Though Pixar films never fail to make us laugh and fill us with wonder, one must not overlook the fact that there is also a dark side to them. As in the manner of Walt Disney’s animated pictures in which the villains died and thus conferred glory upon the main character, Pixar uses death in the same way to deepen the development of its stories.





There are few people who are unafraid of death. Most of the time this boundary helps one enjoy life better.

Despite their raison d’être, Andy’s toys have fears concerning their future. They cannot physically die, so for them death consists in losing their owner and no longer being able to be a toy. They are willing to do anything to avoid this fate. This theme had already been dealt with in Toy Story 2. Woody was the one who paid the price for it and realized a single flaw could lead them to their death. The cowboy left everything he had behind him to start a new life inside a museum, even if this meant he would no longer exist as a toy. Here was a quest for immortality where happiness was completely dispelled. This is why he eventually rejected this idea and chose to live life to the full instead of waiting there motionless. In Toy Story 3, it is every toy that is faced with this problem. They work out a plan for Andy to play with them again. For years they have been locked away in a box and have been hoping their owner will take them out again. This is why Rex is so happy that Andy picks him up. He experiences a new lease of energy that had worn off over time. Here is a simple gesture that means a lot to each of them.

Insects are not left out. The survival of the colony in A Bug’s Life rests on the protection of the grasshoppers. Though they do not like what they do, the ants store up food in order to pay off Hopper. They of course get angry when they hear that Flik has destroyed the entire harvest. Even if he meant well, the Queen and Atta blame him for this loss as it is more convenient not to consider imminent death by directing one’s hatred on something or someone. The colony rejects Flik while hoping to protect itself from a death that is certain without the protection of the grasshoppers. This is where the second phase of grief can be observed: that of anger.

WALL-E is closer to us in the sense that, in the film, it is humanity as a whole that pushes back the borders of life. After having polluted the planet and taken refuge in space, humans have become completely dependent on robots. They look upon these electronic helpers as their key to salvation. To such an extent that they lose all sense of what life really is. Until WALL-E showed up, they were not aware of the enjoyment they could get from a swimming pool, the touch of a hand, or even walking. Robotics will fortunately save them, but the entire direction of mankind will have to be redefined.





Everyone reacts differently when their time has come. Woody and his companions decide to stay together for their final moment inside the rubbish dump. They flee together, help one another along so that nobody stays alone, but when the flames get closer, they become one by holding hands and exchanging one last glance. This time, there is no longer a favourite toy; they are all on the same level. Whereas they usually rely upon Woody to help them, here he is the last one they hold their hand out to so as to make him understand that they all accept their fate and that he must do the same.

It also happens that death sometimes changes the personality of close friends and relatives. Would Marlin have been as protective of Nemo had Corla still been alive? Probably not. He feels guilty about not having been able to save his wife. Guilt is the third stage of grief. In order to make up for his past mistake, he sees Nemo as part of his wife. He is willing to risk his own life to protect him. This is why he goes through the fourth stage of grief, that of depression, when he finds his son dead in the dentist’s surgery. He then starts roaming the ocean and Dory is of no comfort to him. All these stages are what enable him to understand that he must trust his son and let him live his life.






Carl is going through the same situation as Marlin, except that he is only at the first stage of grief: denial. Since Ellie has passed away, Carl wishes to make his wife’s dream come true by going to Paradise Falls. Yet he does more than that. The exact dream they had as children, as we learn, was to build a house next to the Falls. Carl sees his wooden house as the embodiment of his wife and decides to take it there. The garden hose that enables him to tow his house along could symbolize the couple holding hands. He knows that his wife is dead but cannot conceive of it, speaking to her as though she were still alive : "We made it [Ellie]!" It is as he sees his house drifting off into the clouds that he reaches the fifth stage of grief: acceptance. For that matter, he no longer speaks of his house as being Ellie, but as what it really is when he tells Russell: "You know, it’s just a house".







Many characters think of Sunnyside as a kind of heaven for toys. We need only see Jessie and her friends’ reaction to realize that this is a land beyond their expectations, a place they would never have imagined even in their wildest dreams: hours of playtime every day with an army of children, and in a warm and colourful environment. Unfortunately for them, this heaven will turn into an absolute hell. Could this be seen this as a punishment for what they did at the opening of Toy Story 3, i.e. abandon Andy ? When they realize their mistake, they try to redeem themselves by leaving Sunnyside to go back and find their true child owner, their "God" as it were. Woody is probably the one who worships Andy the most. It is thanks to him the toys will "resuscitate" with Bonnie, who welcomes them lovingly.





As said earlier, the humans’ fear of dying in WALL-E made them head for space aboard the Axiom. This high-tech spaceship has also become a sort of heaven, as the planet from which they have come from has become a living hell. Humanity was starting to die out, and the BnL Company came up with the idea of creating the Axiom with an optimum level of comfort. But there is no vegetation or glorious landscapes to be seen here…only robots who act more or less like “angels.” They follow humans everywhere they go and meet all their needs without ever disputing their orders. WALL-E is looked on as a messiah who will show them the way to their home, this new Promised Land which will enable the rebirth of humanity.

Though they were practically always in conflict, Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson forged some extremely strong ties, as the scarlet racing car did everything he could to break his mentor’s victory record. In Cars 2, the fourth Piston Cup bears the name of Doc Hudson who died a few years before. This is a tribute from all of the drivers, who saw Doc as the ultimate driver, but also a tribute by Lightning who says so himself : "to have someone else win [it] just didn't feel right". He was anxious to pay tribute to his late friend no matter what by winning on his behalf.

Up is probably the Pixar movie that refers the most to what people consider a heavenly landscape, what with its lush vegetation, sunshine… This is clearly shown in the last scene. The house, symbolizing Ellie, is surrounded by clouds as the camera zooms out to show us that Carl has managed to bring his wife to the heaven she had dreamt of so much. The reference then becomes a dual one.

Remy also gets a glimpse of this afterlife with Gusteau’s ghost. Yet can we really say he is a ghost ? The ghost himself points out that he is just the product of his imagination. Remy cannot bring himself to accept the death of his mentor and continues to see him as moral support. At the end of the movie, the ghost is nowhere to be seen, which proves that Remy must have come to terms with it.





In any superhero film there are always many deaths. The Incredibles makes no exception. These deaths, however, shock us far less, merely because they occur on the villains’ side. One may derive a sense of justice or even a form of contentment from them. This is why nobody weeps over the horrible death of Hopper who gets eaten by chicks, of Charles Muntz who falls into the void, or of the "jalopies" in Cars 2. On the contrary, we expect the villain to die at the end. Yet the Toy Story trilogy goes against this by leaving Stinky Pete and Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear to suffer a fate far worse than death, or Sid with an epiphany on the true nature of toys. Monsters, Inc is an exception among Pixar features as death is not an addressed issue.





As we have seen, death holds a significant place in Pixar films as far as character or story development is concerned. Even if it is not directly or explicitly addressed, it fulfils a part that also allows Pixar to offer us wonderful stories.



Editor : Ravnek - Translators : Rodolphe Decure and Camilla Jones. Thanks : Camilla Jones.

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