List of Pixar films

Pixar Animation Studios is an American CGI film production company based in Emeryville, California, United States. Pixar has produced 28 feature films, which were all released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through the Walt Disney Pictures banner, with its first being Toy Story (which was also the first theatrically released CGI-animated feature ever released) on November 22, 1995, and its latest being Inside Out 2 on June 14, 2024.

Pixar logo

Its upcoming slate of films includes Elio in 2025, and Toy Story 5 in 2026. Additionally, a release date on March 6, 2026 has been reserved for another Pixar film.[1]

Films

Released

Release dateFilmDirector(s)Writer(s)Producer(s)Composer(s)
StoryScreenplay
November 22, 1995Toy StoryJohn LasseterPete Docter, Lasseter, Joe Ranft & Andrew StantonJoel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, Stanton & Joss WhedonBonnie Arnold & Ralph GuggenheimRandy Newman
November 25, 1998A Bug's LifeJohn Lasseter
Co-directed by:
Andrew Stanton
Lasseter, Joe Ranft & StantonDonald McEnery, Bob Shaw & StantonDarla K. Anderson & Kevin Reher
November 24, 1999Toy Story 2John Lasseter
Co-directed by:
Ash Brannon & Lee Unkrich
Brannon, Pete Docter, Lasseter & Andrew StantonDoug Chamberlin, Rita Hsiao, Stanton & Chris WebbKaren Robert Jackson & Helene Plotkin
November 2, 2001Monsters, Inc.Pete Docter
Co-directed by:
David Silverman & Lee Unkrich
Jill Culton, Docter, Ralph Eggleston & Jeff PidgeonDan Gerson & Andrew StantonDarla K. Anderson
May 30, 2003Finding NemoAndrew Stanton
Co-directed by:
Lee Unkrich
StantonBob Peterson, David Reynolds & StantonGraham WaltersThomas Newman
November 5, 2004The IncrediblesBrad BirdJohn WalkerMichael Giacchino
June 9, 2006CarsJohn Lasseter
Co-directed by:
Joe Ranft
Lasseter, Jorgen Klubien & RanftDan Fogelman, Klubien, Lasseter, Phil Lorin, Kiel Murray & RanftDarla K. AndersonRandy Newman
June 29, 2007RatatouilleBrad Bird
Co-directed by:
Jan Pinkava
Bird, Jim Capobianco & PinkavaBirdBrad LewisMichael Giacchino
June 27, 2008WALL-EAndrew StantonPete Docter & StantonJim Reardon & StantonJim MorrisThomas Newman
May 29, 2009UpPete Docter
Co-directed by:
Bob Peterson
Docter, Tom McCarthy & PetersonDocter & PetersonJonas RiveraMichael Giacchino
June 18, 2010Toy Story 3Lee UnkrichJohn Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & UnkrichMichael ArndtDarla K. AndersonRandy Newman
June 24, 2011Cars 2John Lasseter
Co-directed by:
Brad Lewis
Dan Fogelman, Lasseter & LewisBen QueenDenise ReamMichael Giacchino
June 22, 2012BraveMark Andrews & Brenda Chapman
Co-directed by:
Steve Purcell
ChapmanAndrews, Chapman, Irene Mecchi & PurcellKatherine SarafianPatrick Doyle
June 21, 2013Monsters UniversityDan ScanlonRobert L. Baird, Dan Gerson & ScanlonKori RaeRandy Newman
June 19, 2015Inside OutPete Docter
Co-directed by:
Ronnie del Carmen
del Carmen & DocterJosh Cooley, Docter & Meg LeFauveJonas RiveraMichael Giacchino
November 25, 2015The Good DinosaurPeter SohnErik Benson, Meg LeFauve, Kelsey Mann, Bob Peterson & SohnLeFauveDenise ReamJeff & Mychael Danna
June 17, 2016Finding DoryAndrew Stanton
Co-directed by:
Angus MacLane
StantonStanton & Victoria StrouseLindsey CollinsThomas Newman
June 16, 2017Cars 3Brian FeeFee, Eyal Podell, Ben Queen & Jonathan E. StewartKiel Murray, Bob Peterson & Mike RichKevin ReherRandy Newman
November 22, 2017CocoLee Unkrich
Co-directed by:
Adrian Molina
Matthew Aldrich, Jason Katz, Molina & UnkrichAldrich & MolinaDarla K. AndersonMichael Giacchino[a]
June 15, 2018Incredibles 2Brad BirdNicole Paradis Grindle & John WalkerMichael Giacchino
June 21, 2019Toy Story 4Josh CooleyCooley, Stephany Folsom, Martin Hynes, Rashida Jones, Valerie LaPointe, John Lasseter, Will McCormack & Andrew StantonFolsom & StantonMark Nielsen & Jonas RiveraRandy Newman
March 6, 2020OnwardDan ScanlonKeith Bunin, Jason Headley & ScanlonKori RaeJeff & Mychael Danna
December 25, 2020SoulPete Docter
Co-directed by:
Kemp Powers
Docter, Mike Jones & PowersDana MurrayTrent Reznor & Atticus Ross[b]
June 18, 2021LucaEnrico CasarosaJesse Andrews, Casarosa & Simon StephensonAndrews & Mike JonesAndrea WarrenDan Romer
March 11, 2022Turning RedDomee ShiJulia Cho, Shi & Sarah StreicherCho & ShiLindsey CollinsLudwig Göransson[c]
June 17, 2022LightyearAngus MacLaneMatthew Aldrich, Jason Headley & MacLaneHeadley & MacLaneGalyn SusmanMichael Giacchino
June 16, 2023ElementalPeter SohnJohn Hoberg, Kat Likkel, Brenda Hsueh & SohnHoberg, Likkel & HsuehDenise ReamThomas Newman
June 14, 2024Inside Out 2Kelsey MannMeg LeFauve & MannDave Holstein & LeFauveMark NielsenAndrea Datzman

