Introduction to Pixar’s Feature Films
Pixar Animation Studios has defined a generation of animated storytelling since the mid-1990s. This guide presents every theatrical Pixar feature in chronological order, clarifying which titles belong to the official canon and which do not. The focus here is on standalone theatrical features produced or co-produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released in cinemas.
How We Define a Pixar Movie
For this list, a Pixar movie is an animated theatrical feature with primary creative development led by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (except early titles distributed by Touchstone Pictures). Short films, spin-offs, television specials, and films from Disneytoon Studios or other divisions are excluded unless they carry a main theatrical release under the Pixar banner.
Complete Pixar Filmography in Release Order
The following table lists every Pixar theatrical feature, its release year, and a one-line descriptor. This canonical view reflects official studio releases and is updated only when a studio-curated list changes.
| Title | Release Year | Descriptor |
|---|---|---|
| Toy Story | 1995 | A cowboy and a space ranger argue and unite on a road trip. |
| A Bug’s Life | 1998 | An inventive ant recruits warriors to defend his colony. |
| Toy Story 2 | 1999 | Woody is stolen by a collector, prompting a daring rescue. |
| Monsters, Inc. | 2001 | Two monsters generate power by scaring children, until a toddler changes everything. |
| Finding Nemo | 2003 | An overprotective clownfish crosses the ocean to find his son. |
| The Incredibles | A family of superheroes emerges from hiding to save the day. | |
| Cars | 2006 | A hotshot race car gets stranded in a forgotten town and learns what’s important. |
| Ratatouille | 2007 | A rat with culinary dreams teams up with a kitchen worker in Paris. |
| WALL·E | 2008 | A waste-collecting robot on a deserted Earth discovers a new purpose. |
| Up | 2009 | An elderly widower ties thousands of balloons to his house to reach South America. |
| Inside Out | 2015 | Emotions inside a young girl’s mind navigate a cross-country move. |
| The Good Dinosaur | 2015 | An Apatosaurus and a boy survive a changing world in a heartfelt Western adventure. |
| Finding Dory | 2016 | Dory searches for her parents with the help of friends from the first film. |
| Cars 3 | 2017 | A veteran racecar confronts a new generation of speed machines and his own limits. |
| Coco | 2017 | Aspiring musician Miguel enters the Land of the Dead to uncover his family history. |
| Incredibles 2 | 2018 | The Parr family balances family life with a high-stakes super mission. |
| Toy Story 4 | 2019 | Woody and the gang join a road trip with new friends, prompting questions about purpose. |
| Onward | 2020 | Two elf brothers go on a quest to spend one more day with their late father. |
| Soul | 2020 | A jazz musician’s near-death experience leads him to explore the meaning of purpose. |
| Luca | 2021 | A sea monster boy spends a transformative summer on the Italian Riviera with a new friend. |
| Turning Red | 2022 | In 2002 Toronto, a teen grapples with family expectations when she transforms into a giant red panda. |
| Lightyear | 22022 | A test pilot’s journey through time becomes the bedtime story that inspired Buzz Lightyear. |
| Elemental | 2023 | In a city where elements live together, a fiery woman and a go-with-the-flow guy spark something new. |
Notable Patterns and Context
Several entries mark milestone achievements for the studio: Toy Story (1995) launched the first fully computer-animated feature film; WALL·E (2008) earned acclaim for minimal dialogue and environmental storytelling; and Inside Out (2015) offered a deeply psychological narrative about emotion. The studio also embraced diverse settings and genres, from the aquatic adventure of Finding Nemo (2003) to the Mexican folklore of Coco (2017). Sequel frequency increased in the 2010s, with Toy Story 4 (2019) and Incredibles 2 (2018) exploring character growth years after their originals.
Commonly Asked Questions
- Are short films part of the official Pixar movie list? No; this list includes only theatrical feature films released in cinemas.
- Which Pixar movie came first? Toy Story (1995) is the earliest theatrical feature from the studio.
- Which was the most recent Pixar theatrical feature? Elemental (2023) is the latest as of 2024.
- Do spin-offs like Lightyear count as Pixar movies? Lightyear is a theatrical film produced by Pixar, but it is a spin-off of the Toy Story universe rather than a mainline entry in the Toy Story series.
How to Follow New Releases from Pixar
Because this is an evergreen list, future announcements from Pixar may add new entries. When a new theatrical feature is confirmed for theatrical release by Walt Disney Studios and Pixar, it can be incorporated into the official chronological filmography. For the most current slate, refer to the studio’s official press releases and Disney’s scheduled release calendar.
Conclusion
This ordered overview is designed to remain useful over time, providing a clear reference for every Pixar theatrical feature. If you are looking to watch the studio’s work in sequence, this list reflects the official release order and can serve as a durable foundation for exploring Pixar’s filmography.