With nearly 30 years of feature filmmaking, the upcoming Pixar movies prove that the animation studio shows no signs of slowing down. Back in 1995, Pixar completely revolutionized animation in Hollywood with the release of Toy Story, the industry’s first computer-animated feature film. Its success helped propel Pixar to becoming one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed animation studios, leading all the way up to their latest batch of movies in 2022 with Turning Red and Lightyear. Now, everyone is looking ahead to the next upcoming Pixar movies.
It has been an interesting few years for Pixar as a studio. With the pandemic making theatrical releases questionable and the rise of streaming services, several of their releases have forgone the theatrical route and debuted directly on Disney+. Meanwhile, the recent box office failure of Lightyear proved that viewers weren’t always going to be on board with Pixar, even with its most recognizable properties. Recent Pixar movies have been a mixed bag, but the studio looks to recapture its former acclaim and box office success with a string of upcoming movies that balance a return of popular franchise and original ideas.
Inside Out 2
Of the upcoming Pixar movies, the sequel to 2015’s Inside Out is probably the one that generates the most excitement. Inside Out is regarded by many as one of Pixar’s high points. The central premise of the movie surrounds “feelings with feelings,” and there’s no doubt that Pixar will have everyone feeling their own feelings considering Trent Reznor’s beautiful score and the first movie’s bittersweet message. Inside Out‘s sequel will see the return of Amy Poehler as Joy, but Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling won’t be reprising their respective roles of Fear and Disgust. The plot for Inside Out 2 also hasn’t been revealed yet, as the movie was only announced in the fall of 2022, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few key details of note.
Inside Out director Pete Doctor has been replaced by Kelsey Mann for Inside Out 2, with Meg LeFauve back on scripting duties after co-writing the first installment. Inside Out was a box-office hit, and along with having the distinction of being the most successful standalone Pixar movie, it is also considered one of the best Pixar movies by most. Given all its success and accolades, it is not surprising that a sequel is happening. In fact, it is only surprising that it’s taken this long, with the original movie released so many years ago. There are many directions this new story could take, with emotions changing as a person ages, allowing for the exploration of more hilarious and poignant moments.
Elemental
One of the next upcoming Pixar movies based on an original idea is Elemental. This one has been in the works for a few years, and at D23, Pixar finally announced that Elemental has a June 16th, 2023, release date. The premise for Pixar’s Elemental surrounds the four elements, as is revealed by the title, and takes place in a city inhabited by them, including water, fire, wind, and earth. The story is reported to be surrounding a fire element named Ember (Leah Lewis) and a water element named Wade (Mamoudou Athie). It is suggested the movie will be Pixar’s first romantic comedy, which is a genre the studio will likely excel at.
While the premise might be relatively straightforward, that’s always been Pixar’s charm. Elemental promises to be another dose of Pixar heart food and a return to their high-concept yet emotionally warming movies like Soul, Up, and Coco that justify the studio’s existence away from Disney. Elemental will be directed by Pete Sohn, and while it will follow the familiar Pixar formula of “if x had feelings,” it is a formula that has proven to be very successful for the studio in the past.
Elio
In terms of other upcoming Pixar movies, Elio is an original concept going into the next few years, and it looks set to be a lavish, visually stunning sci-fi adventure about an 11-year-old boy who’s mistaken for Earth’s ambassador after being transported across the universe. With Coco director Adrian Molina at the helm, Elio will, no doubt, pull on the heartstrings while showing how a kid handles a truly fish-out-of-water situation. Yonas Kibreab will voice the lead, and the role of his mother will be played by Superstore‘s America Ferrera. Pixar has tried sci-fi storytelling before and got Lightyear somewhat wrong when Wall-E was so good, but Elio sounds like a fun and original idea. The movie is slated for a spring 2024 release, but the date isn’t set in stone.
Every Upcoming Pixar TV Show
Never to be outdone, the animation studio also has a couple of TV shows releasing on Disney+ alongside their upcoming Pixar movies. Most of these TV shows are based on previous Pixar franchise material that the studio felt could benefit from an expanded universe. Viewers will get more acquainted with some of their favorite Pixar characters, including Dory, Lightning McQueen, and some new additions who are just now being introduced into the world of Pixar.
Finding Nemo (Rumored): While there’s no release date slated for this project, the prospect of a Finding Nemo spinoff TV show is certainly an exciting one. The original 2003 film garnered critical acclaim and the sequel, Finding Dory, was an enjoyable treat and well-received. The rumored Finding Nemo series should release via Disney+, but it’s only in the early stages of development as of now.
Win Or Lose: The last upcoming Pixar TV show is slated to release in the fall of 2023. Win or Lose is an entirely original concept for the animation studio. The series follows in the footsteps of Turning Red and Inside Out‘s adolescent emotions and hardships, as its premise is about a middle-school softball team gearing up for a big championship game. Each episode will focus on a different character’s perspective, and there are sure to get some heartfelt Pixar lessons about wins and losses along the way.
Toy Story 5
All upcoming Pixar movies are made possible by Toy Story kicking things off in 1995. The announcement of Toy Story 5 further confirms its importance to Pixar and the studio’s unwillingness to let it go. This is not the first time Toy Story seemed to have ended, only to come back again. Many felt that Toy Story 3‘s ending was a perfect conclusion to the trilogy, only for Toy Story 4 to give a farewell aimed more specifically at Woody. The question then becomes what direction Toy Story 5 would take the franchise.
It seems as though the sequel will feature Buzz Lightyear, with Tim Allen tweeting out a seeming confirmation of his return. Given the lukewarm reception to Lightyear, it makes sense that Pixar would turn back to one of their most iconic characters and the original actor to undo some of that damage. However, Allen’s tweet also suggests Tom Hanks’ Woody would be returning, as well. This could be a big mistake, as it would undo the emotional goodbye the two friends shared at the end of Toy Story 4 and suggest that Pixar is willing to abandon emotionally satisfying stories to milk the franchise for all it is worth. With no release date announced yet, it might be a while before anyone gets a sense of what Toy Story 5 has in store.
