Beginning with Pixar's second film A Bug's Life, all subsequent Pixar feature films have been shown in theaters along with a Pixar-created short. Other Pixar shorts, released only on home media, were created to showcase what Pixar can do (either technologically or cinematically), or were created specifically for a client.
The first shorts were made while Pixar was still a computer hardware company, when John Lasseter was the only professional animator in the company's tiny animation department. Starting with Geri's Game, after Pixar had turned into an animation studio, all later shorts have been produced with a larger crew and budget.
In 1991, Pixar made four CGI shorts produced for the TV series Sesame Street. The shorts illustrates different weights and directions starring Luxo, Jr. and Luxo - Surprise (1992), Light and Heavy (1990), Up and Down (1993), and Front and Back (1994).
Also, beginning with A Bug's Life, Pixar has created extra content for each of their films that is not part of the main story. For their early theatrical releases, this content was in the form of "movie outtakes" and appeared as part of the movie's credits. For each of their films since Monsters, Inc. (Finding Nemo and The Good Dinosaur excluded), this content was a short made exclusively for the DVD release of the film. As of 2010, all of the short films except BURN-E and Dug's Special Mission are available to purchase on Apple's iTunes Store.
Shorts[]
Original[]
| Title | Year | Initial theatrical release with | Initial home release with | Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Adventures of André and Wally B. | ||||
| Luxo, Jr. | Nominated | |||
| Red's Dream | ||||
| Tin Toy | Won | |||
| Knick Knack | ||||
| Geri's Game | Won | |||
| For the Birds | ||||
| Boundin' | Nominated | |||
| One Man Band | ||||
| Lifted | ||||
| Presto | ||||
| Partly Cloudy | ||||
| Day & Night | Nominated | |||
| La Luna | ||||
| The Blue Umbrella | ||||
| Lava | ||||
| Sanjay's Super Team | Nominated | |||
| Piper | Won | |||
| Lou | Nominated | |||
| Bao | Won | |||
[]
| Title | Year | Initial theatrical release with | Initial home release with | Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike's New Car | Monsters, Inc. | Nominated | ||
| Jack-Jack Attack | The Incredibles | |||
| Mater and the Ghostlight | Cars | |||
| Your Friend the Rat | Ratatouille | |||
| BURN-E | WALL-E | |||
| Dug's Special Mission | Up | |||
| George & A.J. | Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 2 (web release on iTunes, Facebook and YouTube) | |||
| The Legend of Mor'du | Brave | |||
| Party Central | Muppets Most Wanted | |||
| Riley's First Date? | Inside Out | |||
| Marine Life Interviews | Finding Dory | |||
| Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool | Cars 3 | |||
| Auntie Edna | Incredibles 2 |
Short series[]
In 2008, Pixar began making shorts with previously developed characters. These shorts premiered and run on Toon Disney/Disney XD, Disney Channel, or as a theatrical release.
Cars Toons[]
- Main article: Cars Toons
Mater's Tall Tales[]
| Title | Year | Premiered |
|---|---|---|
| Rescue Squad Mater | Toon Disney | |
| Mater the Greater | ||
| El Materdor | ||
| Tokyo Mater | Theatrical, with Bolt | |
| Unidentified Flying Mater | Disney Channel | |
| Monster Truck Mater | ||
| Heavy Metal Mater | ||
| Moon Mater | DVD+Blu-ray, with Mater's Tall Tales | |
| Mater Private Eye | ||
| Air Mater | DVD+Blu-ray, with Cars 2 | |
| Time Travel Mater | Disney Channel |
Tales from Radiator Springs[]
| Title | Year | Premiered |
|---|---|---|
| Hiccups | Disney Channel | |
| Spinning | ||
| Bugged | ||
| The Radiator Springs 500½ | Disney Movies Anywhere |
Toy Story Toons[]
- Main article: Toy Story Toons
| Title | Year | Premiered |
|---|---|---|
| "Hawaiian Vacation" | Theatrical/DVD+Blu-ray, with Cars 2 | |
| "Small Fry" | Theatrical, with The Muppets DVD+Blu-ray, with Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 2 | |
| "Partysaurus Rex" | Theatrical, with Finding Nemo 3D DVD+Blu-ray, with Monsters, Inc. Ultimate Collector's Edition |
SparkShorts[]
- Main article: SparkShorts
Pixar Popcorn[]
Dug Days[]
| Title | Year | Premiered |
|---|---|---|
| "Squirrel!" | Disney+ | |
| "Puppies" | ||
| "Smell" | ||
| "Flowers" | ||
| "Science" | ||
| "Carl's Date" | 2023 | Theatrical, with Elemental |
Television specials[]
| Title | Year | Premiered |
|---|---|---|
| Toy Story of Terror! | ABC | |
| Toy Story That Time Forgot | ABC |
Compilations[]
Pixar released Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1, a collection of their short films, on DVD and Blu-ray on November 6, 2007. The disc is an updated version of the earlier-released VHS tape Tiny Toy Stories and includes all of Pixar's shorts through 2006's Lifted, including the short The Adventures of André and Wally B., which had previously been excluded from the 1991 VHS collection simply titled PIXAR. The short was made by Pixar in 1984 as a Lucasfilm subsidiary before it became its own company. The second volume of Pixar shorts was released on November 13, 2012, with a third volume on November 9, 2018.
