127 Fun Facts About Pixar

What is the name of the cowboy doll in Toy Story?

Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, is the cowboy doll and main protagonist of the Toy Story franchise. He is Andy's favorite toy and the leader of the toy group.

In Monsters, Inc., what do the monsters collect from children to power their city?

Screams power the monsters' city: the entire economy of Monsters, Inc. (2001) revolves around scaring children, until Sulley and Mike discover laughter is ten times more powerful.

What type of animal is Remy in Ratatouille?

Remy is a rat, voiced by Patton Oswalt. The bonus short Your Friend the Rat has Remy and his brother Emile lobbying humans to give rats a fairer hearing.

In Up's wordless opening montage, what job does Carl Fredricksen hold at the city zoo?

Carl is a balloon salesman at the zoo where Ellie works as a zookeeper. The four-minute 'Married Life' montage shows their whole marriage together without a line of dialogue.

In Inside Out, what are the five main emotions inside Riley's head?

Riley's five emotions are Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. Pete Docter consulted psychologists Paul Ekman and Dacher Keltner and trimmed a longer list that had included Surprise and Pride.

What does WALL-E stand for?

WALL-E stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-class. Sound designer Ben Burtt, who created R2-D2's beeps, supplied his voice; the starliner's giant WALL-A units are his trash-compacting cousins.

Which Pixar movie is set in the Land of the Dead during Dia de los Muertos?

Coco (2017) sends Miguel to the Land of the Dead after he strums the guitar in Ernesto de la Cruz's mausoleum. Disney withdrew a 2013 bid to trademark 'Día de los Muertos' after a backlash.

What is Lightning McQueen's catchphrase in Cars?

Lightning McQueen's catchphrase is 'Ka-chow!', delivered as he flashes his lightning-bolt stickers. His racing number 95 nods to 1995, the year Toy Story was released.

Who voices Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story films?

Tim Allen has voiced Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story films since the 1995 original; Allen, then starring in Home Improvement, was cast after Billy Crystal turned the role down.

What was the first feature-length film produced by Pixar?

Toy Story (1995) was Pixar's first feature film and the first entirely computer-animated feature film ever made. It was a groundbreaking achievement in cinema history.

In Finding Nemo, what is Dory's most notable trait?

Dory suffers short-term memory loss, the running gag of Finding Nemo. The regal blue tang, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, can nevertheless read human writing and speak whale.

What is the name of the purple toy octopus in Toy Story 3?

Stretch, the purple rubber octopus, is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg. One of Lotso's daycare enforcers, she hesitates at the dumpster and abandons him once his lies are exposed.

Which actor voices the character of Sulley in Monsters, Inc.?

John Goodman voices Sulley, with Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski and Steve Buscemi as rival Randall. Sulley's fur, some 2.3 million individually rendered hairs, was the film's great technical headache.

Which song does Miguel play on Héctor's guitar to rouse his fading great-grandmother?

'Remember Me', written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Ernesto de la Cruz had passed it off as his own after stealing it from Héctor.

In Ratatouille, which restaurant does Remy secretly cook in?

The late Auguste Gusteau's motto was 'Anyone can cook'. Once the health inspector exposes the rats it is shut down, and the trio open a bistro called La Ratatouille instead.

What year was Pixar Animation Studios founded?

Pixar was incorporated in February 1986, spun out of the Graphics Group that had built the Genesis Effect for Star Trek II; Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith led the new company.

Which Pixar short film features an old man playing chess against himself?

Geri's Game (1997) is a Pixar short film about an elderly man named Geri who plays a fierce game of chess against himself in the park. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

What is the significance of the code 'A113' in Pixar films?

A113 is the CalArts animation classroom where John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter and Tim Burton studied. It appears as Andy's mom's licence plate in Toy Story and the courtroom number in Up.

Which Pixar film was the first to win the Academy Award for Best Original Score?

Up won Best Original Score at the March 2010 Academy Awards, the first Pixar film to take that award. Soul became the second in 2021.

Which tech mogul bankrolled Pixar's spin-off and was its CEO until Disney bought it in 2006?