Upcoming

Release dateFilmDirector(s)Writer(s)Producer(s)Composer(s)Production StatusRef.
StoryScreenplay
June 13, 2025ElioAdrian MolinaMary Alice DrummTBAIn production[2][3][4]
March 6, 2026Untitled filmTBA[1]
June 19, 2026Toy Story 5Andrew StantonTBAJessica Choi[5][6][7][8]

In-development projects

Additionally, Enrico Casarosa, Daniel Chong, Aphton Corbin, Brian Fee, Kristen Lester, Dan Scanlon, Domee Shi and Rosana Sullivan have been working on their respective untitled feature films, all of which would be based upon original ideas.[a]

In November 2023, Creative Director of the Cars franchise Jay Ward said he was working on multiple projects for the franchise.[16]

Production cycle

In July 2013, then-Pixar president Edwin Catmull said that the studio planned to release one original film each year, and a sequel every other year, as part of a strategy to release "one and a half movies a year."[17] On July 3, 2016, Pixar's current president Jim Morris announced that the studio might be moving away from sequels after Toy Story 4 and Pixar was only developing original ideas with five films in development at the time of the announcement.[18]

Cancelled projects

Monkey

Back when Pixar was still a part of Lucasfilm in 1985, it started pre-production on a film called Monkey. After Pixar spun off as a new company in 1986, however, it was still working on it. In the end, Pixar abandoned the project due to technical limitations.[19][20][21]

The Yellow Car

In 1995, Jorgen Klubien started writing a script for a film titled The Yellow Car. He wrote the first draft of the script with Joe Ranft. Then in 1998, the film was scrapped in favor of Toy Story 2's 1999 release. The Yellow Car would eventually be reworked into Cars in 2001 then released in 2006.[22][23]

1906

In 2005, Pixar began collaborating with Disney and Warner Bros. on a live-action film adaptation of James Dalessandro's novel 1906, with Brad Bird announced as the director.[24] It would have marked Pixar's first involvement in a live-action production and its first collaboration with a major production company other than Disney. Disney and Pixar left the project due to script problems and an estimated budget of $200 million, and it is in limbo at Warner Bros.[25] However, in June 2018, Bird mentioned the possibility of adapting the novel as a TV series, and the earthquake sequence as a live-action feature film.[26]

Newt

A Pixar film titled Newt (which was set to be directed by Gary Rydstrom) was announced in April 2008, with Pixar planning to release it in 2011,[27] which was later delayed to 2012,[28] but it had finally been canceled by early 2010.[29][30] John Lasseter noted that the film's proposed plot line was similar to another film, Blue Sky Studios' Rio, which was released in 2011.[31] In a March 2014 interview, Pixar president Edwin Catmull stated that Newt was an idea that was not working in pre-production. When the project was passed to Pete Docter, the director of Monsters, Inc. and Up, he pitched an idea that Pixar thought was better, and that concept became Inside Out.[32][33]

ShadeMaker

In 2010, Henry Selick formed a joint venture with Pixar called Cinderbiter Productions,[34][35] which was to exclusively produce stop-motion films.[36][37] Its first project under the deal, a film titled ShadeMaker was set to be released on October 4, 2013,[38] but was canceled in August 2012 due to creative differences.[38][39] Selick was given the option to shop ShadeMaker (now titled The Shadow King) to other studios.[40] Selick later stated in interviews that the film suffered from interference from John Lasseter who Selick claimed came in and constantly changed elements of the script and production that ended up raising the budget that would lead to its cancelation.[41] By November 2022, Selick had reacquired the rights for The Shadow King from Disney and that he may revive the project.[42]