Additional work[]
Beginning with Finding Nemo, Pixar has created additional material to serve as instructional material or as background material to illuminate aspects of a film. For straight to DVD/Blu-ray releases or theme park attractions.
| Title | Year | Initial home release with |
|---|---|---|
| It's Tough to Be a Bug! | N/A (attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney California Adventure Park) | |
| Exploring the Reef | Finding Nemo | |
| Turtle Talk with Crush | N/A (attraction at Epcot, Disney California Adventure Park, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy) | |
| Mr. Incredible and Pals | The Incredibles | |
| The Incredible Socks | ||
| Buzz Lightyear: Mission Logs | Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3 |
Promo reels[]
Pixar animated to a reel of animation bumpers used in various media promotions spots. Pixar also made a series of animation tests that were also and montage of original animated pieces produced used to help promote the film and participate in goofy antics.
| Title | Year | Initial home release with |
|---|---|---|
| Grab Bag | 2010 | Toy Story 3 |
| Wee Bits of Animation | 2012 | Brave |
| Monsters Mash-Up | 2013 | Monsters University |
| Mind Candy | 2015 | Inside Out |
| Dino Bites | 2016 | The Good Dinosaur |
| Fish Schticks | Finding Dory | |
| Cars D'oeuvres | 2017 | Cars 3 |
| Un Poco Coco | 2018 | Coco |
| Super Moments | Incredibles 2 | |
| Carnival Prizes | 2019 | Toy Story 4 |
| Magic Gems | 2020 | Onward |
Other work[]
Pixar animated a series of clips featuring Luxo and Luxo Jr. for Sesame Street, which were Light & Heavy and Surprise. Pixar also produced numerous animation tests, commonly confused with theatrical shorts, including The Beach Chair and Flag and Waves. They also produced over 30 commercials after selling their software division to support themselves before Toy Story entered production. Some of their other work includes:
| Title | Year | Initial home release with | Commissioned for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blowin' in the Wind | 1985 | ||
| Flags and Waves | Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 1 (Easter Egg) | ||
| The Beach Chair | |||
| Volume Visualization on Image Computer | |||
| Dance of the Waterlilies | Toppan Printing | ||
| Wake Up | Tropicana | ||
| Skateboard | Life Savers | ||
| Dancing Cards | California Lottery | ||
| Quite a Package | Trident | ||
| Luxo Jr. Shorts | Sesame Street | ||
| Boxer | Listerine | ||
| La Nouvelle Polo | Volkswagen | ||
| Plump | Pillsbury | ||
| Galaxy | Toppan Printing | ||
| Grands | Pillsbury | ||
| Cracks | Fleischmann's | ||
| Moving Target | Cellular One | ||
| Conga-Clio-award winner | Life Savers | ||
| Orange Kiwi Passion | Tropicana | ||
| Warehouse | |||
| Three Fruits Dancing | |||
| Logo | IBM | ||
| In The Jungle | Listerine | ||
| Violin | Kellogg's All-Bran | ||
| Arrows-Clio-award winner | Listerine | ||
| Conga (Wacky)-Clio-award winner | Life Savers | ||
| Logo | Paramount Pictures | ||
| Hot Air/Circus | Chips Ahoy | ||
| Tex | THX | ||
| Toy Story Treats | ABC | ||
| Look Away | Nickelodeon & UNICEF | ||
| Moo Can | THX | ||
| Monster Moo Can | |||
| Toy Story's Search Story |
Furthermore, in 1988, Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group produced "Pencil Test", a computer-animated short to showcase the Apple Macintosh II line. Although Pixar was not officially affiliated with this film, several members of the Pixar staff advised and worked on it, including directors John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and producer Galyn Susman.
Gallery[]