Steve Jobs paid $5 million for the technology rights and invested another $5 million as capital, then poured in some $50 million more before Toy Story made the company profitable; Disney's 2006 buyout made him its largest individual shareholder.

What are the names of the two main element characters in Elemental?

Ember and Wade are voiced by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie. Director Peter Sohn drew on his Korean immigrant parents' Bronx grocery for the Lumen family's shop in Element City.

In Soul, what is Joe Gardner's dream profession?

Joe Gardner dreams of being a jazz musician, a pianist stuck teaching middle-school band. Jamie Foxx voices him, Jon Batiste wrote the piano parts, and Angela Bassett plays saxophonist Dorothea Williams, whose quartet gives him his break.

What is the name of Pixar's rendering software that revolutionized CGI?

RenderMan, which grew out of the REYES architecture ('renders everything you ever saw') developed before the studio's spin-off, has rendered every Pixar feature and earned a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 1993.

Which Pixar short film, featuring a desk lamp and rubber ball, became the studio's mascot?

Luxo Jr. features a large desk lamp (Luxo Sr.) and a smaller one (Luxo Jr.) playing with a rubber ball; the little lamp became Pixar's mascot and hops into the studio's logo animation.

What recurring vehicle appears as an Easter egg in almost every Pixar film?

The Pizza Planet truck, a battered Toyota pickup with a rocket on its roof, debuted in Toy Story and hides in nearly every Pixar feature since; its tailgate lettering is worn down to 'YO'.

In Brave, what does Merida's mother Queen Elinor get turned into?

Queen Elinor is transformed into a bear after Merida gets a spell from a witch to 'change her mother.' Merida must find a way to reverse the spell before the change becomes permanent at the second sunrise.

Which Pixar film was the first animated movie to gross $1 billion worldwide?

Toy Story 3 crossed $1 billion worldwide in August 2010, the first animated film to do so, and finished as the top-grossing film of 2010.

What is the name of the food critic who writes a review at the end of Ratatouille?

Anton Ego, voiced by Peter O'Toole, is the feared critic. Remy's confit byaldi sends him back to his mother's kitchen, and his glowing review praises the chef without revealing that the chef is a rat.

Who directed both Toy Story and Toy Story 2?

John Lasseter directed both films and received a Special Achievement Oscar in 1996 for the first. He later ran animation for both Pixar and Disney until leaving in 2018.

How much did Disney pay to acquire Pixar in 2006?

The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar Animation Studios on May 5, 2006, for approximately $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal. This made Steve Jobs the largest individual shareholder in Disney at the time.

The fan-made 'Pixar Theory', published by Jon Negroni in 2013, proposes what about the studio's films?

Negroni's chain runs from Brave in the Middle Ages to Monsters, Inc. in the far future, with Boo growing up to become the witch from Brave. Pixar has never endorsed it.

Which 1989 Pixar short about a snowman in a snow globe was reissued with Finding Nemo?

Knick Knack (1989) stars Knick, a snowman trapped in a 'Nome Sweet Nome' globe who pines for a Sunny Miami souvenir. The 2003 reissue with Finding Nemo toned down the pool-lounger's proportions.

Which Pixar short about a Chinese-Canadian mother and a dumpling won the Oscar for Best Animated Short?

Bao (2018) won Domee Shi the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. She drew on her own mother's line, 'I wish I could put you back in my stomach,' and went on to direct Turning Red.

Which Pixar sequel picks up the moment its predecessor ended, 13.5 years later?

Incredibles 2 (2018) resumes seconds after the 2004 original's Underminer cliffhanger. It grossed over $1.2 billion and set the record for the biggest animated opening weekend in North America.

The yellow ball in the Luxo Jr. short has a blue stripe and what other marking?

The ball carries a red star beside its blue stripe. Luxo Jr. bounces it until it bursts, then returns with a beach ball; the same ball turns up in Andy's room in Toy Story and Boo's room in Monsters, Inc.

Which Pixar film was almost entirely scrapped and restarted just 9 months before its release date?

Toy Story 2 was originally planned as a direct-to-video sequel. When the initial story was deemed not good enough, the entire film was essentially remade in just 9 months. The crunch was so intense that one animator developed carpal tunnel syndrome and another forgot their baby in a hot car.

