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Ranking Pixar Companion Shorts

Pixar has produced numerous short films during their history, but they also produced movies that aren’t original, but are accompanying pieces to their feature works. This list will focus on those latter movies as I’ve already made a list about the original shorts. Here is the ranking of all Pixar companion shorts that are ranked by both how well they accompany their features and also how well they stand on their own.

19. Miss Fritter’s Racing Skoool

‘Cars 2’ may be the worst Pixar movie, but it is actually ‘Cars 3’ that got the worst short of the bunch. I actually find that movie to be quite solid, but this short isn’t a film at all, but an ad. It was supposed to function like a parody, but it doesn’t work as it’s too fleeting in runtime while focusing on a disposable character. Of all nineteen bonus shorts that Pixar produced, this is the worst one, so it easily gets the last spot on this list.

18. Marine Life Interviews

The most unnecessary Pixar sequel was definitely ‘Finding Dory’ and this short is also quite inconsequential. The movie focuses on interviews with the animals at the Marine Life Institute about their experiences with Dory. It was a sound idea for sure, but the execution was quite mediocre with middling humor.

17. Dante’s Lunch

Most of the recent Pixar shorts suffered from being too short and not exactly being movies per say. Dante’s Lunch is one such short. Dante is a dog from ‘Coco’ and he is very sweet and fun in this perfectly fine flick where he chases a haunted bone, but in terms of a strong storyline, this bone has no meat on it unfortunately, pun intended.

16. George and A.J

This is one of the two ‘Up’ follow-up shorts and the weaker of the two. It follows nurses George and A.J. and what they did after Carl Fredricksen left with his house tied to balloons. It was a solid concept, but the execution was quite poor with what might be the worst animation that Pixar has ever put out. It’s such a cheap short.

15. BURN-E

It was not a good idea to focus on a very side character from the movie ‘WALL-E’, so naturally it ended up so low on my list. Yes, it’s technically polished and very well made, but it’s such a forgettable short with a weak plot. The iconic feature deserved much better than this.

14. Exploring the Reef

Jean-Michael Cousteau’s documentary about the Great Barrier Reef keeps getting interrupted by Dory and other characters from the movie. This short is perfectly fine and charming in its own right, but to me it felt too childish. It’s only for big fans of ‘Finding Nemo’.

13. Lamp Life

Lamp Life gave us a solid Bo Peep origin story. It’s a fine ‘Toy Story 4’ short that is sweet and well made, but it’s also awfully similar in the overall storyline and tone to Jessie’s origin story in ‘Toy Story 2’. It lacked originality.

12. Mater and the Ghostlight

I don’t care what others have to say, but I’ve always liked Mater myself. This is why this ‘Cars’ short worked for me. It’s simplistic for sure, but it features a solid premise and Mater is very funny throughout.

11. Auntie Edna

Auntie Edna prolongs one scene from ‘Incredibles 2’ and the results are pretty solid. While far from great as it’s somewhat repetitive, it’s always wonderful seeing Edna and here she was so much fun. It’s a solidly made, fun enough short that worked more often than not.

10. 22 vs. Earth

Set before the events of Pixar’s ‘Soul’, 22 refuses to go to Earth, enlisting a gang of five other new souls in her attempt at rebellion. This is a technically polished and pretty good film, but one that lacked the sophistication of the original feature. I’d expected much more from it.

9. The Legend of Mor’du

This ‘Brave’ short gives in-depth background about the film’s villain – an evil, greedy prince, as told by the eccentric witch who transformed him into the monstrous bear that he is in the original film. Cheap animation aside, this was a solid origin story that hinted at what the feature film could have been – an animated epic period piece.

8. Mr. Incredible and Pals

Mr. Incredible and Pals is a silly, but hilarious parody of animated shows of the sixties that features amusingly inept animation and ridiculous narration. It’s an odd accompaniment to ‘The Incredibles’, but if you are in the mood for a silly parodic comedy, you will definitely find this ridiculous short delightful.

7. Mike’s New Car

‘Monsters, Inc.’ is one of my favorite Pixar movies, and although this short is not as sophisticated as the feature, it functions as a pretty fun and funny cartoon on its own right. Mike’s New Car is a simple, but effective comedy flick that made great use of the characters of Sulley and Mike while benefitting from excellent physical humor.

6. Riley’s First Date

The best Pixar shorts work not as continuations, but as parts of the same story that we haven’t seen before. That is certainly the case with this ‘Inside Out’ short. It is the type of story that will be super relatable to all parents out there as we follow Riley’s mom and dad’s emotions and how they deal with their daughter’s first date. It’s such a funny movie.

5. Your Friend the Rat

This short takes on the form of an educational film that stars rats Remy and Emile, the main protagonists of ‘Ratatouille’, who argue for the reconciliation of humans and rats. Its educational format is familiar, but the execution is marvelous – the animation is stylistically versatile, the editing is phenomenal and the humor is quite clever.

4. Jack-Jack Attack

Jack-Jack Attack revolves around the situations between Jack-Jack and his babysitter Kari McKeen during the events of the main film. This is a surprisingly strong and fun short that made perfect use of these two characters from the original film and it functions as a pleasant companion piece to it. It’s slight, but utterly charming.

3. Party Central

‘Monsters University’ is a very underrated Pixar prequel that I quite like. Party Central ended up being one of the best shorts on this list because it made perfect use of its excellent premise and it featured such a killer ending. The concept of “door jumping” was so cool and that final scene was brilliant. It’s a short that lacks depth, but it features tons of ingenuity, so it has to get this third spot.

2. Dug’s Special Mission

This is a wonderful short movie that acts as a highly satisfying prequel to 2009’s ‘Up’. That film never quite explained Dug’s backstory, so this short functions as a great companion piece that gives us a lot of insight into his life and personality. The first half is this Looney Tunes-inspired cartoon comedy while the second half is where the film reached high emotions. It’s a perfect example of a short film giving us some great answers about the original feature.

1. Ciao Alberto

And the best Pixar companion short is Ciao Alberto, a film that is set in the world of ‘Luca’, but actually stars his friend Alberto. It focuses on his growing relationship with his eventual adopted father Massimo. The two share such a believable, well defined dynamic that culminated in that final scene that was just heartwarming. The best Pixar movies always have a great message and they tug on the heartstrings and this one does all of that beautifully, so it deserves the top placement on this list.