All of the Pixar movies take part on the same timeline here on earth. There is one person who ties the whole timeline together.
Brave (14th - 15th Century)
It all starts with Brave. This movie is about a Scottish kingdom during the dark ages is the earliest time period covered by the pixar films. In Brave Merida discovers “the-will-of-the-wisps” (magic). Merida discovers that the magic can solve her problems and inadvertently turns her mother into a bear. Not only do we see animals behaving like humans, but we see inanimate objects (brooms & tools) behaving like humans. This magic was utilised by a witch, who mysteriously vanishes through wooden doors. Eventually the magic from the-will-of-the-wisps would lead to the birth of super heroes.
The Incredibles (1950’s-1960’s)
Superheroes maintained order in the world. But Buddy, a wannabe superhero, created two things for the demise of superpowered humans: self serving A.I. bots like the "Omnidroid," and the high tech Zero Point Energy (electromagnetic energy that exists in a vacuum). When Mr. Incredible is first told about this machine, Mirage mentions that it is an advanced artificial intelligence that has gone rogue Mr. Incredible points out that it got smart enough to wonder why it had to take orders. The omnidroid eventually turns on Syndrome, and starts attacking humans in the city. Why would an A.I. want to just attack randomly? Do machines have an inherent hatred of humans? The movie even shows clips of the superheroes with capes being done in by inanimate objects, such as plane turbines…accidentally.But why would machines want to get rid of humans in the first place. Eventually, toys start to absorb and draw their powers from Zero Point Energy, unseen energy that travels in wavelengths.
Toy Story 1 & 2 (1997-1999)
Enter Toy Story. Here we see humans using and discarding “objects” that are clearly sentient. Yes, the toys love it Uncle Tom style, but over the course of the Toy Story sequels, we see toys becoming fed up. But wait, toys and inanimate objects aren’t necessarily machines, so how do they have some kind of intelligence? Syndrome points to the answer. He tells Mr. Incredible that his lasers are powered by Zero Point Energy. This is the electromagnetic energy that exists in a vacuum. It’s the unseen energy we find in wavelengths and a reasonable explanation for how toys and objects in the Pixar world draw power. Meanwhile, Pixar is hinting at dissatisfaction among pockets of toy civilisations civilisations civilisations civilisations toys rise up against Sid in the first movie. Jesse resents her owner, Emily, for abandoning her. Toys are obviously not satisfied with the status quo, providing a reason for why machines and objects alike are ready to take over.
Finding Nemo (2003)
In the ocean we find that fish are incredibly advanced (they have schools, a network and freeway system). We discover that humans are polluting the earth and experimenting on them.BNL shows up again in this universe via another news article that talks about a beautiful underwater world. Think about Dory from Finding Nemo for a second. She stands apart from most of the other fish. Why? She isn’t as intelligent. Her short-term memory loss is likely a result of her not being as advanced as the other sea creatures, which is a reasonable explanation for how rapidly these creatures are evolving. Dory is actually more intelligent and shows signs of growth due to her ability to read and communicate with whales. This would actually show signs of how the animals are beginning to change in intelligence gradually. There are signs of resentment growing towards humans for polluting the environment, stealing fish and caging them.
Ratatouille (2007)
In Ratatouille, Remy discovers his love for cooking and displays human characteristics. Some of them are: walking on his hind paws, cleaning his hands, reading, and cooking. This is the first time we see personal interaction between human and animal, but it is for the purpose of controlling humans. Remy controls Linguini because Linguini does not know how to do anything. We see that Remy's rat clan does not approve of the humans and feels both fear and hate towards them.Meanwhile, the villain of Ratatouille, Chef Skinner, disappears. What happened to him? What did he do with his newfound knowledge that animals were capable of transcending their instincts and performing duties better than humans?
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Three years later, toys have gone through a lot with humans. If you've seen the movie you can tell why most of the toys have had it. Being abused physically and emotionally by humans. Lotso the Huggin' Bear straight up hates humans because they use and discard toy objects like they are nothing. He starts trying to take care of his own kind. This provides yet another reason why machines and objects alike are ready to take over.
Up (2011-2016)
Carl is forced to give up his house to a corporation/BnL because they are expanding the city. This is foreshadowing−this corporation is the cause for polluting the earth and wiping out life in the distant future, as a result of technology overreach. Carl discovers that animals can communicate with humans, and sees the bitterness that they have.It’s possible that Charles Muntz, the antagonist of Up, learned of this startling rumor, giving him the idea to begin inventing devices that would harness the thoughts of animals, namely his dogs, through translator collars. Those collars indicated to Muntz that animals are smarter and more like humans than we think. He needed this technology to find the exotic bird he’s obsessed over, and he even comments on how many dogs he’s lost since he arrived in South America But then Dug and the rest of his experiments are set free after Muntz’s demise, and we don’t know the full implications of that, but what we do know is that animosity between the animals and humans is growing steadily. Now that humans have discovered the potential of animals, they are beginning to cross the line. Years later, the uprising between animals and humans begins. Who do you think won that war?
