Touching Pixar Moments

Buzz Lightyear has always believed that he is a real space ranger despite the fact that Woody keeps telling him that he is a toy and even makes fun of him for that.

In Toy Story, Buzz sees a television commercial from Al's Toy Barn for Buzz Lightyear toys. In the commercial, all the special features of the toy are enthusiastically highlighted and Buzz cannot believe it. Especially when, at the end of the commercial, it says "Not a Flying Toy".

Buzz leaves the living room and finds himself at the top of the stairway landing with an open window on the opposite wall. He climbs the railing as the Randy Newman song says, Like a bird in the sky, I believe I can fly...and I'll fly!

With confidence Buzz pops out his wings and proclaims, "To infinity and beyond!" and makes the leap..... and falls to the tile floor below. His arm pops off and he lays there devastated at the truth. Buzz's worldview has gone topsy-turvy, and Pixar handled this situation with humor, but it can be a heavy topic.

In Toy Story 2, possibly the greatest sequel ever created, we get to meet the high-energy, yodeling cowgirl named Jessie. In the movie, Woody doesn't understand why Jessie wants to go to the toy museum in Tokyo so badly. She seems to resent him for his desire to get back to Andy.

Jessie then tells Woody the story of what happened to her when her owner, Emily, played with her all the time as a girl, then grew older and forgot about her. Then Emily puts Jessie into a box and leaves her by the roadside for a charity. The song gets to the heart of the matter in Toy Story 2: As a toy you get the joy and fulfillment of being loved and played with by a child, but you will later become rejected as the child matures and takes no interest in you anymore. Or, you can be cherished as a collectible, but never played with.

Which is a better choice? This is the dilemma that Toy Story 2 explores with great humanity. I never thought I'd cry so much about a doll and a little girl who outgrew her toy.

Share your favorite Toy Story 2 Moment Here.

Finding Nemo has several touching, emotional scenes. The first one that comes to my mind as being the most intense and emotional is not the barracuda attack at the beginning, but when little Nemo defies his father and swims out in the open water.

Nemo is frustrated at his father's over-protective nature and feels like he can't do anything on his own. So he swims out to a boat (which Nemo's classmates call a "butt") and touches it with his fin, after his father tells him to get back. Once Nemo begins his return, however, the giant scuba diver comes on the scene takes a flash photo and then captures Nemo. This scene is intense because we see the diver from a small fish's perspective - he's frightening and enormous!

Marlin is frantic as he's just seen his only son, who is his entire world and reason for being, kidnapped before his eyes. Marlin swims with all his strength after the boat, but of course the boat is faster and eventually Marlin loses sight of the boat and also his son.

All you parents out there - it hits you harder, I think, than those who don't have kids they feel protective of. Since I can put myself into Marlin's place, I can relate to his frantic and hysterical reactions to find his son.

Thank goodness Dory comes along soon to help Marlin stay grounded. For being such a ditz, she has some rather solid philosophies about life.

Another touching scene is when she teaches Marlin to trust her when they are inside the whale. Another scene is about what you should do when life gets you down (see the video below).

I can't decide on the most emotional and touching scene from Finding Nemo. Do you have an opinion? Join others who have had their say about Finding Nemo.

Mr. Incredible has just been captured and is restrained by electric shackles in the heart of Syndrome's island base. Syndrome believes that Mr. Incredible has notified others of his whereabouts because they are tracking a jet seeking permission to land.

Mr. Incredible soon discovers that his wife is piloting the plane and pleads with Syndrome not to harm them.

But Syndrome launches rockets at the aircraft and an exciting and intense chase ensues with Elastigirl flying with expertise. She manages to avoid the rockets for awhile, her frantic radio transmissions turned up so that Mr. Incredible can hear.

Elastigirl cries out Abort, Abort, Abort! There are children aboard, I repeat, there are children aboard! Mr. Incredible looks up. NO! But the missiles lock on their target and the plane is destroyed. Mr. Incredible doesn't know it yet, but his wife's quick action saved their two children and herself. Mr. Incredible now thinks his family is dead.

This entire sequence leaves me with goosebumps every time I watch it.

WALL-E saved the plant just after the escape pod self-destructs. EVE has followed him outside the Axiom starliner. She is so pleased that he saved the plant that she twirls him around and gives him a static-electricity kiss. Can two robots who have barely any dialogue together have a believable romance? Yes, Pixar makes this possible. WALL-E and EVE dance and swirl around the Axiom together and it's beautiful to watch. Certainly a tissue-worthy scene.

In Finding Nemo, it was difficult to pick one emotional, intense moment but in Up, there is one, hands-down. The beginning of the movie shows a montage of Carl and Ellie's life together beginning with their wedding. The montage includes them rebuilding the house where they met as children and deciding they want to have babies.

But Ellie cannot have children so they decide to make adventures their life's pursuit. Carl and Ellie save their spare change for a trip to Paradise Falls in South America, but life got in the way with events that happen that they need to break into their savings. Next thing you know they are old.

Carl realizes they've not lived their dream of going to Paradise Falls. He promised Ellie he'd take her, so he buys tickets to Venezuela, but she never gets to go. Watch the montage below.

This scene isn't just sad, it rips at your heart. My sister said she SOBBED when she saw this movie. I didn't cry that badly, but I certainly tear up every time I see it (and with a four year old in the house, I've seen it about six times already, and yeah, I tear up EVERY time!).

These are only a few of the many examples of what makes Pixar such a great animation studio. The story inspires the technology and the technology drives the story - it works in harmony.

I hope you've enjoyed these moving Pixar moments. Please stop by my Pixar movies website where you can read about all the Pixar movies and characters, watch video clips, and shop for popular merchandise from books to party supplies.

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