From Knick Knack to Luxo Jr., Pixar was animating shorts long before their feature film debut with Toy Story in 1995 and has since been known for its award-winning shorts that have become a staple of the animation studio.
And while sometimes, a Pixar short character may appear in a film — like Gerry's cameo in Toy Story 2 and Tin Toy's film debut in Toy Story 4 — sometimes a short will be entirely based on one of the studio's motion pictures.
'Jack-Jack Attack' (2005)
While The Incredibles is an iconic Pixar film and Incredibles 2 may not have lived up to the hype, the franchise has supplied plenty of memorable shorts that continue The Parr's story, starting with its first.
Jack-Jack Attack acts as a spin-off to the first film and shows viewers what happened when Jack-Jack discovered his superpowers while being babysat as his family was off saving the world from Syndrome.
'Small Fry' (2011)
Toy Story has been given many shorts in its 26 years as a franchise, and while Toy Story of Terror airs every Halloween and Forky Asks A Question became an entire Disney+ series, Small Fry is a hidden gem.
Small Fry stars new toys with old faces as Bonnie wishes she could take home the toys on display at the Poultry Palace. When the worker tells her they're for show only, the mini Buzz (Teddy Newton) inside vents to mini Zurg (Jess Harnell) about how they'll never be played with.
'BURN-E' (2008)
While 2008's WALL-E tells the story of a sentient robot who finds love while on his journey to clean up the abandoned Earth, its follow-up short tells the story of another robot's adventure from the film.
Though viewers briefly meet BURN-E in the original movie, this repair robot stars as the titular character of the direct-to-DVD short who makes several failed yet hilarious attempts at fixing one of the Axium's broken lights.
'Mike's New Car' (2002)
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Monsters, Inc. has been a Pixar classic since its 2001 premiere, and while its 2013 prequel Monsters University didn't quite live up to the expectations, its Academy Award-nominated short did.
Mike's New Car brings back the hilarity of Monsters, Inc. when its lead monsters Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) partake in their usual bickering as Mike tries to show off his brand new car and nothing goes as planned.
'Dancing With The Cars' (2021)
After three successful Cars movies, several shorts, and an entire land dedicated to Radiator Springs at Disney's California Adventure, Pixar gave fans of the franchise more to love in its Pixar Popcorn series on Disney+.
Dancing with the Cars is a dialogue-less short featuring Lightning McQueen and Sally as they watch their fellow car friends Mater, Luigi, Ramone, and Flo ride onto the dance floor to show off their moves at Flo's.
'Marine Life Interviews' (2016)
While Finding Nemo had a 2003 short titled Exploring the Reef, it's the 2016 short that followed Finding Dory that had people raving when it debuted on the Blu-ray release of its preceding film.
Marine Life Interviews, while it didn't feature Nemo (Hayden Rolence) or Marlon (Albert Brooks), starred Dory's (Ellen DeGeneres) new friends from the Marine Life Institute as they all share stories about Dory's time living with them, despite Dory being unable to remember any of it.
'Ciao Alberto' (2021)
Only a few months after the 2021 release of Luca, about two young boys who trade in their sea monster upbringings for life on land in Italy, this Academy Award nominated film received its first Pixar short.
Ciao Alberto follows the film's events when Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) receives a letter from Luca (Jacob Tremblay), who is away at school, and writes his best friend back to tell him all about what his life as Massimo's (Marco Barricelli) employee has been like and the hilarity that's ensued.
'Cookie Num Num' (2021)
This Pixar Popcorn short was not only the season finale of the Disney+ series but received an entire quick-service spot on Pixar Pier at Disney's California Adventure for its memorable story that stemmed from Incredibles 2.
Cookie Num Num hilariously follows The Parr family as they all use their superpowers to try and eat the last cookie in the house for a midnight snack and ends with someone unexpected getting the last bite.
'Lamp Life' (2020)
Toy Story and its lovable cast of toys have had several memorable shorts, and in 2020, it finally became time to give a long-lost toy her due with a starring role in a short exclusively available on Disney+.
Lamp Life stars Toy Story super-couple Woody (portrayed by Jim Hanks in this short) and Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who shares her harrowing journey after being given away by Molly to Woody after he shares with her and Giggle McDimples (Ally Maki) his stories of being won in a claw machine and finding Bo thanks to a sentient fork.
'Riley's First Date?' (2015)
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Riley's First Date? became one of the most memorable shorts from Pixar after the success of its 2015 film Inside Out, about a teenage girl (Kaitlyn Dias) and the personification of her emotions' life in a new house, in a new city, and at a new school.
This short acts as a sequel to the movie and follows not only Riley's beloved emotions, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Anger (Lewis Black), and Fear (Bill Hader), but her parents' emotions as well as Riley prepares to go on her first date with her crush, Jordan.