My Attempt at the Pixar Theory
Have you ever considered the thought that maybe Sulley and Mike lived in the same universe as Marlin and Dory? What about Woody one day crossing paths with the Incredibles? Our Disney Lord and Savior, Jon Negroni, wrote The Pixar Theory back in 2012 and released a book about it in 2015, with a complete timeline that Pixar has subtly hinted at that it is indeed true.
I've studied The Pixar Theory inside (and) out, and after watching the numerous videos about it and reading several blog posts about it, I've found that all of the timelines differ in one way or another - whether it be the year that the writer thinks the movie is placed, or some of the movies switched around. I made an attempt at laying my version out as clear as possible for my fellow Disney Pixar lovers! **majority of it is similar to Jon Negroni's version, so credit goes to him.**
There are 2 themes I'll be noting too that I noticed the films follow, which is human energy and animal intelligence. A lot of the characters and premises are based around NEEDING humans for their energy source, whether it be physical or emotional. A lot of the characters are also animals as opposed to humans, who can talk, have their own stories, cities, and more, and evolve over time.
The Good Dinosaur
This is of course the first movie in the timeline, as it shows the asteroid (that in real life made the dinosaurs extinct) miss the Earth. It starts off the idea of animal intelligence.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: the Dinoco logo is the same type of dinosaur as Arlo hinting that Toy Story came after, as well as a toy version of Arlo in Monsters University.
2. Brave
This is the first appearance of magic to us, and the first appearance of the witch we see, who becomes very important to the timeline later on. It's set around the 10th century.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: the most well known easter egg is the wood carving of a Sulley-like figure in the witches workshop, and the fact that the witch uses doors within her magical powers.
3. The Incredibles
If we fast forward to around the 1950s, this is the time of the Incredibles, as well as an introduction to artificial intelligence, which subsequently is also an introduction to human energy. Buy n Large (BNL) is introduced in this film as well, and it becomes more important as the timeline goes on.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: in one of the final scenes, you can see a car parked on the street that resembles Doc Hudson from Cars, who is not yet alive, meaning Cars would come after.
4. Toy Story/Toy Story 2
Toy Story is set a few decades after the Incredibles time in the late 90s/early 2000s, and begins to show us the true meaning of human energy; the toys' whole lives revolve around a child playing with them.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: there aren't many easter eggs in this film besides references to a Bug's Life, which aren't really relevant to the timeline, since bugs survive and thrive throughout the timeline.
5. Finding Nemo
Set a few years after we meet Woody and Buzz, we dive deep into the ocean to meet Marlin, Dory and Nemo. The most information we get about where we are in the timeline is when they are on land, at the dentist office. And we of course see how animals have evolved over time since the Good Dinosaur, and what they're capable of now.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: in the waiting room at the dentist office, we see a boy reading an Incredibles comic book, meaning it definitely came after the time of Bob and his family, now that people are reading about their adventures. Buzz Lightyear is also seen next to the toy box in the dentist office, showing that it's around the same time.
6. Ratatouille
And yet another significant example as to how animals have evolved even further, a rat becoming the best chef in the world is a pretty big detail to me. Ratatouille is set just after the time of Finding Nemo and Toy Story, but is close by.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: there's a point in which we see Alfredo's underwear, which is designed with the Incredibles logo. Seems like along with the boy at the dentist, Alfredo is also a big fan.
7. Toy Story 3
Andy is 6 years old in the first Toy Story (born in 1989), meaning this film is set in 2007 as he goes to college, during the time of Ratatouille as well.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: we have 2 major clues in this one that also helps us set Toy Story 3 in the 7th position, in Andy's room we see a letter from Carl and Ellie, setting it before the time of Up. Also, Buy n Large makes another appearance as it's logo is on Buzz's batteries. This shows that Buy n Large is starting to become bigger.
8. Up
Up is the end of the early 2000s era, showing us the peak of animal intelligence with Dug and Kevin, and also showing us how "large" Buy n Large has really grown, as it is the company taking away Carl's home.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: Carl wears a grape soda cap pin that Ellie gifts him, and that same grape soda brand is shown in the first Toy Story.
9. Inside Out
Inside Out is the closest to present day that we have in the timeline, and it further dives into the importance of human energy AND emotion.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: not necessarily an easter egg, but the character of Bing Bong resembles what a monster in Monsters Inc might look like, which also gives us a hint as to what time periods the Monsters were visiting. People have said that George may be Riley's monster, since he has the same feet as Bing Bong.
