177 Fun Facts About Pixar

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

Woody was a mean-spirited bully in early story reels; a disastrous screening for Disney nearly got the film cancelled, so Pixar rewrote him as the toys' caring leader.

At the start of 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.

In Ratatouille, how does Remy secretly control Linguini's movements in the kitchen?

By tugging his hair from under the chef's hat, Remy works Linguini like a marionette, so the garbage boy gets the credit for dishes that are really cooked by a rat.

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

Balloon salesman was Carl's job at the zoo where his wife Ellie worked as a keeper; as a widower he ties thousands of balloons to their house and floats it toward South America.

In Inside Out, which emotion completes Riley's original five alongside Joy, Sadness, Anger and Fear?

Disgust made the cut, but surprise did not: Pete Docter dropped it from a psychologist's list of basic emotions because it seemed too similar to Fear.

What does WALL-E stand for?

Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-class is the full name of the last trash-compactor robot still running after 700 years; he keeps going by salvaging parts from broken-down units of his own kind.

In Coco, a glowing bridge made from the petals of which flower links the living to the Land of the Dead?

Marigold petals form the bridge because of a real custom: on the Day of the Dead, Mexican families lay out marigolds, whose bright colour and strong scent are thought to guide souls to their offerings.

What is Lightning McQueen's catchphrase in Cars?

'Ka-chow!' is the cocky rookie's catchphrase. His racing number was going to be 57, his director's birth year, until Pixar switched it to 95 to mark 1995, the year of its first feature film.

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.

Bruce, the great white in Finding Nemo, shares his name with the mechanical shark built for which film?

Jaws' crew nicknamed their mechanical shark Bruce after Steven Spielberg's lawyer; Pixar borrowed the name for a great white who is trying to give up eating fish.

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, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, helps Lotso's gang recapture the toys with her elastic arms, but balks when he orders her to shove them into the dumpster.

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

John Goodman got the part after Bill Murray, who had screen-tested for Sulley and wanted it, could not be reached with the offer; the director took his silence as a no.

In Coco, which song does Miguel play to rouse his fading great-grandmother?

Remember Me was written by Héctor as a lullaby for his daughter, but Ernesto de la Cruz poisoned him, stole his songs and passed it off as his own.

In Ratatouille, which restaurant does Remy secretly cook in?

Gusteau's is shut down once word gets out that rats run its kitchen, so Remy, Linguini and Colette open a small bistro of their own, with the rat colony living in the attic.

Before it took the name Pixar, the studio's team created the digital 'Genesis Effect' for a film in which series?

Star Trek II (1982) carried their Genesis Effect, one continuous shot of a barren planet bursting into life; the team treated it as a commercial for itself, aimed at its own boss, who had yet to see what computer graphics could do.

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

Geri's Game let Pixar practise animating human skin and clothing; Geri himself returned as the toy cleaner in a later feature, where chess pieces can be glimpsed in his kit drawers.

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

A CalArts animation classroom, A113 was where many Pixar animators trained; alumnus Brad Bird first slipped the number onto a licence plate in a 1980s TV cartoon, and classmates have hidden it in their films ever since.

In Up, which animal makes the talking golden retriever break off in the middle of a sentence?

A squirrel, or just the thought of one, stops him with a cry of 'Squirrel!'; he can talk at all only because his master's collar turns a dog's thoughts into speech.

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

Steve Jobs owned about half of Pixar by 2006, so Disney's all-stock purchase made him Disney's largest individual shareholder, with roughly 7% of its shares.

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

Ember and Wade's story grew from the director's own life: his Korean immigrant parents ran a grocery in the Bronx, and his marriage to someone who wasn't Korean brought the culture clash he put on screen.

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

Jazz musician is the dream of Joe, a pianist stuck teaching middle-school band; on the very day he wins a place in a famous saxophonist's quartet, he falls down a manhole and his soul leaves his body.

Which Pixar software, also sold to other studios, produced Toy Story's final images?

RenderMan reached cinemas through other studios first, helping to create the effects of Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park before Pixar had released a feature film of its own.

Which Pixar short stars the hopping desk lamp that became the studio's mascot?

Luxo Jr. gave Pixar more than a mascot: the little lamp now hops across the studio's logo before each film and takes the place of the letter I.