Who directed WALL-E and also directed Finding Nemo?

Andrew Stanton directed both Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008). Both films won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Stanton also co-wrote all four Toy Story films and wrote A Bug's Life.

In Toy Story, what is the name of Sid's dog?

Scud, Sid's bull terrier, mauls a squeeze-toy alien on command and chases the toys during the escape from Sid's house. Andy's family gets its own dog, the dachshund Buster, in the sequel.

Which Pixar film was the first reported to lose money in its theatrical run?

The Good Dinosaur (2015) grossed about $332 million on a $175-200 million budget before marketing, an estimated $85 million loss. Its release slipped 18 months after director Bob Peterson was replaced mid-production.

Which two Pixar pioneers shared the 2019 ACM A.M. Turing Award?

Ed Catmull was Pixar's founding president; Pat Hanrahan, a founding employee, later spent decades at Stanford and co-founded Tableau Software. The Turing Award is computing's equivalent of the Nobel.

The Toy Story cowboy was inspired by which toy from director John Lasseter's own childhood?

John Lasseter's childhood pull-string Casper the Friendly Ghost doll inspired Woody, who was a ventriloquist's dummy in early drafts before becoming a cowboy. The name honours Western actor Woody Strode.

Which toy-store owner steals the cowboy doll from a yard sale in Toy Story 2?

Al McWhiggin, owner of Al's Toy Barn and TV's 'Chicken Man', is voiced by Wayne Knight; he plans to sell the complete Woody's Roundup set to a toy museum in Tokyo.

Which Pixar film features a superhero family fighting a villain named Syndrome?

The Incredibles (2004) pits the Parr family against Syndrome, born Buddy Pine, the rejected fanboy who got rich selling weapons that mimic superpowers. Brad Bird brought much of his Iron Giant crew to Pixar to make it.

How many balloons did Pixar render for the lift-off sequence in Up?

Pixar rendered about 20,600 balloons, 20,622 exactly, for the lift-off sequence, against roughly 10,300 in the later flying scenes. A real house would need many millions.

In The Incredibles, what is Edna Mode's famous rule about superhero costumes?

'No capes!' is Edna's rule, backed by a montage of Thunderhead, Stratogale, Meta-Man, Dynaguy and Splashdown undone by theirs; Syndrome's fate later proves her point. Director Brad Bird voices her himself.

What is the name of the imaginary friend who sacrifices himself in Inside Out?

Bing Bong, Riley's pink cat-elephant-dolphin made of cotton candy, is voiced by Richard Kind and was kept out of the marketing so he would surprise audiences. He fades away so Joy can escape the Memory Dump.

Which Pixar film features two teenage elf brothers on a quest to bring their father back for one day?

Onward (2020) casts Ian and Barley Lightfoot as the elf brothers. Director Dan Scanlon lost his own father as a baby and wrote it after a relative found a tape holding two words in his father's voice.

In WALL-E, what is the name of the spaceship where humanity lives?

The Axiom, a Buy n Large starliner, has cruised for 700 years while its passengers, softened by hover-chairs, forgot how to walk. Its rogue autopilot AUTO speaks with Apple's MacInTalk voice.

Pixar began in 1979 as part of which company's computer division?

Lucasfilm's Computer Division, set up in 1979 under Ed Catmull, housed the Graphics Group that was later spun off; its Pixar Image Computer gave the new company its name.

In which California city is Pixar headquartered?

Pixar moved to its Emeryville campus, across the bay from San Francisco, in November 2000 on the back of Toy Story's success; before that it worked out of Point Richmond.

How many Academy Awards had Pixar won by the end of 2025?

Pixar's 23 Oscars by the end of 2025 came from Best Animated Feature, animated shorts, original songs, original scores, sound editing and the 1996 Special Achievement Award for Toy Story.

How many Pixar films won Best Animated Feature from the award's 2001 debut through 2024?

Eleven: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside Out, Coco, Toy Story 4 and Soul. No Pixar film won for the 2021-2024 film years.

Which actor voiced a character in every Pixar feature from Toy Story through Onward?

