Whether they're set under the sea or out of this world,
Pixar animated films transport audiences to infinity and beyond. But the core of the
studio's heartfelt and award-winning stories is always friendship. From lovable monsters
to romantic robots to prehistoric pals, these are the greatest friendships in Pixar history.
Mike, the little green monster with one big eye, and Sully,
his close buddy who is a furry blue behemoth, are dynamic "scarers" in 2001's Monsters, Inc.
They collect "scream" energy to power the city of Monstropolis by popping out
of bedroom closets to frighten children each night. These two friends are also roommates,
with Mike coaching Sully to sharpen his scaring skills and use his best "scary feet."
"Scary feet, scary feet, scary feet. Oop, the kid's awake.
Okay, scary feet, scary feet, scary feet, scary feet, scary...kid's asleep." (growl).
However, their friendship doesn't actually drive the plot of the film.
Rather, it's Sully's connection with Boo, the toddler who accidentally tumbles into
the monster world, that changes Sully's life and the "Scare Floor" for the better.
The little girl wanders through her closet door and into the monsters' factory one
night while Sully is working late, but she's anything but terrified. Instead, she's curious
about this blue beast and instantly calls him "Kitty." Sully and Mike scramble to hide her,
worried they'll lose their jobs, or worse, become infected with kid germs. But when the girl is
afraid to sleep because of the lizard-like monster who usually scares her each night,
Sully promises to watch over her so she can rest. He soon nicknames her Boo
because she's great at hiding and surprising him, kicking off an incredibly close friendship between
cutie and the beast. And while he figures out how to guide her home,
she shows him and the rest of the monster world how powerful laughter can be.
Inside Out is the story of how Joy and Sadness become friends while coexisting inside a tween
girl named Riley. During this journey, Joy realizes why Sadness is so important,
alongside other feelings like Anger, Fear, and Disgust. But nothing tugs at emotions
quite like a goodbye between good friends who know when it's time to move on - and
that's what happens to Joy and Bing Bong, Riley's imaginary friend from childhood.
Created when Riley was three, Bing Bong is a sweet concoction with a cotton candy body,
a cat's tail and whiskers, and an elephant's trunk. He even claims to be part dolphin.
[dolphin sounds]
When Joy and Sadness become lost during Riley's depression over her
family's move to San Francisco, they find Bing Bong wandering among her memories.
Joy thinks that he's just what Riley needs to cheer up. Even though he misses Riley,
Bing Bong is wise beyond his parts. Once he, Joy, and his rocket wagon fall into the Memory Dump,
Joy despairs, knowing that's where all memories are forgotten. But Bing Bong
realizes that Riley will need Joy throughout her life, so he chooses to sacrifice himself
and launch Joy to safety. He has just one heartbreaking request before fading away.
"Take her to the moon for me, okay?”
When Miguel unexpectedly travels to the Land of the Dead in 2017's Coco,
he finds a friend in Hector. He agrees to help Miguel meet the famous musician who the boy
thinks is his great-great-grandfather in exchange for taking Hector's photo back to the Land of the
Living. This is crucial for Hector because no souls can cross the Marigold Bridge and visit
their loved ones on Day of the Dead unless someone places their photo on an ofrenda.
Sure, Hector is a pretty mischievous character, disguising himself as none other than Mexican
artist Frida Kahlo in one of his many attempts to cross the bridge. And he looks pretty raggedy,
even for a skeleton. But he's a sincere soul who's just desperate. He wants to see his
daughter again because he died when she was just a child, and now her memories of him are fading.
It takes some help from Miguel's late extended family, the alebrije Pepita,
and the dog Dante to sort out Hector's true connection to Miguel. But even before then,
the two have an easygoing, playful chemistry, perfectly on display in
their rousing performance of "Un Poco Loco," which completely captivates a festival audience.
There was never any doubt that Marlin, an overprotective clownfish,
needed the support of Dory in the heartfelt film Finding Nemo. After Marlin's only child,
Nemo, is scooped up by a diver near the Great Barrier Reef,
he nearly has a breakdown. Marlin wouldn't have been able to swim five feet, let alone all the
way to Nemo's aquarium in a dentist's office in Sydney, Australia, without Dory by his side.
She's outgoing enough to ask for directions, she's a patient companion, and she can speak whale.
A widower who lost his wife and dozens of eggs to a barracuda, Marlin is understandably nervous,
but his doom-and-gloom outlook threatens to get the better of him when Nemo goes missing.
When he begs for help, dozens of assorted fish pass him by. Dory is the only one who stops to
lend her assistance. Even though her cheerful disposition and short-term memory loss test
Marlin's patience at first, she turns out to be just the right partner for such an
arduous journey. She nudges Marlin along at every hurdle, whether it's by bouncing atop jellyfish,
chatting with various undersea creatures, or flying with pelicans.
As she reminds Marlin when circumstances look rough, sometimes you've gotta just keep swimming.
"When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do?"
"I don't want to know what you gotta do."
"Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming."
Pixar's brilliant science fiction film, WALL-E, is a charming romance that focuses on two robots who
only possess about nine words between them, but they seem to share a connection that transcends
language. WALL-E is the last functioning robot on Earth. He's a stout compactor who spends his days
cleaning up endless miles of trash but he also treasures some of the artifacts he discovers,
such as a spork and a Rubik's cube. He hangs out with a cockroach that chirps like a cricket,
but also seems to be achingly lonely as he watches old videos of musicals and gazes at the stars.