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

A Pizza Planet truck made its debut in Toy Story and has been hidden in almost every Pixar feature since; in medieval Brave, where no truck could drive past, it turns up as a small wood carving.

In Brave, what does a witch's spell turn Queen Elinor into?

A bear is what Queen Elinor becomes when her daughter buys a spell to change her mind about an arranged marriage; unless the two mend their bond by the second sunrise, the change is permanent.

In Toy Story 3, what do the squeeze-toy aliens use to pull the toys out of the landfill incinerator?

A giant claw crane saves the toys at the last second: the aliens, who worshipped 'The Claw' of an arcade machine in the first film, finally get to operate one themselves.

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

Anton Ego is disarmed when Remy's ratatouille carries him back to his mother's cooking; he loses his job once the kitchen's secret gets out, yet happily invests in the chef's new bistro.

In Cars, Lightning McQueen is stranded in which forgotten desert town on Route 66?

Radiator Springs faded when the interstate bypassed Route 66; sentenced to repave the main street he wrecked, the rookie racer ends up helping to put the town back on the map.

Which Disney chief executive struck the 2006 deal to buy Pixar?

Bob Iger had been chief executive for only a few months; under his predecessor Michael Eisner, talks to renew Pixar's distribution deal had collapsed and the studio was looking for a new partner.

What does the fan-made 'Pixar Theory' claim about the studio's films?

They all share one universe and timeline, on Jon Negroni's 2013 reading: the witch in Brave is Boo from Monsters, Inc., grown up and travelling through time to find Sulley.

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

Knick Knack's snowman, stuck in a 'Nome Sweet Nome' globe, tries one escape plan after another to reach a sunbathing souvenir from Sunny Miami, and each one leaves him worse off.

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 opens seconds after its predecessor's final scene, despite reaching cinemas 14 years later?

Incredibles 2 opens on the Underminer battle that closed the first film, then swaps the parents' roles: Helen is hired to fight crime while Bob stays home with the children.

The yellow ball hidden in many Pixar films has a blue stripe and what other marking?

A red star sits beside the blue stripe; the ball was first flattened by a playful desk lamp in a 1986 short and has been tucked into Pixar films ever since, from Andy's bedroom to Boo's.

Which Pixar film was almost entirely scrapped and remade just nine months before its release date?

Toy Story 2 began as a direct-to-video sequel; when Pixar judged it not good enough, the team rebuilt almost the whole film in nine months, and the overwork left some animators with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Who directed both WALL-E and Finding Nemo?

Andrew Stanton thought up WALL-E's lonely robot at a 1994 lunch where Pixar's writers also hatched A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo; it then waited 14 years to reach the screen.

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

Scud, Sid's bull terrier, chews up toys for fun and hunts the escaping heroes; Andy gets a dog of his own in the final scene, a Christmas puppy later named Buster.

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

The Good Dinosaur lost Disney an estimated $85 million after a troubled production: its first director was taken off the film in 2013 and the release slipped by 18 months.

Which Pixar pioneer shared computing's Turing Award for his groundbreaking work on 3D computer graphics?

Ed Catmull grew up wanting to be an animator, chose physics and computer science instead, and spent his career making computers do the drawing.

Which talking pull-string doll from the director's own childhood helped inspire Toy Story's cowboy hero?

A Casper the Friendly Ghost doll with a pull-string voice was one model for the cowboy, alongside TV's Howdy Doody puppets; early drafts made him a ventriloquist's dummy until that looked too sneaky and mean.

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

Al McWhiggin, who dresses as a chicken in his toy-store commercials, needs the doll to complete a vintage TV-show collection that a toy museum in Tokyo is ready to buy.

Which actor voices Frozone, the ice-making superhero, in The Incredibles?

Samuel L. Jackson voices Frozone, real name Lucius Best, who sneaks out with his old friend Mr. Incredible to fight crime in secret after superheroes have been outlawed.

Roughly how many balloons did Pixar animate to lift Carl's house off the ground in Up?

About 20,000: the lift-off shot holds 20,622 balloons, though a Pixar technician worked out that a real house would need some 23 million, far too many to look good on screen.

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, a pink mix of cat, elephant and dolphin spun from cotton candy, jumps off his wagon rocket so it is light enough to carry Joy out of the Memory Dump, then fades away.

In Onward, a botched spell brings back only which part of the brothers' late father?

