History Creator / Pixar

** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'': The toys hijack the truck and race Al to the airport to save Woody.

[[caption-width-right:350: Assassinating "I"s and making us cry since 1979.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Assassinating "I"s and making us cry since 1986.]]

** ''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one of the dissing flies from ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' smashed into his helmet.[[note]] The fly model was likely originally made for the first film before being repurposed for one of the dissing fly characters.[[/note]]

** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'': After staying on the top of Andy's mother's van, Buzz Lightyear gets one of the dissing flies from ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' smashed into his helmet.[[note]] The fly model was originally made for the first film before being repurposed for the dissing fly character.[[/note]]

** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'': After staying on the top of Andy's mother's van, Buzz Lightyear gets one of the dissin' flies from ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' smashed into his helmet.

* ''VideoGame/KinectRushADisneyPixarAdventure'': An UsefulNotes/Xbox360 UsefulNotes/{{Kinect}} video game featuring characters from ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', and the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' franchise. A 2017 remaster for UsefulNotes/XboxOne and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows added ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' and traditional controls, and dropped the Kinect requirement and brand from the title.

* ''Win or Lose'' (2023) -- 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)

When Pixar makes a movie, more often than not, it will be well done ''at worst''. 18 out of the 23 films released so far [[note]]''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', and ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'' 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.

** ''Inside Out 2'' (2024)

Seeking money for his divorce costs (and also because of the failure 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Elio}}'' (2024) -- 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.

* DVDCommentary:
** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', Director John Lasseter, producers Ralph Guggenheim and Bonnie Arnold, co-writer Andrew Stanton, supervising animator Pete Docter, art director Ralph Eggleston and supervising technical director Bill Reeves.
** ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', Director John Lasseter, co-director Andrew Stanton and editor Lee Unkrich.
** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', Director John Lasseter, co-directors Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon and co-writer Andrew Stanton.
** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'', Director Pete Docter, co-director Lee Unkrich, executive producer John Lasseter and writer Andrew Stanton.
** ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', Director Andrew Stanton, co-director Lee Unkrich and co-writer Bob Peterson.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'':
*** Director and writer Brad Bird and producer John Walker.
*** Supervising animators Tony Fucile, Steven Hunter and Alan Barillaro and animators Gini Santos, David [=DeVan=], Jureha Yokoo, Dave Mullins, John Kahrs, Robert Russ, Angus [=MacLane=], Travis Hathaway, Doug Frankel and Peter Sohn.
** ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'':
*** Director John Lasster.
*** Additional material co-writer/storyboard artist Dan Scanlon, additional material co-writer Steve Purcell, directing animator Bobby Podesta, directing animator Jim Murphy, supervising animator Scott Clark, supervising animator Doug Sweetland, production designers Bob Pauley and Bill Cone, shading art director Tia Kratter, director of photography (lighting) Jean-Claude Kalache, supervising technical director Eben Ostbey, character supervisor Tim Milliron and sets supervisor Sophie Vincelette.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', Director and writer Brad Bird and producer Brad Lewis.
** ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', Director and co-writer Andrew Stanton.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', Director Pete Docter and co-director Bob Peterson.
** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'':
*** Director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson.
*** Supervising animators Bobby Podesta and Mike Venturini, production designer Bob Pauley, head of story Jason Katz and supervising technical director Guido Quaroni.
** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', Director John Lasseter and co-director Brad Lewis.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', Directors and co-writers Mark Andrews and Steve Purcell, story supervisor Brian Larsen, and editor Nick Smith.
** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', Director Dan Scanlon, producer Koria Rae, and story supervisor Kelsey Mann.
** ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', Director Pete Docter and co-director Ronnie del Carmen.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'', Director Peter Sohn, animation supervisor Mike Venturini, supervising technical director Sanjay Bakshi, director of photography: lighting Sharon Calahan and story supervisor Kelsey Mann.
** ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', Director Andrew Stanton, co-director Angus [=MacLane=] and producer Lindsey Collins.
** ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', Director Brian Fee, creative director Jay Ward and producers Kevin Reher and Andrea Warren.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', Director Lee Unkrich, co-director Adrian Molina and producer Darla K. Anderson.
** ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', Director and writer Brad Bird and animators Alan Barillaro, Tony Fucile, Dave Mullins and Bret Parker.
** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'', Director Josh Cooley and producer Mark Nielsen.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'', Director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'', Director Pete Docter, co-director Kemp Powers and producer Dana Murphy.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', Director Enrico Casarosa and producer Andrea Warren.
** ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Director Domie Shi, producer Lindsey Collins and director of photography Mahyar Abousaeedi.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', Director Angus [=MacLane=], writer Jason Headley, and director of photography Jeremy Lasky.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'', Director Peter Sohn, supervising technical director Sanjay Bakshi, supervising animator Mike Venturini and directing animator Gwendelyn Enderoglu.

