With the arrival of Disney+, spending time at home watching movies is many people’s idea of heaven. However much time you have to kill, you can be sure of a range of emotions, from laughter to tears, from the Pixar timeline of films.
For this, we’re concentrating on the order to watch Pixar films according to the fabulous Pixar theory. This is a theory that all the Pixar movies are connected and create their own Pixar timeline. The PCU (Pixar Cinematic Universe) is a world within its own and these films take place at different times along the Pixar timeline. It’s a much more subtle continuation of time than the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with just hints and subtle clues throughout. The theory makes for amazing reading and we’re going to cover the films in the order you should watch them according to this theory. If you want to check out the correct order to watch other Disney films including the chronological order of classic Disney films, the MCU, Star Wars and live action Disney remakes, click on those links above.
The Films
The Good Dinosaur (2015)
Many consider this to be a box office bomb but this is where the Pixar timeline begins. We meet a dinosaur, an Apatosaurus by the name of Arlo. He gets lost far from home and with the help of a cave boy called Spot, finds his way back. We see an alternative Earth, one where Dinosaurs weren’t wiped out by an asteroid. Yet one where they do struggle where humans perhaps thrive. We do see though, that the dinosaurs are at a different level than we perhaps think. Foreshadowing the future capabilities of animals in the Pixar timeline world.
Brave (2012)
Jumping forward in the Pixar timeline, we arrive at medieval Scotland for the film Brave. The story of princess Merida who wants to be wild-and-free rather than married off to a prince. She runs away from home, meets a witch and changes her destiny. This witch character is a huge figure in the Pixar theory, with her carving of Sully of Monster’s Inc/University, a door through which she can seemingly travel anywhere and objects in her cabin that seem to have a mind of their own. Foreshadowing such things as Toys having emotions and coming to life, perhaps?
The Incredibles (2004)
Arriving in the 1950s, we discover a family of superheroes. The Incredibles sees Mr Incredible marry Elastigirl, before superheroes get removed from service. The two have kids, Mr Incredible gets bored of his desk job life and then jumps at the chance to fight crime (villainous artificial intelligent robots) once again. The Pixar Theory suggests that the United States government first created superheroes, by harnessing powerful human emotions. The collection of human emotions outlives superheroes, thanks to huge firm called Buy N Large (who crop up throughout Pixar films). This corporation also uses the AI tech that bad guy (and one time Mr Incredible fan) Syndrome made to defeat superheroes.
Luca (2021)
Luca is set in 1959 and tells the story of a young sea monster who lives deep below the sea. When he ventures to the surface, he turns into a human and lots of adventures happen!
The Incredibles 2 (2018)
The sequel is next on our list in the Pixar timeline. Whilst it took 14 years to get a sequel, it starts immediately where the original finished. The film focuses on the government cutting off support for superheroes and the uprising of mega corporations. One mega rich family enlists superheroes to try and get the project back into the works by gaining public trust once again, however, there is an underlying threat.
Lightyear (2022)
The origin story of the space ranger behind the toy!
Toy Story (1995)
The Pixar timeline moves forward to the 1990s. Toy Story is the first ever Pixar feature film. Andy’s toys come to life and have adventures of their own, getting up to all sorts of chaos. The whole gang of Woody, Buzz, Rex and the rest are apparently being used to collect the power of emotions mentioned above. The Pixar theory suggests that Buy N Large created toys to harvest human emotions. This energy that the toys are collecting allows them to come to life.
Turning Red (2022)
Meet teenager Mei Lee, who has an ancient connection to a certain animal and turns into a giant red panda when she is stressed or emotional.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
This is where toys (and later animals) start to resent humans. This sequel explores the abandonment that toys face when their owners get rid of them. Woody gets damaged and if he no longer gets played with, what really is his future? Jessie has already spent years in a box due to being left at a toy donation project by her owner. Whilst they jump at the chance to be played with once more, the resentment has begun.
Finding Nemo (2003)
This resentment follows into the first Pixar film of the new millennium. Under the sea is a great intellect of creatures and our story follows a clownfish whose son has been taken by a human diver. The fish we meet in the tank where Nemo eventually ends up and escapes from, resent being kept in a tank, longing to be free. These captive animals have the same feelings about their future that the toys in Toy Story felt earlier in the Pixar timeline.
Finding Dory (2016)
A whole 13 years passed between the original and this sequel however it picks up where Finding Dory finished. We discover that Dory was raised in captivity, close to humans. Whilst she has memory issues which the Pixar Theory suggests is because of this, it also suggests that the close to humans animals (and toys!) are, the smarter they ultimately can become.
Ratatouille (2007)
Next on the Pixar timeline is the 2007 outing and the story of a rat called Remy, who finds himself working in one of the top restaurants in Paris. Remy’s clan dislike humans continuing that resentment, however our hero rat has high intellect and can achieve great things, living in close quarters to humans.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Next in the Pixar timeline is Toy Story 3, what we all thought would be the final act of the Toy Story saga. Andy is preparing to leave for college and only a few of the original toys remain. They end up being accidentally donated to a nursery where they are mishandled and mistreated by the young children. We also see that Buzz is powered by Buy N Large batteries. This threequel has loads of hints at the larger PCU, as it suggests Andy knows of Carl and Ellie from Up and there’s a nod to Darla from Finding Nemo.
Toy Story 4 (2019)
The Toy Story we never thought we’d get follows on shortly after the end of its predecessor. The toys have been left with youngster Bonnie, we’re presuming Andy s happily cracking on at university. A new toy, crafted from junk at preschool is Bonnie’s new favourite. The film explores the idea of how toys can come to life, even if they’re made from odds and ends. Once a child believes, there is life. At one point Woody mentions having an inner voice which is interesting too, perhaps due to the amount of time he spent with Andy over the years. We also catch up with Bo Peep, who is living in the wild, without a kid. Why was she not in Toy Story 3, what happened to her and why is she so content with being without her kid?