His legs: only Dad's bottom half appears, leaving the brothers one day to finish the spell. Director Dan Scanlon, who lost his own father as a small child, began writing after hearing a recording of his 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 recruited the group from a New York college lab in 1979 to bring computers into film-making, then sold it in 1986, when it became an independent company called Pixar.

In which California city is Pixar headquartered?

Emeryville has been home since 2000, when Pixar left its offices in nearby Point Richmond for a newly built headquarters across the bay from San Francisco.

Which Hollywood star and real-life racing driver voiced Doc Hudson in Cars?

Paul Newman died in 2008, and Pixar chose not to recast him: Doc is said to have died too, and Cars 3 brought him back only through unused recordings from the first film.

Which film beat Pixar's Monsters, Inc. to the first-ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature?

Shrek won the first Best Animated Feature Oscar in March 2002, beating Monsters, Inc. and Jimmy Neutron; Pixar had to wait two more years, until Finding Nemo, for its first win in the category.

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

John Ratzenberger, Cliff from Cheers, was called Pixar's good-luck charm; the Cars end credits tease the habit by replaying his earlier roles as cars while his truck character Mack looks on.

Which European film festival awarded its Golden Lion for lifetime achievement to Pixar's directors in 2009?

Venice Film Festival's career Golden Lion normally goes to a single film-maker or actor; in 2009 it was shared by five Pixar directors, led by the studio's creative chief.

In WALL-E, what kind of creature is the robot's only companion on the abandoned Earth?

A cockroach is WALL-E's pet; the film-makers called it Hal, a nod both to silent-film producer Hal Roach and to HAL 9000, the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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

Ned Beatty voices Lotso, who turned tyrant after his owner Daisy left him behind on a trip and he trekked home to find an identical bear already in his place.

Toy Story premiered in November 1995 at which Hollywood Boulevard cinema, Disney's own showcase venue?

El Capitan Theatre hosted the premiere, and for the run Disney turned the Masonic hall next door into Totally Toy Story, a funhouse included in the price of a cinema ticket.

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

Joss Whedon also wrote in a key part for Barbie, but Mattel refused to license her and the role became Bo Peep; he went on to create Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

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

Best Original Screenplay went to The Usual Suspects that night, but with no animated-feature Oscar yet in existence, the Academy gave Toy Story's director a Special Achievement Award instead.

NASA once sent a Buzz Lightyear action figure for a long stay aboard which space station?

The ISS hosted Buzz from 2008 as part of a NASA education project: in return for the ride, Disney let the agency use the character in space-flight games for schoolchildren.

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

The Ant and the Grasshopper has an idle grasshopper begging the ants for food; Pixar's writers asked what would happen if the grasshopper simply came back with a gang and took it.

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

For the Birds follows a flock of small birds who mock a gangly newcomer on their wire, until his weight flings them skyward and leaves them without a feather.

Which former Disney executive rushed DreamWorks' Antz out ahead of A Bug's Life?

Jeffrey Katzenberg quit Disney in 1994 to co-found DreamWorks, then pulled Antz forward from March 1999 to October 1998; the Pixar film's director, who had told him all about it in 1995, felt betrayed.

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

Monstropolis even has its own sushi restaurant, Harryhausen's, named in tribute to Ray Harryhausen, the stop-motion animator behind many classic movie monsters.

Which Monsters, Inc. song finally won Randy Newman his first Oscar after years of losing nominations?

If I Didn't Have You ended Randy Newman's long Oscar losing streak; he greeted the ovation with 'I don't want your pity' and thanked the music branch for so many chances to be humiliated.

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.

Finding Nemo overtook which Disney film in 2003 as the highest-grossing animated film?

The Lion King had held the record since 1994; Finding Nemo took it with about $871 million, then lost it about a year later to a rival studio's sequel.

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

Albert Brooks replaced William H. Macy, who had already recorded most of Marlin's lines before the director decided the anxious father needed a lighter touch.

Brad Bird joined Pixar after directing which box-office flop?

The Iron Giant won raves but flopped for Warner Bros.; Bird then pitched Pixar the superhero story he had been nursing and brought much of the Iron Giant crew with him.

Who composed the orchestral score for The Incredibles?

Michael Giacchino got the job after John Barry, whose 1960s Bond sound the director wanted, worked on it briefly but did not want to return to his old style.