John Ratzenberger, Cheers' Cliff Clavin, was Pixar's good-luck charm: Hamm the piggy bank in Toy Story, the Abominable Snowman in Monsters, Inc. and a construction worker in Onward.

Which film festival gave five Pixar directors a lifetime achievement award in 2009?

The 2009 Venice Film Festival gave Lasseter, Bird, Docter, Stanton and Unkrich a shared Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, the festival's top honorary prize.

Which two men were Catmull's first hires at NYIT's Computer Graphics Lab?

Ed Catmull hired Malcolm Blanchard, then Alvy Ray Smith and David DiFrancesco, at the New York Institute of Technology's Computer Graphics Lab in 1974-75, the nucleus of the team that later became Pixar.

Which actor voices Lotso, the strawberry-scented bear villain of Toy Story 3?

Ned Beatty voices Lotso, the strawberry-scented Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear who rules the daycare's toys with an iron paw. Timothy Dalton voices the thespian hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants in the same film.

Toy Story premiered at which Los Angeles venue on November 19, 1995?

Toy Story premiered at the El Capitan Theatre, the Disney-owned Hollywood Boulevard cinema, before reaching US cinemas on November 22, 1995 as the first entirely computer-animated feature.

Which screenwriter was hired to rework Toy Story's script and added the dinosaur Rex?

Joss Whedon, later the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, shared Toy Story's screenplay credit with Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow; he has said he added the anxious dinosaur Rex.

Toy Story was the first animated film nominated for which Academy Award?

Toy Story's 1996 nomination for Best Original Screenplay was the first for an animated film; it also earned nods for score and song and a non-competitive Special Achievement Award for John Lasseter.

What were Buzz Lightyear's two working names before Pixar settled on Buzz?

The toy was Lunar Larry, then Tempus from Morph, before becoming Buzz Lightyear, a name honouring astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the light-year unit.

A Bug's Life was initially inspired by which Aesop fable?

A Bug's Life began as a riff on Aesop's 'The Ant and the Grasshopper', with the grasshoppers recast as a gang extorting the ant colony's harvest.

Which Pixar short played in theaters ahead of Monsters, Inc.?

For the Birds, Ralph Eggleston's short about a flock of small birds mocking a gangly newcomer, ran before Monsters, Inc. in 2001 and won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Which DreamWorks co-founder feuded with Jobs and Lasseter over Antz?

Jeffrey Katzenberg, who left Disney to co-found DreamWorks in 1994, rushed Antz into cinemas in October 1998, a month before A Bug's Life; Lasseter and Jobs accused him of stealing the idea.

What is the name of the monster city in Monsters, Inc.?

Monstropolis is the monsters' city, powered by the Monsters, Inc. factory whose scarers enter children's bedrooms through closet doors; the name is a play on 'metropolis'.

Which was the first song from a Pixar film to win the Best Original Song Oscar?

'If I Didn't Have You', sung by Billy Crystal and John Goodman over the credits, gave Randy Newman his first Oscar on his sixteenth nomination; Monsters, Inc. was his fourth Pixar score.

Nemo ends up in a fish tank in the office of a dentist in which city?

A whale later expels Marlin and Dory into Sydney Harbour through its blowhole.

Roughly how much did Finding Nemo earn in its initial theatrical run?

Finding Nemo's initial 2003 run earned about $871 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated film at the time; a 2012 3D reissue lifted its total past $940 million.

Which actor voices Marlin, the overprotective clownfish, in Finding Nemo?

Albert Brooks voices Marlin, with Ellen DeGeneres as Dory; Willem Dafoe plays Gill, the tank's scarred moorish idol, and Alexander Gould voices Nemo.

Brad Bird was Pixar's first what?

Brad Bird, hired in 2000 after The Iron Giant, was the first outside director Pixar brought in; The Incredibles (2004) was his debut there.

Who composed the orchestral score for The Incredibles?

Michael Giacchino's big-band spy score for The Incredibles was his first feature film; he went on to score Ratatouille, Up, Inside Out and Coco for Pixar.

Which racing legend voices the veteran Dinoco champion Strip Weathers in Cars?

