Pixar Animation Studios, or just Pixar, is no stranger to churning out original hit songs with their movie releases. Pixar is responsible for childhood favorites like Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and Monsters, Inc. The studio has also created various animated shorts like Jack-Jack Attack and Bao.
Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Some Pixar movies have even been the inspiration for theme park additions at Disney Parks around the world, like Toy Story Land, which features themed rides, food and character visits from the movie franchise.
A hallmark of Pixar movies is the music. Several of the studio’s creations have been nominated for “Best Original Song” at the Academy Awards and other smaller award ceremonies. Some of these songs are nostalgic and synonymous with childhood, like the classic “You’ve Got a Friend In Me,” by Randy Newman for Toy Story. It’s a recognizable tune that almost everyone can identify.
It’s likely Pixar Studios will continue releasing more hit original songs as they continue premiering new shorts and movies. On the horizon is the Lightyear movie, a spin-off that follows a young Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story) on an intergalactic adventure with a group of friends, which is scheduled for a June 17, 2022, theatrical release.
While waiting for new original songs to enjoy and add to your playlist, here are 10 of the best songs from Pixar movies, ranked.
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11 “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” - Toy Story
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Toy Story is easily one of the most popular and most successful Pixar movies. Released in 1995, it essentially tells a story about every child’s dream — toys that can come to life. The movie is fun, bright, inventive, and introduced viewers to signature characters that have stuck around for years like Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles).
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Toy Story was so successful that it went on to become a four-movie franchise, with the spin-off movie Lightyear, following a young Buzz Lightyear through the galaxy, premiering June 17.
The first movie has a great soundtrack of both instrumental compositions and sing-along tunes. One of the most notable being Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” It was used as the theme song for the original movie and maintained its presence throughout the three sequels. In the first movie, it’s played to establish the relationship between Woody and Andy (John Morris) and show that they’re truly best friends.
It’s a happy, heartwarming song that instantly sparks memories of the Toy Story universe and its fan-favorite characters.
10 “If I Didn’t Have You” - Monsters Inc.
Pixar Animation Studios
Monsters Inc. is another fun Pixar classic with iconic characters that remain in the minds of viewers for years. Released in 2001, it tells the story of best friends Mike (Billy Crystal), and Sully (John Goodman), two monsters who work at the largest scare factory in the monster universe called Monsters Incorporated.
Monsters Inc. was another big Pixar hit, leading to a prequel movie in 2013 titled Monsters University and a spin-off TV series on Disney+ in 2021 titled Monsters at Work.
In its entirety, the Monsters Inc. soundtrack is a blast, with songs and sounds that have become synonymous with the movie. One of the best is “If I Didn’t Have You.” It was written by Randy Newman, who’s responsible for a lot of Pixar tunes, and is sung by Crystal and Goodman while in character as Mike and Sully. It’s a song about friendship and the theatrics of the performance make it fun to listen to and really brings the characters to life.
9 “Strange Things” - Toy Story
Pixar Animation Studios
As one of Pixar’s most successful releases, it’s no surprise that another one of the best songs comes from Toy Story.
In the movie, when Andy gets his Buzz Lightyear action figure as a birthday gift, he starts spending less time with his original best bud, Woody. This sends Woody on a bit of a spiral as he feels like his whole world is crashing down around him. He’s used to being Andy’s number one, but with Buzz around that’s all changed.
“Strange Things” is another song that was written and performed by Randy Newman, and it feels just like “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” It’s almost like Newman is the voice of Toy Story with how strong his presence is musically throughout the movie. “Strange Things” effectively captures the somber mood of the scene in which Woody is watching Andy choose Buzz first over and over again.
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8 “Le Festin” - Ratatouille
2007’s Ratatouille is a great movie about Remy the rat (Patton Oswalt) who dreams of being a chef in Paris, which is really the last profession where anyone wants to see a rat. It’s a lively movie set against a dreamy Parisian backdrop, complete with very Parisian music.
One of the greatest songs from the movie is “Le Festin”. It was written for big time Pixar composer Michael Giacchino, who is the mind behind other greats like The Incredibles, Up and the Call of Duty video game series. French singer-songwriter Camille sings “Le Festin,” which translates to “The Feast” - very fitting given the plot. It’s very romantic, very French, and fits beautifully in the movie.