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

Richard Petty voices Strip 'The King' Weathers, drawn as the 1970 Plymouth Superbird Petty raced; in the finale McQueen gives up the win to push the wrecked King across the line.

In Ratatouille, which motto of Remy's late culinary hero is repeated throughout the story?

Anyone can cook: the film's feared critic scoffs at the motto until Remy's cooking wins him over, and his final review reads it anew, as a promise that great talent can come from anywhere.

Which pint-sized head chef hides the proof that Linguini is the restaurant's rightful heir in Ratatouille?

Skinner has been cashing in on his late boss's name with a line of frozen meals; once Remy steals the hidden papers and gets them to Linguini, Skinner is out of a job.

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

Hello, Dolly! (1969) is WALL-E's favourite tape: he learns to hold hands from its song 'It Only Takes a Moment' and dances along to 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes'.

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

Sigourney Weaver voices the starliner's computer, a sly reversal of Alien, where her Ripley is at the mercy of a ship's computer the crew call Mother.

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

The National Film Registry took WALL-E in 2021; a year later, after its director made the first approach himself, it also became the first Pixar film in the Criterion Collection.

Up was the first animated film to open which film festival, in May 2009?

Cannes screened Up in 3D, so the opening-night audience paired its tuxedos and gowns with 3D glasses; critics at the press screening had worn them too.

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

Christopher Plummer voices Muntz, who vowed not to come home without a live specimen of his disputed bird and, decades on, has been killing travellers he suspects are after it.

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

Dug Days moves Carl and Dug into a quiet suburban home after their adventure; it was a last role for Ed Asner, who died days before the premiere.

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.

In Toy Story 3, a botched reset switches Buzz Lightyear into which language mode?

Spanish: the toys' attempt to undo Lotso's tampering leaves Buzz a courtly romantic who woos Jessie, and the film closes with the pair dancing a paso doble.

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

Michael Keaton voices Ken, sneered at by Lotso's gang as a girl's toy; he falls for Barbie on sight, and by the end the pair are running a far kinder daycare together.

In Brave, the princess wins the right to her own hand by beating her suitors at which contest?

Archery: as her clan's firstborn she declares she will shoot for her own hand, then outshoots every suitor, splitting the last one's arrow, to her mother's fury.

Which actress voices the princess in Brave?

Kelly Macdonald, a Scot, took over after Reese Witherspoon, cast first, left the film; Witherspoon later admitted she could not master the accent.

Which Pixar heroine was crowned an official Disney Princess at Walt Disney World in 2013?

Merida joined the official line-up, but the slimmer, sparklier makeover drawn for her coronation drew a protest petition backed by her own creator.

Monsters University, confirmed in 2010 as a Monsters, Inc. sequel, was revealed in 2011 to be what instead?

A prequel: it shows Mike and Sulley meeting as college rivals; an earlier Disney sequel, cancelled in 2006, would have sent them to the human world to visit Boo.

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

Changes in his daughter's personality: Pete Docter saw Elie, who had voiced young Ellie in Up, grow quieter and more reserved, and began to wonder what was going on inside her head.

Which actress voices Sadness in Inside Out?

Phyllis Smith, of The Office, got the part after producer Jonas Rivera saw her lunch scene in Bad Teacher late one night and rang the director to say he had found Sadness.

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

Arlo is a young Apatosaurus, a long-necked plant-eater raised on a family farm in a world where the asteroid missed and dinosaurs never died out.

In The Good Dinosaur, what name does Arlo give the wild human boy who becomes his companion?

Spot: Arlo wins the right to name the boy in a contest with a Styracosaurus who wants him as a pet, and the wordless child answers to the kind of name people give a dog.

Which Finding Dory character is a 'septopus', an octopus with only seven limbs?

Hank lost a tentacle somewhere along the way; the grumpy octopus helps Dory only because he wants her tag, his ticket to a quiet aquarium tank in Cleveland.

Finding Dory's ending was rewritten after Pixar's filmmakers watched which documentary?

Blackfish, about orcas kept in marine parks, led Pixar to change the finale so that the institute's animals can choose to leave rather than end up in a park.

Which arrogant rookie overshadows Lightning McQueen in Cars 3?

Jackson Storm never loses to McQueen himself: mid-race McQueen puts his trainer Cruz Ramirez in to finish for him, and she flips over Storm on the last lap to win.