Up (2009)
Carl & Ellie are a married couple but when Ellie passes away, Carl refuses to sell his home, as skyscrapers and city life builds up around him. Eventually he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies it to Paradise Falls, where Ellie always wanted to go. We see large scale industrialisation happening, pollution starting, even Buy N Large logos on construction equipment. There is also a step up in the intelligence of animals, with dogs being able to speak to humans by wearing special collars.
Inside Out (2015)
Meet Riley in Inside Out, her family is moving. Her emotions are personified and we can see them all come to life, from joy to anger. Inside Out’s biggest connection to the PCU is to Monster’s Inc where they eventually end up harvesting happiness, the strongest of the emotions. The imaginary friend Riley has could even be a long lost memory of a monster sent to get the energy of her happiness.
Coco (2017)
Coco focuses on the idea that things can continue to live, as long as they are remembered. Like Riley’s imaginary friend in Inside Out, once forgotten, they are gone. The memory keeps things alive on some level. In Coco we’re shown the Land Of The Dead, where those who have passed remain alive, albeit ghostly, whilst they are remembered by members of the living.
Soul (2020)
Voiced by Jamie Foxx, a middle school music teacher called Joe died after falling down a manhole. This is where his soul goes on a journey through the afterlife. We see shapeless blobs, pre life souls that are prepared for life. Opening up the idea of other things with human life thinking.
Cars (2006)
The Pixar timeline jumps to many years from now the world is populated by Cars, after humans abandon the planet due to population. How they come has many arguments. From the memories of their owners, to Buy N Large artificial technology explored in previous films above.
Cars 2 (2011)
The second Cars outing sees our hero Lightning McQueen and his friend Mater battle an evil car. It’s revealed that vehicles are now facing a fuel shortage and it explains, or maybe even confirms, the idea that Earth is now being cleaned up by robots (see Wall-E below).
Cars 3 (2017)
The final outing for Lightning McQueen shows up that cars can indeed move on. They have a shelf life and can’t last forever, even if they are able to find fuel. The baton is passed onto a younger racer whilst McQueen hangs up his racing tyres. A notable mention is one of a crab on the beach that the young Cruz mentions driving around. This is the first mention of any other life in all the Cars films.
Wall-E (2008)
Set in the year 2800, the Earth is ruined and robots are cleaning it up. Wall-E is fascinated by human culture and falls in love with another robot, Eve, who is searching for signs of life. The two must work together to try and beat an AI that is preventing humans from returning to the Earth. Set way into the future, Buy N Large took control of the world in the late part of the 21st century. They polluted it with rubbish, to the point where the human race abandoned it. The idea was to have robots clean it up in five years but the burning of rubbish caused even more pollution. Is this the way our large corporations will end up treating the planet? The Pixar timeline will no doubt tell us!
A Bug’s Life (1998)
This film jumps forward ahead of when the humans start coming back to Earth after Wall-E. It shows the adventures (and mis-adventrues!) of our ant hero Flik. Some animal and insects have survived the pollution of the planet, which is why we see a crab in Cars and a roach in Wall-E. Bugs don’t fear humans all that much as there aren’t that many around and back on the planet just yet.
Onward (2019)
There has always felt like a gap in the jump between A Bug’s Life and Monsters University but Onward is here to plug that gap. The story itself doesn’t connect much with the wider universe but the characters do. We follow the story of brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Two teenage elves live in a world with other mystical creatures like fairies and unicorns.
Monsters University (2013)
Next in the Pixar timeline is this prequel to the fantastic Monsters Inc shows how the two main characters come to know each other at college and eventually work together. The would-be-friends must work as a team to win the Scare Games, which sets up the original film.
Monsters Inc (2001)
Mike and Sully (the college friends from Monster’s University above) work at Monsters Inc. They enter children’s bedrooms every night to scare them and harvest the screams. One of the children (a girl called Boo) find their way back through one of the closet doors. The film is all about trying to get her back to her own world. This is where one of the big twists comes. Boo is actually the witch from Brave.
After Sully leaves her she tries to discover the magic behind the doors. The doors let people travel through time. This means that when the monsters in Monsters Inc are going through doors to scare the children, they’re actually going back in time to harvest these emotion emotions. The screams are traded for laughter and happiness which is more powerful (see Inside Out). Boo being the witch explains why there is a carving of Sully in her cabin and she can use the door to travel through time. Where will the Pixar timeline take us next?
Elemental (2023)
There are theories that Elemental works at both the very beginning of the Pixar Cinematic Universe, as well as right at the end as we now know it, after Monster’s Inc. It remains to be seen where it will officially fit.
PCU Evolution
In the time of the huge jump between humans coming back to Earth and the year 5000 when Monsters Inc is set, humans have become extinct and the animals and insects that remained on whilst the Earth was polluted have evolved into the monsters. Just like how humans replaced dinosaurs (The Good Dinosaur), monsters have now taken the place of humans. The doors are essential because the monsters must time travel to the past to harvest the screams/laughter in order to survive. The human emotions are the most powerful energy in the PCU, which I guess is true of those watching. Throughout the entire Pixar timeline, we laugh, we cry, we smile.
So, what do you think about the Pixar timeline? The theory and the new order you need to watch these films in? Whether you agree with it or think it’s nonsense, it’s fantastic to think about. You’ll never watch another Pixar film again without thinking about all this. Try to keep count of how many Luxo balls you can see throughout the PCU too!
