Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, the Toy Story trilogy, Wall-E, and Up are the best "kids movies" of the past two decades. With all due respect to Studio Ghibli, Pixar reigns supreme over animated movies. The torch-bearers of digital animation, Pixar began as a subdivision of Lucasfilms Limited before being taken over by Steve Jobs and producing superbly animated movies with their RenderMan software. After Pixar was acquired by Disney in 2006, there has been a shift in focus towards sequels (Cars 2, Monsters University, the upcoming Finding Dory) that has worried some devoted Pixar enthusiasts, but with an upcoming slate including the original movies The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out, I'm not ready to declare that Pixar has vacated its spot as the top creative company for inventive animated films. Even with their insanely impressive feature catalog, Pixar's shorts may be superior. Telling great stories in a small period of time (and usually without the assistance of any dialogue) is difficult, but Pixar has definitely cracked the code. Of the 10 following shorts, 9 were nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Short Film category, and two won, so they hold the distinction of being entertaining, funny, and critically acclaimed. This list is dedicated to original shorts that played before the theatrical release of a Pixar movie (which unfortunately disqualifies the terrific Red's Dream from 1987, but there were simply too many shorts to include otherwise).