Which actor voices Lightning McQueen in the Cars films?

Owen Wilson voices the racer, whose surname honours not film star Steve McQueen but Pixar animator Glenn McQueen, who died in 2002.

In Coco, which trade does Miguel's music-hating family follow?

Shoemaking: when her musician husband left and never came home, Imelda banned music from the family and started a shoemaking business to support her daughter.

Which actor voices Héctor, the charming trickster who befriends Miguel, in Coco?

Gael García Bernal's Héctor begins as a trickster begging Miguel for a favour and turns out to be Miguel's real great-great-grandfather, not the star the boy idolises.

Which telecom tycoon recruits Elastigirl for a campaign to make superheroes legal again in Incredibles 2?

Winston Deavor blames the ban for his father's death, shot by burglars while phoning superheroes who could no longer answer, so he bankrolls filmed missions to win the public back.

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?

A spork: Bonnie builds Forky at kindergarten orientation, but he is sure he is trash, not a toy, and keeps hurling himself at the nearest bin until a fellow toy talks him round.

Which actor voices Duke Caboom, Canada's greatest stuntman, in Toy Story 4?

Keanu Reeves voices Duke, a 1970s stunt toy still haunted by the boy who gave up on him when he could not make the jumps shown in his own TV commercial.

Which two actors voice Ian and Barley Lightfoot in Onward?

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, already Marvel co-stars, were given a rare joint recording session and improvised some of their lines together.

Soul skipped US cinemas and premiered on Disney+ on which holiday in 2020?

Christmas Day: the pandemic had already pushed Soul from June to November before Disney dropped the cinema release; it finally reached US theatres in January 2024.

Which two composers wrote the ambient score for Soul's otherworldly scenes?

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails scored the Great Before with an ambient sound, leaving the earthly scenes to Jon Batiste; all three shared the Oscar for Best Original Score.

Which Italian Riviera town is the setting of Luca?

Portorosso is fictional, built from research trips to Riviera villages such as the Cinque Terre; the director based shy Luca on himself and Alberto on his boyhood best friend.

Turning Red is set in 2002 in which Canadian city?

Toronto: the finale wrecks the SkyDome in the middle of a boy-band concert, and the film closes with Mei's family raising money to repair it.

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

Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell wrote 4*Town's three songs, and Finneas voices band member Jesse; despite the name, the band has five members.

Which Marvel star voices Buzz in Lightyear?

Chris Evans voices the hero of a film within a film: Lightyear opens by explaining it is the movie that made Andy want the Buzz toy he got in 1995.

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 took the all-time animated box-office record from Pixar's Inside Out 2?

Ne Zha 2 passed Inside Out 2 within three weeks of its Lunar New Year release and became the first animated film to reach $2 billion, almost all of it earned in China.

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

Tony Hale, Pixar's Forky, took over Fear after Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling reportedly turned down the sequel, having been offered a small fraction of Amy Poehler's fee.

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.

Which Pixar film set the studio's record for lowest opening weekend, about $21 million, as of 2025?

Elio opened below even Elemental's roughly $30 million, but where Elemental rallied to nearly $500 million worldwide, Elio stalled at about $154 million.

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

A frog-themed tablet: Bonnie's parents buy Lilypad hoping it will help her make friends, but she is soon glued to it and neglecting her toys, so Jessie leads the fightback.

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

A robotic beaver lets Mabel talk to the animals as she fights the mayor's plan to drive a road through their glade, and she ends up sparking an animal uprising.

In Turning Red, what does Mei turn into whenever her emotions run high?

A red panda: the change is inherited from an ancestor who asked the gods for the power to protect her daughters in wartime, and it has passed down the women of the family ever since.

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

The Simpsons: Brad Bird was a consultant for its first eight seasons, directed the episode 'Krusty Gets Busted' and designed its villain, Sideshow Bob.

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

Toy Story 3 and Coco: Lee Unkrich arrived at Pixar in 1994 as an editor on a four-week contract and stayed 25 years, co-directing three features before these two.

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

Finding Dory was preceded by Piper, which grew out of its director's morning jogs along the bay, where he watched shorebirds scurry from each wave and back again to feed.

Which Pixar short about a stork delivering baby animals played before Up?

Partly Cloudy stars Gus, the lone grey cloud who makes the dangerous babies; his battered stork Peck seems to desert him, then returns in a football helmet and shoulder pads.

