Pixar is one of the leading animation studios in the world. Audiences all over the world know the Disney subsidiary's name and Pixar's films, as they are often the source of great critical acclaim and financial success. Beginning with Toy Story, the studio set a high standard and followed it up with original films like Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Pixar has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards 16 times and won 11 of them.

However, despite being known for their original films, they have also increasingly expanded into the world of sequels. Originally, the Toy Story franchise was the only one that garnered sequels, but in recent years they've extended their sequel output. So much so that in the 2010s, six of their 11 films released in the decade were sequels to their original films. Many of the sequels have been some of their most financially successful entries, although they have received criticism for leaning too heavily on sequels in recent years, which stand in sharp contrast to the studio's early days. Of those eleven Best Animated film wins, only two of them were for their sequel movies, so the change in their output wasn't universally beloved.

Starting in 2020, the studio started to scale back on sequels and get back to its roots with original films like Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red. Pixar always held onto the mantra that they would only make a sequel if they felt like they had a story to tell, and in the eight sequels they have made over the past 27 years they have looked to expand the worlds of their characters, play within different genres, and used those original films as a launching pad to tackle more complex themes. With the release of Lightyear, a spin-off of Toy Story and a re-imagining of the character Buzz Lightyear, take a look at all of Pixar's sequels and see how they rank amongst each other.

8 Cars 2

Cars 2
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Often regarded as the worst project from Pixar, Cars 2 is nonetheless an interesting film. It was Pixar's first attempt at a sequel outside the Toy Story films and chooses to shift gears to a new genre in the form of a spy film homage to classic James Bond movies, while also making Mater the Tow Truck the protagonist with Lightning McQueen a smaller supporting player. This shift from protagonist to the side character is something that later Pixar follow-ups Incredibles 2, Finding Dory, and Monsters University would better implement.

Related: Pixar: How the Animation Studio Has Changed Over Time

Despite the poor reputation of Cars 2, the film still has a lot working for it. The shift in genre allows for some creative action sequences and set pieces and shows how much Pixar enjoys riffing on film genres. The global scale of the film provides the animators with a chance to imagine iconic locations in the Cars universe and create a colorful new cast of characters. The film even tries to make the audience's perception of Mater part of the story, with the character coming to terms with how everyone sees him but also embracing who he is and his friends accepting him for that fact. Despite all these efforts, Cars 2 does stick out from not just the pack of Pixar sequels but also just the animation studios' output in general.

7 Cars 3

Disney Pixar's long-awaited sequel Cars 3 
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

After the genre and lead character switch in Cars 2, Cars 3 brings the franchise back to basics doubling down as a sports movie and offers a conclusion to Lightning McQueen's story. In the first Cars he was the rookie sensation, but by the time of Cars 3 he is now the old champ and after a terrible accident similar to his mentor Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) Lightning must decide how he wants to end his career and eventually settles into the role of a mentor figure for a new character, Cruz Rameriz (Cristela Alonzo).

While not as defined as the Toy Story trilogy, Cars 3 does help give a satisfactory conclusion to the Cars trilogy: Lightning McQueen's athletic and personal career in his first year is explored in Cars, Cars 2 explores him at the height of his career, and Cars 3 depicts how he decides to end his tenure and what his legacy will be. Cars 3 offers a cyclical nature to the story there will always be a rookie who needs their shot and an older figure to guide them along the way.

6 Incredibles 2

Members of The Incredible family in The Incredibles
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

If any Pixar movie warranted a sequel after too long a wait, it was The Incredibles. While the film's original ending is more a mirror of the ongoing nature of comic book superhero tales, the very fact is with the superhero genre becoming the biggest in Hollywood a sequel to The Incredibles seemed obvious. After 14 years, Incredibles 2 finally opened in theaters and, unlike the Toy Story films, there was no time jump, instead picking up in the immediate aftermath of The Incredibles.

Incredibles 2 flips the dynamic of the first film, with Elastagirl taking up the superhero mantle while Mr. Incredible is left at home. The animation makes for some of the most visually dynamic superhero action set pieces, providing visuals live-action never could. The film plays up the comedic elements of having Mr. Incredible in a Mr. Mom role while also expanding on Jack-Jack's emerging powers and giving Violet a larger arc moving forward, though this does leave Dash with little to do this time around.

The biggest issue with Incredibles 2 is that it feels more like a retread of the first film, repeating similar beats and playing up a lot of beloved moments from the first film instead of making something new. However, due to the strengths of the main characters, the film manages to be an enjoyable, entertaining watch.

5 Finding Dory

Finding Dory Young Dory and Parents
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Up until the release of Inside Out, Finding Nemo was the most successful non-sequel Pixar had ever made and is to this day regarded as one of the best films the studio has ever created (and one with a surprisingly dark opening for a family movie). The idea of a sequel always seemed tricky given how the first film wrapped up its story, yet when the sequel was announced as Finding Dory it helped contextualize what the angle would be.

Like other Pixar sequels, the focus shifts to the lovable side character, but in keeping with Finding Nemo's theme about learning to live with disability and the relationship between parents and children, Finding Dory continues by exploring Dory's short-term memory and her quest to find her parents. The film introduced a host of great new characters and a fun new location with the Marine Life Institute, a nice change of pace from the first film, as well as continuing the Pixar tradition of seeing mundane normal settings through smaller characters' perspectives. It is a sweet, emotionally satisfying, and also rather intimate film. While not achieving the same highs as the first film, it is still a worthy sequel and a reminder of just how great these characters are.