Richard Petty, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion, voices Strip 'The King' Weathers, whose Plymouth Superbird body and number 43 match Petty's own car.

Whose departure from Pixar in 2005 led Brad Bird to take over Ratatouille?

Jan Pinkava had developed Ratatouille since 2000; Pixar management lost confidence in the story and replaced him with Brad Bird in 2005, though Pinkava kept a co-director credit.

Which actor voices garbage boy Alfredo Linguini in Ratatouille?

Romano was a Pixar art department staffer; Brad Garrett voices Gusteau.

Which musical does WALL-E watch on video cassette and mimic?

WALL-E wears out a tape of Hello, Dolly! (1969), learning to hold hands from 'It Only Takes a Moment' and dancing to 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes'.

Which actress voices the ship's computer in WALL-E?

Sigourney Weaver, the Alien franchise's Ripley, voices the ship's computer; Elissa Knight voices EVE, and Fred Willard appears in live action as the Buy n Large CEO.

In 2021 WALL-E became the second Pixar feature selected for which honour?

The Library of Congress added WALL-E to the National Film Registry in 2021, the second Pixar feature after Toy Story, which was chosen in 2005; the Registry preserves 25 culturally significant films each year.

Up debuted at which film festival on May 13, 2009?

Up opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the first animated film to do so, and went on to become the second animated Best Picture nominee after Beauty and the Beast.

Which actor voices Carl's discredited childhood idol Charles Muntz in Up?

Christopher Plummer voices Charles Muntz, the explorer whose giant bird skeleton from Paradise Falls had been deemed a fake; Edward Asner plays Carl and Bob Peterson voices Dug.

Which Up short-form sequel series premiered on Disney+ in September 2021?

Dug Days, five shorts following Dug, the talking golden retriever voiced by Bob Peterson, premiered on Disney+ on September 1, 2021; Peterson also directed.

To which daycare are the toys accidentally donated in Toy Story 3?

Sunnyside Daycare receives the toys after Andy's mother mistakes the attic-bound bag for trash and the toys climb into the donation box in the car.

Who wrote the screenplay for Toy Story 3?

Arndt had won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine; Lee Unkrich directed.

Who voices Ken, Barbie's fashion-obsessed beau, in Toy Story 3?

Michael Keaton voices Ken, the Dream House-dwelling doll who insists he is not a girl's toy and falls for Barbie, voiced by Jodi Benson.

Brave was the first film animated with which new Pixar system?

Presto, Pixar's in-house animation system named after the 2008 short, replaced Marionette with Brave (2012). The film was also the studio's first with a female protagonist and is dedicated to Steve Jobs.

Which actress voices the princess in Brave?

Kelly Macdonald voices Merida, replacing Reese Witherspoon, who left over scheduling; Emma Thompson voices Queen Elinor and Julie Walters the witch.

Which Pixar heroine was the first Disney Princess created by the studio?

Merida was crowned the eleventh Disney Princess on May 11, 2013, the first Pixar character admitted to the lineup; Brave is set in the Scottish Highlands.

Monsters University was reworked in 2011 from an announced sequel into what?

Monsters University (2013) is a prequel showing Mike and Sulley meeting as college rivals; Dan Scanlon directed after the project, announced in 2010 as a sequel, was reworked in 2011.

Pete Docter conceived Inside Out in October 2009 after observing what?

Pete Docter pitched the film after watching his daughter Elie, who had voiced young Ellie in Up, grow quieter and more reserved around age 11; those changes in her personality became Riley's story.

Which actress voices Sadness in Inside Out?

Phyllis Smith, The Office's Phyllis Vance, voices Sadness; Amy Poehler is Joy, Bill Hader is Fear, Lewis Black is Anger and Mindy Kaling is Disgust.

What species is Arlo, the timid hero of The Good Dinosaur?

Arlo is a young Apatosaurus, a long-necked sauropod, raised on a farm in a world where the asteroid missed and dinosaurs never went extinct; he befriends a human boy, Spot.

Which director took over The Good Dinosaur from Bob Peterson?

Sohn later directed Elemental.