La Luna drew on a moon-climbing short story by which author?

Italo Calvino's 'The Distance of the Moon' imagines climbing a ladder to the Moon; the short's director said reading it made him want to invent his own myth about what happens up there.

Lava, Pixar's short about a singing volcano, grew out of its director's honeymoon in which place?

Hawaii: James Ford Murphy honeymooned there, and years later Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' moved him to write a ukulele love song for a volcano.

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

$135,000, plus a $35,000 workstation to run it: the machine sold poorly, and giving ten of them to leading hospitals to win over doctors did little to help.

Which Pixar film was the first in 23 years released without a short film?

Toy Story 4 opened without a short, something no Pixar feature had done since the studio's very first; its producers said the staff were needed on features and pointed to the stand-alone SparkShorts.

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 character's viewpoint.

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

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.

In A Bug's Life, what does Flik's colony build to scare away the gang that raids its harvest?

A fake bird plays on the gang leader's fear of birds; the bluff works until a circus ringmaster, fooled by it too, sets the bird alight.

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

The director's daughter: Brenda Chapman, who conceived the film and was later replaced as its director, said the story came from her heart, inspired by her relationship with her daughter.

In Finding Nemo, the great white shark Bruce takes his name from a prop in which thriller?

Jaws used mechanical sharks that its crew nicknamed Bruce, after Steven Spielberg's lawyer. Pixar's Bruce runs a support group for sharks trying to give up eating fish.

Which actor voices Lucius Best, the ice-making hero Frozone, in Pixar's The Incredibles?

Samuel L. Jackson plays Frozone, who forms ice from the humidity in the air. He and Bob Parr secretly moonlight as vigilantes long after superheroes have been forced into hiding.

In WALL-E, the lonely robot's only companion on the abandoned Earth is which kind of creature?

A cockroach called Hal is WALL-E's pet. The filmmakers named the bug after silent-film producer Hal Roach, with a second nod to the computer HAL 9000.

Which actor voices Duke Caboom, the Canadian daredevil motorcyclist toy, in Toy Story 4?

Keanu Reeves voices Duke Caboom, a toy haunted by failing to pull off the stunts his TV commercial promised. The character parodies an Evel Knievel stunt-cycle toy.

In Up, Carl Fredricksen floats his house on balloons to reach which South American waterfall?

Paradise Falls is where Carl's late wife Ellie dreamed of moving her clubhouse. Pixar's artists climbed to the real Angel Falls in Venezuela while researching the setting.

Monsters, Inc. lost the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature to which DreamWorks film?

Shrek won the inaugural award, so Pixar had to wait two more years until Finding Nemo became its first winner in the category.

In Coco, Miguel's family banned music generations ago and built a business making which goods?

Shoes became the family trade after Imelda's husband left to pursue a music career and never returned. She banned music outright and opened a shoemaking business.

In Monsters, Inc., what nickname does Sulley give the little human girl who sneaks into the factory?

Boo is the name Sulley gives her as he grows attached to her. Her voice came from toddler Mary Gibbs, whom the crew followed around Pixar's offices with a microphone.

In Luca, two young sea monsters enter a triathlon to win money for which make of scooter?

Vespa is the scooter Luca and Alberto long to own so they can travel around the world. To afford one, the boys team up with a local girl named Giulia.

In Cars, the bypassed desert town of Radiator Springs sits on which famous American highway?

Route 66 once brought a stream of drivers through the town, until a new interstate bypassed it and the business dried up. A historian of the road led Pixar's artists on two research trips.

Which Randy Newman song became the signature theme of the Toy Story films?

You've Got a Friend in Me earned an Oscar nomination, and Toy Story 2 ends with Wheezy the squeaky penguin crooning it in the style of Frank Sinatra.

Which comedian voices Mike Wazowski, Sulley's one-eyed scare assistant, in Monsters, Inc.?

Billy Crystal took the part of Mike after regretting that he had turned down the role of Buzz Lightyear years earlier.

Which talk-show host voices Dory, Marlin's travelling companion, in Finding Nemo and its sequel?

Ellen DeGeneres campaigned for a sequel on her own talk show for years. When Finding Dory was finally announced in 2013, she said she had waited a long, long time for that day.

