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A well-done animated movie can be enjoyable for anybody. BothDisneyandPixar, corporate giants in the field of animation, usually do incredibly well at putting together and releasing high-quality animated movies. However, there tends to be a lot of overlap between the companies, which makes mixing up who did what really easy.
This usually begs the question of what the difference between Disney and Pixar really is. The line between these two animation giants can be pretty clear in most respects, but there are places where it gets fuzzier and harder to distinguish.
What Is Disney?
Although you likely already know what Disney is, it’s still good to clarify.The Walt Disney Company, frequently shortened to “Disney” is an American-founded media and entertainment conglomerate. Disney used to be called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney. In 1986, the company changed its name to the Walt Disney Company.
From the beginning, Disney has been a media leader in animation, though over time it expanded its business ventures far beyond just animation. Nowadays, the Walt Disney Company owns and operates amusement parts, streaming services, cable TV networks, and film and TV production studios, alongside their ever-growing collection of merchandise.
What Is A Conglomerate?
To put it simply,a conglomerate company is made up of small subsidiaries and acquisitions. These subsidiaries could be off-shoots of the original company or outside companies that have been acquired through a variety of means and integrated. In Disney’s case, there is a healthy mixture of both internal off-shoots and external acquisitions.
What Is Pixar?
Pixar is a computer animation studio, often celebrated for its regular innovation in the field of animation.Pixar was originally created as a part of Lucasfilm in 1979. It became an independent company, separate from Lucasfilm, in 1986, courtesy of some heavy outside investment.
Both Pixar and the Walt Disney Company worked together prior to Pixar’s acquisition, making movies like Toy Story 2 and The Incredibles.
Eventually,in January 2006, the Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar, integrating it into the conglomerate. Interestingly enough, the acquisition of Pixar happened only a few months before Disney began work on its last 2D animated film, The Princess and the Frog.
How Many Disney-Pixar Movies Are There?
Including the time spent collaborating while Pixar was technically an independent company,there are 26 computer-animated movies by Pixar or Disney-Pixar. Pixar really only has two movies they put out without any interaction or input from the Walt Disney Company.
Pixar generally puts out one to two computer-animated feature-length movies every year. Their more recent productions tend to be liked well enough, even if the box office doesn’t always surpass the budget.
Inside Out 2
May 09, 2025
Walt Disney Animation Studios movies like Big Hero 6 and Wreck-It Ralph may be commonly confused for Pixar movies, but it’s important to note that they aren’t. The confusion likely stems from the fact that these movies feel more “grounded” and less “fantasy” than your traditional Disney animated movie.
The Disney-Pixar Ratings
The general ratings for Disney-Pixar films border on the moderately high end,often capping out at 8/10, with a low of 6/10. Some of the animated movies they put out become instant, heart-warming classics, while others fall to the wayside, unfortunately forgotten.
Sometimes it’s best to forget a series, however, rather than see unneeded sequel after sequel make a return on the big screen. Even still, sometimes those sequels end up being better than the original installment, as surprising as that can be.
The top five Disney-Pixar movies all tend to end up being rated just slightly over 8/10, which is unsurprising - they are enjoyable (and well-paced) movies, after all.
The Difference Between Pixar And Disney Movies
Although Disney may technically own Pixar, there are some differences between the way they go about telling a story and what those stories are. Although one could consider the worlds that Pixar builds to be fantastical, they’re hardly fantasy.
Disney prefers to indulge in fantasy aspects, readily incorporating magic and fantasy creaturesinto the different tales they spin. Thesefantasy elements are important for Disney moviesand are a key point of why the story turns out the way it does.Pixar, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily need fantasy elements to tell their stories. Instead, these stories feel a lot more grounded and, in a sense, realistic.
Part of this stems from the fact that Pixar, generally, takes a lot more time to reach the central portion of their story, taking the time to ease you into the world and make it feel realistic. To put it simply,Pixar indulges in a grounded fantasy, whereas Disney tends to skip straight into high-fantasyfor their storytelling. Pixar’s movies don’t have the protagonists weaving magic or sword-fighting dragons (most of the time), but that’s all right!
In most cases, it makes Pixar stories really heartfelt and relatable.Their stories hinge on cultural understandings and the experience of growing up most of the time, which often results in stories that warm your heart and make you want to cry all at the same time.
To Wrap It Up
All Pixar animated movies are Disney movies, but not all Disney movies are Pixar. Up until 2006, Disney only distributed Pixar movies. Despite Disney owning Pixar, movies produced by the subsidiary are not Disney-animated movies.
For it to be a Disney-animated movie, it would have to be created by the Walt Disney Company’s internally-created branch, rather than an externally incorporated company. Disney movies also tend to lean towards different narratives and story-telling devices. This usually gives Pixar movies a distinct and unique feel from the rest of the Walt Disney Company’s productions.
