How to Watch Pixar Movies in Order – Chronological or Pixar Theory

Pixar movies are absolute works of art and have always been, even before Pixar was a part of Disney. So, how do we watch Pixar movies in order? Well, let's find out.

Over the years, Pixar has created over 20 films and dozens of short films. The feature films they put out have earned about $14 billion at the box office, which is more than impressive for animation movies. 15 of the Pixar films have made it into the list of the 50 highest-grossing animated films of all time.

They've also gone to earn 21 Oscars, 9 Golden Globe Awards, and 11 Grammy Awards, plus plenty others, too. Now that Pixar is part of Disney, it's easier than ever to watch the movies.

Where to Watch Pixar Movies?

For the most part, Pixar movies can be found on Disney Plus. In countries where Disney Plus is not yet available, Netflix has a bunch of Pixar films.

The most recent Pixar film, Soul, which didn't get the theater release it deserved due to the pandemic, was released directly to Disney Plus. The one before it, Onward, tried a theater release in early 2020 but moved to Disney Plus shortly after due to theaters closing down. So, get a subscription to Disney+ when you can.

What Order to Watch the Pixar Movies?

Pixar movies can be watched in quite a few ways. Whether we're talking about the release order or the Pixar Theory, they're both fun ways to keep watching your favorites.

Pixar Movies in Order of Release

One of the ways you can watch the movies is in the order they were released in, like everyone else did, over the years.

• Toy Story (1995)
• A Bug's Life (1998)
• Toy Story 2 (1999)
• Monsters, Inc. (2001)
• Finding Nemo (2003)
• The Incredibles (2004)
• Cars (2006)
• Ratatouille (2007)
• WALL-E (2008)
• Up (2009)
• Toy Story 3 (2010)
• Cars 2 (2011)
• Brave (2012)
• Monster University (2013)
• Inside Out (2015)
• The Good Dinosaur (2015)
• Finding Dory (2016)
• Cars 3 (2017)
• Coco (2017)
• Incredibles 2 (2018)
• Toy Story 4 (2019)
• Onward (2020)
• Soul (2020)

The Pixar Theory Movie Order

Another way we can watch the Pixar movies is by respecting the Pixar Theory. It is well known that the animators at Pixar leave all sorts of easter eggs in their productions and the characters keep moving from one movie to another or get mentioned in some form.

Well, the Pixar Theory claims that all Pixar films are part of the same universe. It all begins with The Good Dinosaur, when the asteroid misses Earth, so the dinosaurs survive. Then, Earth goes through several phases. First, dinosaurs rule the planet, then humans, then machines, then intelligent animals.

This happens over millions of years, of course, but it makes sense taking into account how each of the movies released plays into the theory.

• The Good Dinosaur (2015) - story takes place millions of years ago
• Brave (2012) - the story takes place in medieval times.
• The Incredibles (2004) - takes place in the '50s
• Incredibles 2 (2018) - picks up after first film ends
• Toy Story (1995) - story takes place in the '90s
• Toy Story 2 (1999)
• Finding Nemo (2003) - the story takes place a little after the Toy Story 2 timeline and we're seeing intelligent animals
• Finding Dory (2016) - Finding Dory starts right after Finding Nemo
• Ratatouille (2007) - this movies takes place in the early 2000s, likely 2007
• Toy Story 3 (2010) - the movie takes place 11 years after the previous film
• Toy Story 4 (2019) - this one follows right after the events from Toy Story 3
• Up (2009)
• Inside Out (2015)
• Coco (2017) - the movie is set in modern-day
• Soul (2020) - tells a different story about what happens after you die
• Cars (2006) - this one takes place about a century into the future when the Earth is populated by talking cars
• Cars 2 (2011) - Earth has been cleaned by Robots already, as McQueen and his friends face fuel shortages
• Cars 3 (2017) - this one takes place later in the future as Lightning McQueen is already aging
• WALL-E (2008) - the action of this movie takes place in 2800 and we see the last robot that's cleaning up polluted Earth
• A Bug's Life (1998)- we go forward another century and we meet an inventor ant
• Onwards (2020) - This one would take place many years before Monsters Inc, explaining what happens to humans on Earth and how they may have evolved
• Monsters University (2013) - we move more into the future and follow the two monsters and their friendship in university, indicating animals are becoming smarter
• Monsters, Inc. (2001) - Action takes place a couple of millennia later. The theory claims that the doors monsters travel through actually help them travel through time, when humans were on Earth.

The same theory says that the ants and the roaches and crabs from A Bug's Life, Wall-E, and Cars 3 are the last animals on Earth, and they evolve into the Monsters from Monsters, Inc.

It's a pretty complicated theory, but it's a fun one nonetheless. It may very well be just that - a theory - but if you want a different way to watch Pixar movies, this method is as good as any.