In Inside Out, Riley's emotions are upended when her family leaves Minnesota for which city?

San Francisco is where Riley's father starts a new job. On her first day at school there, a happy memory turns sad and she cries in front of her new class.

Which two-time Oscar winner voices the pull-string cowboy sheriff in every Toy Story feature film?

Tom Hanks plays the sheriff in the films, shorts and TV specials. His brother Jim Hanks takes over the voice for video games, attractions and merchandise.

In Finding Nemo, Marlin's cheerful companion Dory belongs to which species of reef fish?

Blue tang is the common name for Dory's species, which also goes by regal tang, hippo tang and palette surgeonfish. It lives on reefs across the Indo-Pacific.

In Turning Red, Mei Lee transforms into which giant animal whenever her emotions run high?

A red panda is what Mei becomes, thanks to a hereditary curse. Her ancestor Sun Yee was granted the power to protect her daughters in wartime, and every woman descended from her has shared it.

In the Toy Story films, the wisecracking Hamm is which kind of household object?

A piggy bank with a cork in his belly, Hamm seems to know more about the outside world than any other toy. In Andy's games he is cast as the villain Evil Dr. Porkchop.

Which Hollywood legend voiced Doc Hudson in Cars, his only animated film role?

Paul Newman had won national championships as a sports-car driver before he voiced the retired racer. It was his final role in a major feature film.

Pixar's Brave, a tale of feuding clans and will-o'-the-wisps, unfolds in which Celtic land?

Scotland shaped the film down to its cloth: Pixar designed original tartans for the clans, and Disney entered the DunBroch pattern in the Scottish Register of Tartans.

In Pixar's Soul, Joe Gardner wakes in a hospital room to find himself inside which animal's body?

A cat brought in for therapy ends up holding Joe, while the unborn soul 22 wakes in his body. They need a mystic sign twirler named Moonwind to swap them back.

Which evil emperor, the sworn enemy of Buzz Lightyear, is revealed in Toy Story 2 to be his father?

Zurg fights the toys on a lift until Rex knocks him off it, and a second Buzz toy stays behind to make peace with him. He returns as the villain of Lightyear.

In Inside Out, which sport does Riley love enough to power one of her Islands of Personality?

Ice hockey is Riley's passion, and Hockey Island is among the islands that crumble after her move. A memory of a lost game later shows Joy why being sad matters.

In Coco, which loyal dog follows Miguel everywhere and turns out to be a winged spirit guide?

Dante is a Xoloitzcuintle, and Pixar's artists studied real Xolo dogs to draw him. His floppy tongue was animated with an octopus tentacle borrowed from Finding Dory.

Up was the second animated film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, after which Disney classic?

Beauty and the Beast earned its nomination for 1991. Up lost the award to The Hurt Locker, and Toy Story 3 became the third animated nominee a year later.

In Coco, the famous singer Ernesto de la Cruz died when which object fell on him?

A bell crushed him in life, and the same fate strikes him again in the afterlife once his crimes are exposed to the crowd.

In Cars, rookie Lightning McQueen starts the final race tied on points for which trophy?

Piston Cup glory hangs on a three-way tie: a retiring champion, a perennial runner-up and McQueen all share the season points lead going into the last race.

In Lightyear, which robotic feline companion is given to Buzz and quietly cracks his fuel problem?

Sox is a gift from Buzz's commander Alisha. While Buzz loses decades to his test flights, the little robot improves the fuel's composition until the ship can beat light speed.

In Cars 3, which young trainer takes Lightning McQueen's place midway through the Florida 500?

Cruz Ramirez had a racing dream of her own. Recalling it mid-race, Lightning dodges a huge pile-up and has his crew prepare her to run in his place.

Which Saturday Night Live alumna voices 22, the cynical soul who hopes to avoid Earth, in Pixar's Soul?

Tina Fey plays 22 opposite Jamie Foxx as teacher Joe Gardner. Foxx's casting made Soul the first Pixar film with a black lead.

Which Disney chief executive led its 2006 takeover of Pixar and its 2009 purchase of Marvel?

Bob Iger announced the all-stock deal in January 2006. In the same year he won back the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney's first cartoon star.

Which British screen legend voices Finn McMissile, the master spy car of Cars 2?

Michael Caine plays the British secret agent, who opens the film by infiltrating an oil rig in the Pacific to rescue a fellow spy. Martin Jarvis voices the car in other media.