10. Coco
Coco is very similar to Inside Out in a lot of ways, mostly in the sense that human energy is significant even in the afterlife, as well as being set only a few years after.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: the Incredibles make yet again another appearance as merchandise, a poster of them is seen on a street. There's also a slight nod to Sid from Toy Story, who we saw as a garbage man in Toy Story 3, as someone from the talent show is wearing the exact same shirt. Perhaps this is Sid in the after life - confirming that Coco comes many years after Toy Story 1, 2 and 3.
11. Finding Dory
Despite other timelines placing Finding Dory at the same time as Finding Nemo, I believe it's farther into the future.. although I'm unsure whether it would come before or after Inside Out and Coco. But, based on the nods to pollution in the ocean at this time and trash that we see Dory dodge, I think it's set farther into the future as a connector to the next major shift in the timeline.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: hidden on a far wall in one of the scenes, there is a calendar that says "Wall-E" on it, which I believe is now around the time of when the machines began to take over and were manufactured out by Buy n Large.
12. Cars
All of the Cars movies are set far into the future, about a century after our present day time. The evolution and intelligence of machinery has increased so much, that they have completely taken over our Earth as we know it. They take on the personalities of their old owners - and act as if they are humans. But, they need their previous owners in order to have their energy, and eventually run out of that energy now that the humans are gone.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: Dinoco appears in the Cars movies as the sponsor of the track, showing that their company has grown significantly over the years since being just a gas station in Toy Story.
13. Wall-E
Wall-E is one of the most clear points in the timeline in my opinion. This happens just after the Cars movies as the machines have died out as well. It's clearly shown that it's set in the future - in which humans no longer live on Earth because it is unfit for them to live, and Wall-E is the last machine on Earth, preserving the last piece of life on Earth; the plant.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: this movie is when Buy-N-Large hits its peak, they have taken over the humans and left the Earth alone in its pollution. The company completely brainwashes the humans with commercial products and robots. You can also seem some objects from other movies hidden in the trash that Wall-E picks up on Earth, like the traffic cones from Toy Story. The plant from the shoe, could also potentially grow into the Bug's Life famous tree.
14. A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is set decades after the humans come back to the Earth, and animal intelligence is also at its peak since it had been evolving for thousands of years, and survived the machinery era through Cars and Wall-E. The insects are even more advanced than ever as they have built cities, daily routines, and even a monarchy.
Theme: animal intelligence
Easter Egg Hints: there aren't many easter eggs within that film since it was the 2nd Pixar movie to ever be released, but, Heimlich can be seen in Toy Story on a leaf, which is explained in the last movie of the timeline through magic and time travel.
15. Monsters Inc
Monsters Inc is arguably the most important film in the whole timeline, as it ties everything together, explains a lot of plot holes, and is stock full of easter eggs. It is currently the last movie in the timeline because people believe that the monsters are just mutated humans and animals, since the Earth was full of pollution and radiation after the Cars era. The reason why there are also humans in this film (like Boo), is because the Monsters travel to different time periods whilst going through the doors.
Theme: human energy
Easter Egg Hints: in one of the scenes where the scarers are getting ready to start their work day, Randell is seen using his strategy of blending into walls, and one of the walls he practices on is Andy's wallpaper. Thus, Randell travels back in time to the Toy Story era to scare Andy. Also, the trailer that Randell gets stuck in at the end is the same trailer as in a Bug's Life, as he travels back to before the time of a Bug's Life.
The way the timeline ties back from the start to the end, is the one most of us look for in every movie with children in it - Boo.
It's theorized that Boo is the witch in Brave, who uses her magical powers to go through doors and travel to different times to try to find Sulley and reunite. The witch is obsessed with doors, has the carvings of Sulley, and even has a little wooden Pizza Planet truck, which wouldn't even exist back in the 10th century. Aside from The Good Dinosaur, Boo started it all, has supposedly appeared in other movies in the background (Toy Story 3) and ends it all by showing her past with her friendship with Sulley.
As Pixar continues to make movies, the timeline will also stretch, and plotlines will probably fill in any plotholes we have somewhere near the middle of the timeline. But, for now, we can be confident that we're merely on a journey with Boo.
My sketches of the first half of the timeline
My sketches of the second half of the timeline