Even though Ratatouille premiered so many years ago, it recently had a resurgence on TikTok. “Le Festin” became a very popular TikTok sound and fans of the movie came to the app to create the imaginative “Ratatouille: The Musical.”
7 “Remember Me” - Coco
Coco is about life, death and Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a young boy trying to learn about his family and their generation-long ban on music. This movie, which premiered in 2017, was inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, during which people remember and celebrate their deceased loved ones. Coco is bright yet poignant and an incredibly unique work from Pixar.
Despite centering around a family that prohibits music, the movie is full of beautiful, Latin-inspired melodies that hadn’t been heard in a Pixar movie before. One of the signature songs that stands out is “Remember Me.” It’s written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband Robert, who both wrote “Let it Go” from Frozen and “Agatha All Along” from WandaVision. The song is performed by various characters in the movie, but it’s gripping and carries just enough melancholy to move you during each listen.
6 “Nobody Like U” - Turning Red
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Turning Red is Pixar’s newest movie about a 13-year-old girl who turns into a big red panda whenever she gets too excited. It’s a cute coming-of-age type movie featuring music that is perfect for the pre-teens the movie is about and aims to appeal to. In the movie, there’s a boy band that everyone loves called 4*TOWN, and they sing “Nobody Like U,” which was actually written by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, and encompasses everything that a boy band is and is undeniably catchy. The song became so popular that it debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.
5 “Un Poco Loco” - Coco
“Un Poco Loco” is another great tune from Coco. Written by Germaine Franco (Encanto) and Adrian Molina (The Good Dinosaur), it’s a short and sweet song performed by Miguel and Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal). Simply put, it’s just a fun and catchy song. Despite how short it is, it’s one of the songs that leaves the strongest lasting impression. It’s full of energy and feels worthy of a mid-movie dance break.
RELATED: Pixar: How the Animation Studio Has Changed Over Time
4 “Married Life” - Up
Up is a beautiful movie, in reference to both the plot and the visuals. It’s about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl (Edward Asner) who decides to fulfill his life’s dream, ties thousands of balloons to his house, and sets sail to South America. But, his journey isn’t that simple when young boy scout Russell (Jordan Nagai) stows away for the adventure.
Released in 2009, Up is another musical work of art by Michael Giacchino. One of the most recognized songs from the movie is “Married Life,” which plays at the beginning when Carl and his wife Ellie are building their lives as newlyweds. As a whole, the movie is emotionally intense, but the love story that “Married Life” helps illustrate is an absolute tearjerker. Giacchino does an impeccable job at creating a composition that is both happy, yet sorrowful at the same time.
3 “Life’s Incredible Again” - The Incredibles
The Incredibles is another musical masterpiece by Giacchino. The movie, which premiered in 2004, is about a family of superheroes who are forced to live mundane lives as the government has banned “supers,” but eventually the family taps into their powers, taking them on a series of adventures. The Incredibles was an instant hit and led to a sequel, The Incredibles 2, several years later.
The entire soundtrack is very jazzy and feels like a James Bond movie, but one of the best songs is “Life’s Incredible Again.” It’s a short instrumental that plays once Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) feels rejuvenated after getting back into the superhero game. It’s just barely over a minute long, but the song’s cheerful swing vibe is infectious.
2 “Beyond the Sea” - Finding Nemo
Pixar
Finding Nemo is another Pixar mega-hit about an overprotective clownfish named Marlin (Albert Brooks) who sets out on a deep sea adventure to save his son Nemo (Alexander Gould) who was captured by divers. Finding Nemo was so popular that it led to the sequel, Finding Dory, years later. There is also a Finding Nemo TV series rumored to be in the works for Disney+.
Composed by Thomas Newman (WALL-E, Finding Dory), who is actually the cousin of Randy Newman, Finding Nemo’s musical score has an immersive, nautical, underwater feeling.
While it’s not necessarily an original song, Finding Nemo’s signature song is “Beyond the Sea,” which plays during the end credits. It was originally produced in 1946 and made popular by singer Bobby Darin in 1959. However, for Finding Nemo, singer-songwriter Robbie Williams performed a cover of it specifically for the movie in 2003. It’s the perfect song to end the movie, especially as the credits role against the backdrop of the ocean. It serves as proof once again that Pixar knows how to evoke a mood with their musical choices, whether original compositions or not.