The Graveyard Book

In April 2012, Walt Disney Pictures acquired the rights and hired Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the film adaptation of Gaiman's novel Coraline, to direct The Graveyard Book.[43] The film was moved to Pixar as a stop-motion production, which would have been the company's first adapted work.[44] After the studio and Selick parted ways over scheduling and development, it was announced in January 2013 that Ron Howard would direct the film.[45][46][47] In July 2022, it was announced that Marc Forster will direct the adaptation with a screenplay by David Magee under Walt Disney Studios.[48]

Circle Seven Animation projects

In addition, when the now-defunct Circle Seven Animation was open, there were plans for sequels to Finding Nemo (for which Pixar made its own sequel, Finding Dory) and Monsters, Inc. (for which Pixar made a prequel, Monsters University), as well as a different version of Toy Story 3.[49] Pixar's later sequels had no basis in Circle Seven's projects, and were created completely separately.

Co-production

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins is an animated direct-to-video film and a spin-off of the Toy Story franchise produced by Walt Disney Television Animation with an opening sequence created by Pixar. The film was released on August 8, 2000, and led to a television series called, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command with Pixar creating the CGI portion of the opening theme.[50]

A Spark Story is a feature-length documentary film co-produced by Pixar, Disney+, and Supper Club.[51] The film centers on directors Aphton Corbin and Louis Gonzales as they work to bring their SparkShorts projects Twenty Something and Nona to the screen.[52][51]

Collaboration

Pixar assisted in the English localization of several Studio Ghibli films, mainly those from Hayao Miyazaki.[53]

Pixar was brought on board to fine tune the script of The Muppets.[54] The film was released on November 23, 2011.

Pixar assisted with the story development for The Jungle Book, as well as providing suggestions for the film's end credits sequence. The film was released on April 15, 2016. Additional special thanks credit was given to Mark Andrews.[55]

Mary Poppins Returns includes a sequence combining live-action and traditional hand-drawn animation. The animation was supervised by Ken Duncan and James Baxter. Over 70 animators specializing in hand-drawn 2D animation from Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios were recruited for the sequence.[56] The film was released on December 19, 2018.

Planes is a spin-off of the Cars franchise, produced by the now defunct DisneyToon Studios and co-written and executive produced by John Lasseter. The film was conceived from the short film Air Mater, which introduces aspects of Planes and ends with a hint of the film. It was released on August 9, 2013. A sequel, Planes: Fire & Rescue, was released on July 18, 2014. A Planes spin-off film was announced in July 2017, with a release date of April 12, 2019,[57] but was removed from the release schedule on March 1, 2018.[58] The film was eventually canceled when DisneyToon Studios was shut down on June 28, 2018.[59]

Ralph Breaks the Internet, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and co-executive produced by Lasseter, features Kelly Macdonald reprising her role as Merida from Brave,[60] as well as a cameo from Tim Allen reprising his role (via archive recordings) as Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story franchise,[61] and a sample of Patrick Doyle's score from Brave.[61] The film, released on November 21, 2018, also features many visual references to Pixar and its films.[62] Additionally, Andrew Stanton received a "Narrative Guru" credit.[61]

Reception

Box office

YearFilmBudgetBox office grossRef.
U.S. and CanadaOther territoriesWorldwide
1995Toy Story$30 million$192,523,233$172,747,718$365,270,951[63][64]
1998A Bug's Life$120 million$162,798,565$200,460,294$363,258,859[65]
1999Toy Story 2$90 million$245,852,179$265,506,097$511,358,276[66][67]
2001Monsters, Inc.$115 million$255,873,250$272,900,000$528,773,250[68]
2003Finding Nemo$94 million$339,714,978$531,300,000$871,014,978[69]
2004The Incredibles$92 million$261,441,092$370,001,000$631,442,092[70]
2006Cars$120 million$244,082,982$217,900,167$461,983,149[71]
2007Ratatouille$150 million$206,445,654$417,280,431$623,726,085[72]
2008WALL-E$180 million$223,808,164$297,503,696$521,311,860[73]
2009Up$175 million$293,004,164$442,094,918$735,099,082[74]
2010Toy Story 3$200 million$415,004,880$651,964,823$1,066,969,703[75]
2011Cars 2$200 million$191,452,396$368,400,000$559,852,396[76]
2012Brave$185 million$237,283,207$301,700,000$538,983,207[77]
2013Monsters University$200 million$268,492,764$475,066,843$743,559,607[78][79]
2015Inside Out$175 million$356,461,711$501,149,463$857,611,174[80]
2015The Good Dinosaur$175 million$123,087,120$209,120,551$332,207,671[81][82]
2016Finding Dory$200 million$486,295,561$542,275,328$1,028,570,889[83][84]
2017Cars 3$175 million$152,901,115$231,029,541$383,930,656[85][86]
2017Coco$175 million$210,460,015$597,356,181$807,816,196[87][88]
2018Incredibles 2$200 million$608,581,744$634,223,615$1,242,805,359[89][90]
2019Toy Story 4$200 million$434,038,008$639,356,585$1,073,394,593[91][92]
2020Onward$175–200 million$61,555,145$80,384,897$141,940,042[93]
2020Soul$150 million$125,000$120,957,731$126,082,731[94]
2021Luca[b]$49,750,471$49,750,471[95][96]
2022Turning Red$175 million[b]$20,122,621$20,122,621[97][98]
2022Lightyear$200 million$118,307,188$108,118,232$226,425,420[99][100]
2023Elemental$200 million$154,426,697$342,017,611$496,444,308[101][102]
2024Inside Out 2$200 million$533,823,699$683,100,000$1,216,923,699[103][104]

