Luxo Jr
Based on an Anglepoise lamp that sat on Pixar founder John Lasseter’s desk, Luxo Jr made his debut in the 1986 short film, named after him, that launched the company. In the 150-second computer animated film, Luxo Jr plays with a bouncing rubber ball while a bigger lamp, Luxo, watches on with parental pride and exasperation. The character proved so talismanic for Pixar that it now appears in the company logo, bouncing into shot before every film, even getting specific, humorous makeovers to signal certain productions Photograph: Public Domain
Ratatouille
Voiced by Peter O’Toole, food critic Anton Ego is nicknamed the Grim Eater. He dishes out mostly poisonous reviews to Parisian restaurants. His removal of a star from the ratings of Auguste Gusteau’s in Ratatouille is rumoured to have caused the chef’s early death. He has perhaps the finest speech in all of Pixar’s output, summing up the critic’s task as being a worthless one in which the only risk is in discovering the new: “The new needs friends.” The film’s final scene is one of Pixar’s most moving, featuring Ego being transported, Proust-like, back to his happy childhood by a perfect ratatouille Photograph: Rex Features
The Incredibles
A homage to Hollywood costumier Edith Head, with a hint of US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, Edna Mode is fashion designer to all superheroes, forsaking retirement to design the Incredibles’ outfits. Calling everyone “dahling”, she takes her name from the software EMode used by Pixar. She presented best costume alongside Pierce Brosnan at the 2004 Oscars and is voiced by the film’s director, Brad Bird. On the DVD extras of the film, Edna is interviewed about her work: “Superheroes are easy, dahling. Mediocrity is much more difficult to work with – and it is in such great supply” Photograph: Rex Features
Up
Animation sealed its acceptance as a serious art form when Pixar’s Up was chosen to open the 2009 Cannes film festival, forcing the great and good of world cinema to don 3D specs. The audience were rewarded with probably the most moving segment in cartoon history, detailing the marriage and dreams of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen in a wordless four-minute sequence. Carl, a balloon salesman and frustrated explorer, is voiced by Ed Asner. His refusal to go into a retirement home leads him to tie helium balloons to his house and head for Paradise Falls in South America Photograph: Rex Features
Toy Story 3
Voiced by Ned Beatty, this portly devil from the last Toy Story film claims the crown from so many brilliant characters in the series. An old pink stuffed teddy with a soft southern drawl, Lotso rules the Sunnyside daycare centre. But he hides a bitter backstory of rejection that leads him to perpetrate the ultimate betrayal in all animation, leaving Woody and co to face death in an incinerator. Lotso isn’t a “real” toy, although Pixar fooled many into believing he was some sort of Care Bear, creating cleverly faked ads on YouTube to help market the film Photograph: PR
Finding Nemo
Little Nemo may capture children’s hearts, and I’ve got a lot of time for Bruce the shark, Crush the surfing turtle and those seagulls who shout “Mine! Mine!”, but the star of the show is surely the forgetful fish Dory, the blue tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. Hers is a wonderful vocal performance, and director Andrew Stanton drew Dory with Ellen in mind, having caught a sketch by the comedian doing a character who can never finish a sentence. Her best moment is when she speaks whale by simply elongating her English words and singing them up and down Photograph: Rex Features
Cars
He may be the handsome hero and therefore the obvious choice, but Lightning McQueen is one cool car. Based on a Le Mans-style endurance racer such as the Ford GT40, with elements of Corvette, Mazda Miata and Dodge Viper, he’s the hot-headed kid aiming to be the youngest to win the Piston Cup. Voiced by Owen Wilson, he has traces of Steve McQueen in Le Mans and a touch of Robert Redford in Downhill Racer, although Pixar named the car after one of its chief animators, Glenn McQueen, who died in 2002. Lightning McQueen has become one of Disney’s most lucrative merchandising toys Photograph: PR
Monsters, Inc
Apart from Woody Allen’s Z in Antz, is there a more distinctly Jewish cartoon character than Mike Wazowski? A one-eyed tennis ball with legs and a big mouth, Mike is voiced by Billy Crystal in the manner of an old vaudeville agent with a dash of boxing trainer. He approaches his friendship with John Goodman’s Sulley like a double act, and is constantly aware he’s in a movie. He is also neurotic about hygiene and hopelessly romantic. The lizardly Randall Boggs may take the prize for the character most resembling his own voice artist in Steve Buscemi, but Mike’s nonstop patter has made me laugh more than any other talking toon Photograph: AP
Wall-E
With his large binocular eyes and caterpillar wheels, Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) is the only robot left functioning on earth, collecting bits of nostalgic rubbish and storing them in his truck where he also watches Hello, Dolly! on a still working VHS. The first, silent part of the film, featuring just Wall-E and his cockroach friend, Hal, is perhaps the finest work ever done in animation, conjuring a world of garbage and desolation in which Wall-E is still happy in his Sisyphean task. The animators had Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton films on a continuous loop as they designed the robot’s moves Photograph: Rex Features
The rabbit from the hat in Presto
Pixar began life making animated logos for TV companies, but as computer costs came down it extended to beautifully crafted short movies. These shorts have all found their way on to DVD and a new one is now expected before every feature it releases. Knick Knack, played out over a Bobby McFerrin vocal, is about a lovelorn snowman. Day & Night explored the boundaries of 3D. But Presto, which originally accompanied Wall-E’s release, is a masterpiece of old-fashioned techniques, featuring a rabbit outwitting a magician in order to get a carrot. It is relentlessly inventive and very funny Photograph: Allstar Picture Library
