How does ‘Inside Out’ fit into the Pixar Theory?

The famous Pixar theory, created in 2013 by the journalist and writer Jon Negroniresponsible for presenting the idea that all of the studio’s animations are connected, is extremely loved by fans to this day, who eagerly await its updates with each new release.

With the premiere of the studio’s latest film, “Inside Out 2”, which hit theaters worldwide in 2024, many may have wondered where the entire franchise of stories starring Riley fits into this universe — but don’t worry, RECREIO will explain it to you.

‘Inside Out’ Pixar Theory

Through its official blog, Jon Negroni explained that, thanks to the technologies presented in the film, it is possible to conclude that “Inside Out” takes place in the year 2007, after the events presented in “Ratatouille”.

According to the journalist, he was able to reach this conclusion because, at a certain point in the film, it was possible to find a super hidden easter egg that could easily go unnoticed, where we see Colette Tatou on the cover of a prestigious magazine, judging that her bistro La Ratatouille, which she opened alongside Remy and Linguini, has been very successful.

Another easter egg that also caught the attention of Jon is that of Ellie and Carl, from “UP: High Adventures”, when the couple’s wedding scene appears in one of Riley’s memories. According to the writer, there is no clear explanation as to why the marriage is in the girl’s memories.

Negroni points out the possibility that Riley saw the old wedding tape at some point, but that, for him, it would be unlikely that the girl and the couple are close relatives, since Ellie and Carl never had children. According to the journalist, it is more likely that she knows someone related to the two gentlemen, who would have shown her the tape.

To Jon“Inside Out” also serves as important evidence for his theory, as it is the work responsible for explaining the origin of human “energy”, used in “Monsters Inc.” to provide electricity to Monstropolis, in the superpowers of the heroes of “The Incredibles”, in addition to being the source that gives life to the toys in “Toy Story”, according to him.

However, the highlight of the film that makes it fit perfectly into the Pixar Theory is the character Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend when she was just three years old. This is because, according to the journalist, Bing Bong would be inspired by the monster responsible for scaring the girl when she was younger.

In the post dedicated to explaining how “Inside Out” fits into this shared world, Jon Negroni explains that, for him, even when the monsters started to collect laughter from the children and no longer scared screams, this attitude could still be a trauma for the little ones since, after making them laugh, they might never see each other again… unless the children saw them as imaginary friends.

“Bing Bong was a monster who walked through Riley’s door and made her laugh when she was three years old. We know monsters have animal characteristics, which explains his part cat/part elephant appearance. And of course, Riley thinks he’s made of cotton candy. Why else would he be pink? I’d even say he makes dolphin noises to make Riley laugh, making her think he’s part dolphin too,” the journalist writes on his blog.

Thus, the timeline of the Pixar Theory according to Jon Negroni on its official blog it is organized as follows:

• The Good Dinosaur (set 65 million years ago)
• Brave (set in the 10th century)
• The Incredibles (set in the 50s and 60s)
• Toy Story and Toy Story 2 (set in 1995 and 1996)
• Finding Nemo and Finding Dory (set in 2003 and 2004)
• Ratatouille (set in 2007)
• Toy Story 3 (set in 2007)
• Up (set in 2007)
• Inside Out (set in 2015)
• Viva: Life is a Party (no set date discovered)
• Wall-E Prologue (set between 2057 and 2110)
• Cars, Cars 2 and Cars 3 (set between 2110 and 2804)
• Wall-E (set in 2805)
• A Bug’s Life (set in 2898)
• Monsters University and Monsters, Inc. (set between 3100 and 5201)
• Monsters Inc. epilogue (set from 5201)

It is worth remembering that films such as “Elements” (2023), “Luca” (2021), “Lightyear” (2022), “Red: Growing Up is a Beast” (2022), “Toy Story 4” (2019), “Inside Out 2” (2024), “Soul” (2020) and “Onwards” (2020) have not yet been included in the official Pixar Theory timeline on the blog. Jon Negroni. Check out the original timeline here!