4 Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Toy Story 3 seemed like the definitive end to the Toy Story franchise, and any future film seemed like an impossibility. Toy Story 4 as a prospect was such an absurdity that it was a joke lyric in the opening number of Muppets Most Wanted. Toy Story 4 in many ways is less the start of a new beginning and more like an epilogue to Toy Story 3, where that film was about wrapping up Andy's storyline, Toy Story 4 decides to examine Woody as a character in his own right separate from Andy and what the future truly holds for him. The Toy Story films have often been parables for parenthood, and Toy Story 4 sees Woody in the role of an empty nester who needs to find out what he wants out of life.

The film's villain Gabby Gabby is a subversion of the Pixar Toy Story villain trope that helps Woody grow. Whereas both The Prospector and Lotso Huggin Bear were presented as trustworthy allies who are revealed to be villains and dark mirrors of what Woody could become, Gabby Gabby is less a villain than just a toy who wants to be loved. She serves as a mirror to Woody, a toy who only wants a home and Woody finds his purpose by helping her realize her worth, the same way he did for Buzz in the first Toy Story film.

Related: Best Songs From Pixar Movies, Ranked

In the final moment of the film, seeing Woody say goodbye to Buzz and the rest of the toys as they go their separate ways in many aspects feels more like a definitive ending to the story, where the franchise would need to drastically change going forward, as seen with the upcoming Lightyear. The 2010s began the decade with a Toy Story movie, and they ended the decade with a Toy Story movie.

3 Monsters University

Monsters University
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

While technically a prequel, Monsters University was an early Pixar attempt at revisiting one of their popular franchises following the Toy Story and Cars films, and in fear of undermining the original film's ending, Pixar opted for a prequel (the Disney+ series Monsters At Work does follow up on Monsters Inc. but in a way which preserves that film's ending). As is the case with Pixar follow-up, the film switches protagonists.

Where Monsters Inc. was Sully's story and Mike was the comedic partner, Monsters University positions Mike as the main character, a monster who dreams of becoming the ultimate scarer. At college, he meets Sully, and the two initially start as adversaries; as the film progresses it shows how these two grow into becoming best friends. For a good portion of the runtime, it is one of the more conventional comedies Pixar has made, allowing for a PG riff on the college party comedy, and a scary third act sequence that is one of the best visual sequences Pixar has ever pulled off.

With all this though, it still manages to tell an emotional story and one that uses its status as a prequel to its advantage. Where most prequels fall into the trap that the audience knows how the story ends, Monsters University uses the audience's knowledge that Mike does not become a scarer to tell an unconventional but important story. Mike wanted to be a scarer more than anything, and he worked hard to achieve his goal, yet his dream does not come true.

This is a difficult lesson for both kids and adults to hear, but it is an important one. Sometimes dreams don't come true, and sometimes the paths laid out in life don't realize themselves the way one envisions, but it is also okay because life will take someone to unexpected places, and sometimes that leads to new opportunities. By the time Monsters University hit theaters in 2013, much of the audience who saw the original film was either entering college or were enrolled and this was the timely message they needed to hear. Just because life may not go the way they planned, they are not failures.

2 Toy Story 3

The cast huddled on the ground with Woody on the bottom in Toy Story 3
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The 2000s are in many ways the Golden Age of Pixar where the studio released all original films and some of their most iconic entries that pushed the boundaries of what an animated film could be. After seven original films in a row, Pixar finally made another sequel in 2010, 11 years after the release of Toy Story 2 they finally released Toy Story 3. The film sees a time-jump, one to match the large gap between the audience of kids who saw the original two films. Woody, Buzz, and the gang are now forced to deal with the fact that Andy has grown up and is leaving for college. A rousing opening action scene sets up a fun comedic riff on a prison break movie, but the looming shadow of doom hangs over the film that comes to a head in an emotionally charged final 20 minutes that left every adult audience member in tears.

The finale of Toy Story 3 is a high mark for Pixar and shows just how effective the studio is and how beloved the characters had become to people. The prospect of these characters may be dying, and in their final moments joining hands and accepting their fate as a family, with Woody taking Buzz's hand after having rejected it earlier in the film only to be saved by one of the greatest callbacks in film history is a rollercoaster of emotions that, even when the audience knows how the scene plays out, still hits the perfect emotional note. The film was a box-office smash, becoming the biggest movie of 2010 and was the third and so far last time an animated film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, in many ways solidifying the Toy Story franchise as one of the greatest of all time.

1 Toy Story 2

Jessie and Woody in Toy Story 2
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Toy Story 2 is a movie that should not have worked, but somehow not only did but is regarded as one of the greatest sequels ever made, one of Pixar's best movies, and one of the best animated films of all time. Originally intended as a direct-to-video release, the studio was so confident in the film they decided to bump it up to a theatrical release. Almost 90% of the movie was lost when an animator accidentally deleted all the files, only to be saved when technical director Galyn Susman revealed she had a backup copy of the film at home due to her working remotely to take care of her newborn child. Then, when the film was not up to Pixar's standards, a good portion of the movie was tossed away and reworked only nine months before its release.

Toy Story 2 is in many ways when the studio's style begins to take shape. Jessie's backstory set to 'When She Loved Me' by Sarah McLachlan is a powerful, melancholy scene in what is otherwise a fun adventure film, and it would set the tone for later Pixar scenes like the opening montage in Up, 'Remember Me' in Coco, or Riley's sadness confession in Inside Out. Pixar showed it was not afraid to take a moment to slow down and let the emotions set in, trusting the younger audiences would not only have the patience for these types of scenes but would appreciate them as something they could relate to.

Toy Story 2 takes everything that works about Toy Story and builds upon it to make a sequel that is bigger, better, and emotionally satisfying. Even if Toy Story 3 never happened, the ending of Toy Story 2 is so satisfying on its own that it works as a standalone film and the second chapter in a larger story. This was Pixar's first sequel and the standard for which all others that have followed have been judged.