Hank, the octopus in Finding Dory, has how many limbs?

Hank has seven limbs, a 'septopus' who lost a tentacle somewhere along the way; Ed O'Neill voices the camouflaging escape artist of the Marine Life Institute.

Roughly how much did Finding Dory gross worldwide?

Finding Dory took $1.029 billion worldwide, the third-highest gross of 2016 behind Captain America: Civil War and Rogue One, and the top animated film of the year.

Which arrogant rookie overshadows Lightning McQueen in Cars 3?

Jackson Storm, voiced by Armie Hammer, is the high-tech rookie whose arrival sidelines McQueen; trainer Cruz Ramirez, voiced by Cristela Alonzo, helps him fight back.

Who directed Cars 3?

Brian Fee, a storyboard artist on the first two Cars films, made his directing debut with Cars 3 (2017); it grossed $383 million against a $175 million budget.

How old is Miguel in Coco?

Miguel Rivera is 12, an aspiring musician in a shoemaking family that banned music generations earlier; Anthony Gonzalez voices him.

Which Coco co-writer later co-directed Elio?

Adrian Molina co-wrote Coco with Matthew Aldrich and co-directed it with Lee Unkrich, then shared Elio's (2025) directing credit with Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi.

Which siblings run DevTech and recruit the Parrs in Incredibles 2?

Winston and Evelyn Deavor, voiced by Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener, run DevTech; Winston's campaign of broadcast missions aims to win back public trust and re-legalise supers.

Which villain does Elastigirl unmask as the main antagonist of Incredibles 2?

The Screenslaver's hypnotic broadcasts are the front for a DevTech insider's plot to keep supers illegal; Elastigirl, not Mr. Incredible, is the hero sent to bring the villain in.

What kind of utensil is Forky, the toy created in Toy Story 4?

Forky is a spork that Bonnie turns into a toy with a pipe cleaner, googly eyes and a broken popsicle stick on her kindergarten orientation day.

Who directed Toy Story 4?

Josh Cooley, who had directed the Inside Out short Riley's First Date?, made his feature debut with Toy Story 4 (2019), which won Best Animated Feature; Keanu Reeves joined as Duke Caboom.

Which actors voice elf brothers Ian and Barley in Onward?

Tom Holland voices the shy Ian and Chris Pratt the boisterous Barley; the Marvel co-stars' quest aims to bring back their father Wilden for a single day.

Soul was released directly on Disney+ on which date in 2020?

Soul landed on Disney+ on Christmas Day, December 25, 2020, after the pandemic scrapped its November cinema date; it was accompanied by the short Burrow and was Pixar's first film with a Black lead.

Which two musicians composed Soul's non-jazz score?

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails scored the Great Before's ambient world, while Jon Batiste wrote the jazz; all three shared the Oscar for Best Original Score.

Which Italian Riviera town is the setting of Luca?

Portorosso is a fictional town modelled on the Cinque Terre villages where director Enrico Casarosa spent his Genoa childhood summers; Luca and Alberto are sea monsters who pass as boys there.

Turning Red is set in which city and year?

Turning Red unfolds in Toronto in 2002, the year Domee Shi turned 13 in the city; Mei's Tamagotchi and boy-band mania pin the period.

Which sibling duo wrote the original songs for the boy band 4*Town in Turning Red?

Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell wrote 4*Town's three songs, including 'Nobody Like U'; Ludwig Göransson composed the score.

Which actor voices Buzz in Lightyear?

Chris Evans voices the 'real' Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger whose film inspired the toy; Angus MacLane directed, and Sox is Buzz's robotic companion cat.

Which four new emotions arrive in Inside Out 2?

Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui arrive with Riley's puberty in Inside Out 2 (2024); Maya Hawke voices Anxiety, who takes over headquarters, and Kelsey Mann directed.

Which 2025 film was the first animated release to gross $2 billion worldwide?

Ne Zha 2, a Chinese sequel released for Lunar New Year 2025, passed $2 billion worldwide, almost all of it in China, and took the all-time animated box-office record from Inside Out 2 ($1.699 billion).

Which actor replaced Bill Hader as the voice of Fear in Inside Out 2?