Cars (2100-2200)
When animals rose up against the humans to stop the pollution, the machines saved the humans and they won the war. However since machines helped humans win, it tipped the balance on Earth. Machines/BnL had to send the remaining humans off into space on a ship called Axiom. All of the other machines were left behind to populate the world and run things. But how do we know cars took over earth and not another planet?
Cars 2 (2100-2200)
In Cars 2, cars go to Europe and Japan which shows that its the same planet as all the other Pixar movies. It also shows that there are no humans throughout the world. The world at this time ends up with an energy crisis as oil is the only energy used for cars.Allinol corporation was using green energy as a catalyst for a fuel war in order to turn cars away from alternative energy sources. That clean fuel could have been used to swiftly wipe out many of the cars. Allinol was run by BnL which eventually polluted the whole earth due to its use of oil. The whole world becomes unfit to sustain life.
Planes (Date Unknown) (This movie is not completely a pixar movie, I still think it is included.)
This brings us to Planes. One of the major story elements of Planes is that the main character, Dusty, learns to race under his mentor, Skipper. We learn that Skipper fought in a war that took place in the Pacific, reminiscent of World War II.Throughout the movie, there is a map that shows the “World Race” and all 7 continents. One continent is noticeably missing: Europe. Asia is blanketed over that entire continent, but we know that Europe does exist in this world.It was one of the settings in Cars 2, and a few characters in Planes come from European countries. The race cuts through Europe, so it makes no sense that this map would exclude it. But we do know that some major war took place between what may have been Asia and Europe.What would this war be about? Resources. Early in Planes, it’s established that corn is now a sought-after fuel source for the machines. This is probably because the resources for fuel are beginning to fade completely.There’s more evidence. During Planes, we’re introduced to a British plane who competed in the European Cup (so Europe does still have to exist). Initially, he is reluctant to trusting anyone and is the only major racer from Europe.This is odd since there are multiple Americans and Asians competing in the race, which you can see if you watch the flags closely on the racing stats. At the very least, this all points to a scenario that hints at what may have doomed the machines that disappeared before the events of Wall-e.
Wall-E (2800-2900)
Earth has become uninhabitable for hundreds of years due to BnL. The corporation took over the world/governments starting in the 1950's. Wall-E is the only machine left on Earth after it ran out of resources. He survived because he is fascinated with human culture and also his friendship with a cockroach, which helped maintain his personality and fulfillment. Robots/machines on Axiom (having left earth centuries earlier) show that machines develop a sense of purpose out of the humans' dependence on them. Wall-E is a robot Jesus, and He and his love, the appropriately named Eve, save the human race and start a new beginning on Earth again.During the credits of Wall-E we see the shoe that contains the last of plant life. It grows into a mighty tree.
A Bug’s Life (2898-3000)
That same plant we see in Wall-E grew to be the tree in "A Bug's Life". Insects have a longer lifespan in "A Bug's Life". Prior to Wall-E, an ant can last just 3 months. However, in a bugs life, these ants all survive an entire summer and allude to being around for quite some time. One ant states that he "feels 90 again." This indicates that ants are sturdier as a result of evolution and mutated genes. Another ant tells Flik not to leave the island because there are "snakes, birds, and bigger bugs out there." They do not mention humans, because there are very few humans to make it dangerous enough for insects to worry about. However, one kid did allegedly pick the wings off of the homeless bug.The bugs have cities, bars, advertisements, their own machines, know what a bloody mary is and even have a traveling circus. Later in the distant future animals start evolving into the dominant species.
Monsters University (4500-5000)
Hundreds of years after Wall-E, animals started changing due to radiation caused by BnL. These animals evolved into monsters and accidentally wipe humans off the face of the planet.They have cities and even colleges. Monsters University was founded in 1313; this is dated using the monsters' calendar, not the human calendar, and shows that it took place almost 1400 years after "A Bug's Life". At Monsters University, they falsely taught the monsters that humans were toxic and from another dimension. This was because monsters were worried about being erased from existence and altering history.
Monsters Inc (4500-5000)
In Monsters Inc., they have an energy crisis because they are in a future earth without humans.Humans are the source of energy. So they scare humans to gather their energy until they realize that laughter (green energy) is more efficient because it is positive in nature. Monsters find a way to use doors to travel to the human world. Only, it’s not different dimensions.The monsters are going back in time. They’re harvesting energy to keep from becoming extinct by going back to when humans were most prominent. The peak of civilization, if you will.Monsters must have relied on anti-human instincts to believe that just touching a human would corrupt their world like it did in the past.