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/MonstersInc 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.

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' (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)

** Pixar often make noticeable technology developments in between films, such as animation of fur in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' and water in ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''.

** While it's said to still be in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', nobody has ever conclusively found it in the movie.

** In ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', [[spoiler: it's Auto's prime directive to never return humanity to Earth]].

** 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/MonstersInc'', 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.

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', Director Pete Docter, co-director Lee Unkrich, executive producer John Lasseter and writer Andrew Stanton.

* 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/MonstersInc Boo's]] bedroom.

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': It's parked next to the same mobile home from ''A Bug's Life'', which Randall is banished to.

* 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/MonstersInc'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'', ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''[[/note]] take place over 1-3 days.

* PapaWolf: About half of Pixar's male leads are fathers ([[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1 Bob Parr]], [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo Marlin]]) or substitute fathers ([[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc 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.

** 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/MonstersInc''.
** In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', one of [[CheerfulChild Boo's]] {{toys}} is Nemo from ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''.

* 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/MonstersInc'' 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''.

* 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/MonstersInc'' 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]].

* TheWikiRule: [[http://pixar.wikia.com/wiki/Pixar_Wiki The Pixar Wiki]].

** In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Miriam's skateboard has stickers of the Star Command logo and Sox, both prominently featured in ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}.

** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'', a vending machine has bottles labeled "Wade Water". Wade Ripple is one of the two main characters in ''WesternAnimation/Elemental2023''.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental2023}}'': 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}}]]''.

** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'', it appears as a room number for the "Department of Departments.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'' (2023), Director Peter Sohn, supervising technical director Sanjay Bakshi, supervising animator Mike Venturini and directing animator Gwendelyn Enderoglu.

* 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.

* OnceAnEpisode: Except for ''WesternAnimation/{{Soul}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Luca}}'', Creator/JohnRatzenberger has voiced a character in every one of their movies. In Soul, his likeness is animated into the film instead.

** * ''WesternAnimation/{{Elemental|2023}}'' (2023), Director Peter Sohn, supervisor tech Sanjay Bakshi, supervising animator Mike Venturini and directing animator Gwendelyn Enderoglu.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'' Director Angus [=MacLane=], writer Jason Headley, and director of photography Jeremy Lasky.

** 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 [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010 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.

** 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 [[WesternAnimation/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.

* 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 {{cameo}}s here and there, this trope is almost impossible to ignore.

* DoingItForTheArt:
** The staff at Pixar have always held true to the belief that they should enjoy the movie as much as their audience, and it's served them well for nearly three decades.
** Just to put this in perspective, they were fully aware of their decline in popularity at the start of TheNewTens, after ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' were seen as disappointments by fans, and they postponed their next film just so they wouldn't continue their streak of mediocre ones. In other words, they were actually aware of their slump and ''did something about it '''immediately'''''!
** Steve Jobs spent a fortune on this small company working in the nascent and then-unproven field of computer animation that no one knew about for a decade ''before'' they exploded into fame.