Tony Hale, Arrested Development's Buster and Toy Story 4's Forky, took over Fear from Bill Hader; Liza Lapira replaced Mindy Kaling as Disgust.

In Elio, the boy is beamed up to what intergalactic organisation?

The Communiverse, an interplanetary assembly of ambassadors, beams Elio up after mistaking him for Earth's leader; he befriends Glordon, son of the warlord Lord Grigon.

Roughly what did Elio gross worldwide after Pixar's lowest-ever opening weekend?

Elio (2025) finished with about $154 million worldwide after a $21 million domestic opening, the lowest in Pixar's history, despite generally positive reviews.

In Toy Story 5, what is Lilypad, Bonnie's new favourite plaything?

Lilypad is a frog-themed tablet whose grip on Bonnie's attention pits the toys against technology; Andrew Stanton directed the June 2026 film.

In Hoppers, Mabel Tanaka transfers her consciousness into a robotic what?

Mabel hops into a lifelike robotic beaver to infiltrate the animal world and save a local pond; Daniel Chong (We Bare Bears) directed the March 2026 film.

Pete Docter, Pixar's chief creative officer from 2018, was born in which Minnesota city?

Pete Docter was born in Bloomington, Minnesota, in 1968 and joined Pixar in 1990 as one of its first animators; he calls himself a 'geeky kid from Minnesota who likes to draw cartoons'.

Brad Bird was an executive consultant on which animated sitcom for eight seasons?

Brad Bird served as an executive consultant on The Simpsons for its first eight seasons, directing the 1990 episode 'Krusty Gets Busted'; his 1999 film The Iron Giant was acclaimed but bombed.

Which two Lee Unkrich films each won Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song?

Toy Story 3 (2010) and Coco (2017) each won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Oscars; Unkrich retired from Pixar in January 2019 after 25 years.

Which Pixar feature did the sandpiper short Piper accompany in cinemas?

Piper, Alan Barillaro's short about a sandpiper chick learning to brave the waves, ran before Finding Dory in June 2016 and won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Which Pixar short about a stork and cloud played before Up?

Partly Cloudy, Peter Sohn's 2009 short, pairs Gus, a grey cloud who makes dangerous babies, with his loyal stork Peck; it played before Up.

La Luna is loosely based on a short story by which Italian author?

Enrico Casarosa drew loosely on Italo Calvino's story 'The Distance of the Moon' from Cosmicomics for La Luna, which played before Brave in 2012 and was his directorial debut.

Lava director James Ford Murphy's interest in Hawaii began during what?

Murphy fell for Hawaii on his honeymoon and later made Lava, a ukulele love song between two volcanoes sung by Kuana Torres Kahele and Napua Greig; it played before Inside Out in 2015.

What did the original Pixar Image Computer sell for at launch?

The Pixar Image Computer sold for $135,000 and also needed a $35,000 Sun or Silicon Graphics workstation; Disney was the biggest customer, buying dozens for its CAPS ink-and-paint system.

Which was the first Pixar feature released without an accompanying short film?

Lightyear, Inside Out 2, Elio, Hoppers and Toy Story 5 followed suit.

Pixar's first original series, Win or Lose, follows a middle-school team in which sport?

Win or Lose (2025), Pixar's first original series, follows the Pickles, a co-ed middle-school softball team; each episode retells the week before the championship from a different member's viewpoint.

When Pixar Pier opened in 2018, California Screamin' was rethemed as which coaster?

The Incredicoaster, themed to the Parr family chasing baby Jack-Jack, opened with Pixar Pier on June 23, 2018; Mickey's Fun Wheel became the Pixar Pal-A-Round.

Brenda Chapman, Pixar's first female director, was replaced on Brave in 2010 by whom?

Mark Andrews took over Brave in October 2010 after Chapman's creative clashes with John Lasseter; she kept a co-director credit and shared the Oscar, the first woman to win Best Animated Feature.

Who was the real-life inspiration for Brave's heroine?

Chapman's daughter Emma Rose Lima, whose father is Enchanted director Kevin Lima, inspired the headstrong heroine of the original story The Bear and the Bow.