ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' is so far the only film that has [[BigBadDuumvirate multiple antagonists]] with varying shades of black[[note]][[spoiler:Randall's plan to stop the energy shortage crisis amounts to mass child trafficking and potential deadly torture, all out of a selfish desire for personal recognition, whereas Waternoose is only going along with it out of desperation to save his company and prevent the crisis whose far more benevolent true solution he's oblivious to.]][[/note]]. |
| 295 | * WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Believe it or not, this is apparently how most of their movies are done, once being described as "jumping out of a plane and hoping we can build a parachute on the way down." However, this has less to do with short production time (in [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 most cases]]) and more with how much story revision is done on every single step of every single project, sometimes even [[ProductionLeadTime long after animation has started]], to ensure that everything will be perfect. |
| 296 | [[/folder]] |
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