Which actress voices Princess Atta, the nervous heir to the colony, in A Bug's Life?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Atta, the Queen's elder daughter, who ends the film as queen herself. Her little sister Dot is voiced by a young Hayden Panettiere.

Which Studio Ghibli character makes a silent cameo as a plush toy in Toy Story 3?

Totoro has a family link to the film: its art director, Daisuke Tsutsumi, is married to Hayao Miyazaki's niece, the original inspiration for the girl Mei in My Neighbor Totoro.

In WALL-E, which megacorporation evacuated humanity to space and left robots to clean up Earth?

Buy n Large shipped everyone off on giant spaceships 700 years before the story begins. Its clean-up was abandoned once the planet became far too toxic.

Finding Nemo is the best-selling title of all time in which home video format?

DVD copies of the film passed 40 million sales. More than eight million went on the first day alone, breaking a single-day record held by Spider-Man.

In The Good Dinosaur, what name does Arlo give the feral caveboy who travels home with him?

Spot is the name the boy finally answers to when a strange dinosaur forces Arlo into a contest to name him. Arlo wins, and the pair bond on the long walk back to the farm.

In Cars, Radiator Springs' town attorney Sally is a sky-blue 2002 sports car from which maker?

Porsche builds the 911 Carrera, the model that gives Sally her surname. She dreams of reviving the bypassed town and becomes Lightning McQueen's girlfriend.

In Finding Nemo, Marlin and Dory ride with a crowd of sea turtles along which real ocean feature?

East Australian Current is the highway the turtles surf, and the pair only wake up in it after being knocked out in a forest of jellyfish. A school of moonfish gave them the directions.

In Monsters University, Mike enters the Scare Games with which small fraternity of misfits?

Oozma Kappa, or OK for short, is made up of students who failed the scare program. Sulley only ends up there after the top fraternity on campus kicks him out.

Which American chef of The French Laundry suggested the version of the title dish seen in Ratatouille?

Thomas Keller suggested a variation on the dish known as confit byaldi. Producer Brad Lewis interned in his restaurant kitchen while preparing the film.

Which short-lived Disney studio was formed in 2004 to make sequels to Pixar films without Pixar?

Circle 7 Animation drafted versions of Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo 2 before Disney bought Pixar and shut it down. Rivals nicknamed the division Pixaren't.

The sushi restaurant Harryhausen's in Monsters, Inc. is named for a master of which film craft?

Stop-motion was the art of Ray Harryhausen, who over more than 40 years brought model creatures to life in films such as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans.

Which filmmaker became the first woman to direct a Pixar feature on her own with Turning Red?

Domee Shi pitched Pixar three ideas in 2017, and the studio picked the one drawn from her own childhood. She had already directed one of its Oscar-winning shorts.

Lightning McQueen of Cars is named in tribute to Glenn McQueen, who did which job at Pixar?

Animator Glenn McQueen supervised the animation of A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. He died during the making of Finding Nemo, which is dedicated to him.

In The Adventures of André & Wally B., the 1984 short by the team that became Pixar, what creature is Wally B.?

A bumblebee, Wally B. chases André through a forest and stings him off-screen. The short was groundbreaking for its day and helped spark the film industry's interest in computer animation.

WALL-E's voice was performed by sound designer Ben Burtt, who also gave which Star Wars droid its voice?

R2-D2's voice was Burtt's creation decades earlier, along with the lightsaber hum. For WALL-E he used a car's self-starter for the robot's sprints and a Macintosh chime for a full battery.

Which Canadian singer performs When She Loved Me, the ballad of Jessie's abandonment in Toy Story 2?

Sarah McLachlan sings the Randy Newman ballad about the cowgirl doll being left behind by her owner Emily. It was nominated for an Oscar but lost to a Phil Collins song from Tarzan.

Which comic actor appears in live-action footage as the corporate chief Shelby Forthright in WALL-E?

Fred Willard plays the only major live-action character in WALL-E, Pixar's first film to include live-action footage. His character records the secret order that keeps humanity from returning to Earth.

In the Pixar short Red's Dream, which lonely object in a bicycle shop dreams of circus stardom?

A unicycle named Red sits propped in a corner on a rainy night and imagines becoming the star of a circus. The four-minute film was only Pixar's second computer-animated short.