Critical and public response

Critical and public response of Pixar films
FilmCriticalPublic
Rotten TomatoesMetacriticCinemaScore
Toy Story100% (97 reviews)[105]95 (26 reviews)[106]A[107]
A Bug's Life92% (91 reviews)[108]78 (23 reviews)[109]A[107]
Toy Story 2100% (172 reviews)[110]88 (34 reviews)[111]A+[107]
Monsters, Inc.96% (199 reviews)[112]79 (35 reviews)[113]A+[114]
Finding Nemo99% (270 reviews)[115]90 (38 reviews)[116]A+[117]
The Incredibles97% (250 reviews)[118]90 (41 reviews)[119]A+[120]
Cars75% (204 reviews)[121]73 (39 reviews)[122]A[123]
Ratatouille96% (253 reviews)[124]96 (37 reviews)[125]A[126]
WALL-E95% (261 reviews)[127]95 (39 reviews)[128]A[129]
Up98% (297 reviews)[130]88 (37 reviews)[131]A+[132]
Toy Story 398% (313 reviews)[133]92 (39 reviews)[134]A[107]
Cars 240% (220 reviews)[135]57 (38 reviews)[136]A−[123]
Brave79% (256 reviews)[137]69 (37 reviews)[138]A[139]
Monsters University80% (203 reviews)[140]65 (41 reviews)[141]A[142]
Inside Out98% (384 reviews)[143]94 (55 reviews)[144]A[145]
The Good Dinosaur75% (220 reviews)[146]66 (37 reviews)[147]A[148]
Finding Dory94% (339 reviews)[149]77 (48 reviews)[150]A[151]
Cars 369% (234 reviews)[152]59 (41 reviews)[153]A[123]
Coco97% (357 reviews)[154]81 (48 reviews)[155]A+[156]
Incredibles 293% (390 reviews)[157]80 (51 reviews)[158]A+[120]
Toy Story 497% (459 reviews)[159]84 (57 reviews)[160]A[161]
Onward88% (350 reviews)[162]64 (56 reviews)[163]A−[164]
Soul95% (360 reviews)[165]83 (55 reviews)[166]
Luca91% (303 reviews)[167]71 (52 reviews)[168]
Turning Red95% (289 reviews)[169]83 (52 reviews)[170]
Lightyear74% (319 reviews)[171]60 (57 reviews)[172]A−[173]
Elemental73% (262 reviews)[174]58 (45 reviews)[175]A[176]
Inside Out 290% (279 reviews)[177]73 (59 reviews)[178]A[179]

Academy Awards

FilmBest PictureAnimated FeatureOriginal ScreenplayAdapted ScreenplayOriginal ScoreOriginal SongSound[a]Other
Sound EditingSound Mixing
Toy StoryAward not yet introducedNominatedIneligibleNominatedNominatedWon Special Achievement
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2IneligibleNominated
Monsters, Inc.NominatedIneligibleNominatedWonNominated
Finding NemoWonNominated
The IncrediblesWonNominated
CarsNominatedNominated
RatatouilleWonNominatedNominatedNominatedNominated
WALL-ENominated
UpNominatedWon
Toy Story 3IneligibleNominatedWon
Cars 2
BraveWonIneligible
Monsters UniversityIneligible
Inside OutWonNominatedIneligible
The Good Dinosaur
Finding DoryIneligible
Cars 3
CocoWonIneligibleWon
Incredibles 2NominatedIneligible
Toy Story 4WonNominated
OnwardNominatedIneligible
SoulWonWonNominated
LucaNominated
Turning Red
LightyearIneligible
ElementalNominatedIneligible

See also

References