So it's no wonder that he falls head over treads at the first sight of EVE, a sleek egg-shaped bot
who can fly. EVE scans the Earth for any signs of vegetation so that all the humans cruising in
space can one day return to the planet - but she's cagey about her mission and takes her time warming
up to WALL-E. Nevertheless, she eventually recognizes his thoughtfulness in sheltering
her from a sandstorm, his whimsy in showing her the outdated wonders of his home and, of course,
his awesome dance moves. It's only after he safeguards her mission by protecting a seedling
that their initial spark blooms into one of Pixar's most unique and memorable relationships.
In 2007's Ratatouille, food critic Anton Ego writes something that is touching and profound...
"Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."
The same can be said for a great friend, as Remy, a rat with refined culinary tastes, and Linguini,
a clumsy kitchen assistant, learn while cooking up a storm together. Voiced by Patton Oswalt,
Remy doesn't fit in with his rat colony, which loves eating whatever disgusting scraps humans
throw away. Eventually, Remy winds up in the kitchen of a famous restaurant in Paris.
For him, this is paradise, but nobody wants a rat around food, even one as tidy as Remy.
However, when he tries to sneak out of the kitchen to save his hide, he stops to salvage a soup that
the ever-clumsy Linguini has ruined. He ends up creating an amazing dish, as well as earning
Linguini some serious praise. The insecure young man soon realizes that this "Little Chef" can
understand him and has the type of creativity in the kitchen that he can only dream of.
The two friends eventually discover how to cook together with Remy hiding under Linguini's chef's
hat and tugging on his hair. But once they truly learn to trust each other, this method proves
unnecessary, and they figure out a way to let each of their talents shine. While Remy and Linguini
struggle through some sour moments, it's nothing that a good talk and a delicious meal can't solve.
Russell, an enthusiastic young Wilderness Explorer, and Carl, an elderly man tied to
his house in more ways than one, are probably the most unlikely pair of Pixar friends.
In fact, the animators even designed this duo from 2009's Up with opposite shapes in mind.
Russell is rounded like a top because he's an energetic dervish while the widowed Carl is
so set in his ways that his face, body, and eyeglasses resemble sturdy squares.
The two strangers end up on a thrilling journey together after the isolated man comes up with a
whimsical plan to avoid being sent to a retirement home. Instead, he sets off for Paradise Falls,
a South American waterfall that his late wife always wanted to see. Of course,
what makes this trip so extraordinary is that he's traveling in his house,
which is attached to thousands of helium balloons. Russell, who is eager to earn a
badge for assisting the elderly, happens to be on the porch when the building takes flight.
It takes a while for them to really get along - Carl is pretty cranky, after all - but
this odd couple ends up perfectly balancing one another. They even discover that something as
simple as sharing ice cream can be an adventure if you're with someone you care about. And,
honestly, it's impossible to not get choked up during the scene where Carl shows up
for Russell's Wilderness Explorer ceremony to award the boy an honor in his late wife's name.
Released in 2015, The Good Dinosaur takes place in an alternate past where the asteroid
thought to have destroyed the dinosaurs just barely misses Earth. So, instead,
dinosaurs and humans end up sharing the Earth together at the same time.
It's in this prehistoric setting that a very unusual friendship forms. Arlo,
a young Apatosaurus who comes from a family of farmers, runs across a feral child who is
lost and far from home. Arlo initially fights with the boy for eating his family's corn but
eventually grows close to him and names him Spot. Despite Arlo's tendency to be afraid,
he even tries to protect the boy - or at least make sure that he doesn't get eaten. Spot,
on the other hand, is fearless. He grabs lizards, snakes, and occasionally bites
the heads off of giant bugs. Still he seems to be glad that someone bigger has his back.
The boy teaches Arlo how to howl, snuggles against him when he sleeps,
and scampers up his neck to ride on the dinosaur's head. Meanwhile,
Arlo twirls his tail in the grass to enchant the boy with fireflies. He also matures enough
through the film to realize when to leave Spot in caring human hands. Their friendship
may not have lasted very long, but memories of their moments together definitely will.
"Oh! Look, look, gives me the little goosies every time."
"I love that story."
Perhaps the greatest Pixar friendship of all time
launched the animation studio's empire with a simple but relatable narrative.
Toy Story is the tale of a cloth cowboy who isn't the top toy in a boy's life anymore
after a confident space ranger arrives with flashing lights and fancy sound effects.
The voice talents of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen infuse Woody and Buzz with tons of personality.
In fact, the characters' evolving friendship has kept audiences enthralled for more than 20 years.
However, the two toys had a rocky start when a jealous Woody accidentally causes
Buzz to fall from a bedroom window. And that wasn't the last time that they had a disagreement.
"Owwww!" "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz Lightyear to the rescue."
"Ou-ouch!"
Luckily, their bond has survived many challenges, including nearly being blown to bits,
a madcap chase around an airport, an extremely dicey day-care center,
and a very close call with a blazing incinerator at a garbage dump.
Whatever their ups and downs may be, they always figure out how to soar.
Woody and Buzz have plenty of their own insecurities, wondering what lies ahead for them.
But they know how to encourage each other when it's needed, whether they're discussing how noble
it is to be a child's toy or letting a pal know that it's okay to follow his heart for a change.
Like the best of human friends, Buzz and Woody might travel to unexpected places or
find themselves with different families but, no matter what, they can always count on one thing…
"When it all ends, I'll have old Buzz Lightyear to keep me company -- for infinity and beyond."
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