Studio Ranked: Pixar’s Original Shorts

Disney’s Pixar Animated Studios are known for their classic feature-length films including the Toy Story trilogy, Wall-e, and, most recently, Brave, but it would be rude to forget their short films amongst their talent.

Here are my rankings of all Pixar’s original short films, which can also be found, regularly updated, on my Letterboxd account.

1. Day & Night (2011)

This is one of few Pixar films that I’ve seen on the big screen, and I think it also has to be my favourite. The idea itself is genius; it’s simple but brilliant and looks absolutely fantastic. I don’t really know what the message is but it feels very heartfelt and I enjoy just as much with every viewing.

2. La Luna (2011)

One of my favourite shorts from Pixar. Without any dialogue, the short is beautifully animated, but most of all La Luna is charming and sweet, and tells a heartfelt story of three characters from three different generations. It really is rather wonderful.

3. Lava (2015)

A beautiful love story which is incredibly sad at times. And that song will be stuck in your head for days!

4. Presto (2008)

Pixar’s funniest short by a long mile. Presto is hilarious.

5. The Blue Umbrella (2013)

A lovely and incredibly cute short film with exceptional animation. The music, as well, is beautiful; I could listen and watch this on repeat for days! So uplifting.

6. Partly Cloudy (2009)

A lovely idea, making this especially fun to watch with younger siblings as the short explores where storks get the babies that they deliver from. It’s funny and sweet, and a perfect additional feature to Up.

7. Piper (2016)

A seriously beautiful animation with impeccable detail and a moving story of determination that is charming and cute.

8. For The Birds (2000)

Another funny short from Pixar. I laughed a lot. The animation is incredibly detailed too.

9. Lifted (2006)

A funny concept as a young alien takes his first lesson in UFO driving and human abducting. Could have been better but I love the idea.

10. Bao (2018)

This is an incredibly cute short animation. I had no idea where the story was going, but the ending is beautiful.

11. Lou (1997)

My little boy was absolutely mesmerised by this. I didn’t think that it was as good as Pixar’s other short animations, but he was definitely engaged by all of the fluid movements, bright colours, and catchy score.

12. Luxo Jr. (1986)

Luxo means an awful lot to Pixar so you’ve got to love this short.

I think a quote from Anchorman would serve as an even better review: “I love lamp.”

13. Geri’s Game (1997)

I love this old man. Another charming story and great Pixar short.

14. Sanjay’s Super Team (2015)

A great story. It doesn’t compare to many of Pixar’s other original short films but it is a great concept.

15. Red’s Dream (1987)

A beautiful animation but the story’s not quite as strong as Pixar’s more recent shorts. Also, clowns are terrifying.

16. The Adventures of André and Wally B. (1984)

As Pixar’s first short, I know how much of a triumph this was back in its day. So I’ll have to forgive it for being bad, because we can’t compare it to today’s animation when it wouldn’t have reached the level it’s at today without this very short.

16. One Man Band (2005)

This would have been amazing if each one-man band had their own song, and then each of these songs clashed throughout their attempts to impress. Instead, the use of one song really annoyed me so I couldn’t enjoy it, despite how good it looked.

18. Knick Knack (1989)

I didn’t like the animation and thought the characters all looked quite evil which was off-putting, but if they were more toy-like and the animation was sharper then it would have been really good.

19. Tin Toy (1988)

Dated, poor animation, and one hell of a creepy baby. BUT if this is where the influence from Toy Story came from, then we have to applaud its concept.

20. Boundin’ (2003)

I didn’t really understand this one? It did nothing for me.