10 Best 2016 Movie Fan Theories

Any self-respecting Pixar fan worth their salt is probably already aware of the Pixar Theory. For those not in the know, it’s an idea that all Pixar animations exist within the same universe. Within this theory, it’s suggested that all Pixar films are interconnected by their focus on relationships between human, animal, environment and technology and can all be plotted chronologically on a timeline.

For example, The Good Dinosaur (the beginning of the Pixar Theory timeline, apparently) depicts an alternative world in which dinosaurs aren’t extinct and are actually the most intelligent species in the world as humans are just starting to evolve, while in The Incredibles humans are intelligent and at the height of their technological prowess. By WALL-E however, humans have over-polluted and fled the planet and grown to be a stupid, lazy species. Think that sounds crazy? Not to writer and film critic Jon Negroni who penned a lengthy essay corroborating the theory after some intensive Pixar related research.

Where does Finding Dory fit into the Pixar Theory, I hear you cry? Well beyond the obvious fact that it’s a spinoff sequel to fellow Pixar movie Finding Nemo, we’ll have to delve into the mind of another Pixar Theory supporter, YouTuber Jonathan Carlin of Super Carlin Brothers fame. He points out that one of Finding Dory’s major themes is pollution: in fact, there’s a scene in which Dory and Co find themselves lost in a sea of polluted trash off the coast of California. Although sadly this isn’t too far from the truth of real-life ocean pollution, Carlin posits that this proves humankind is well on its way to destroying the Pixar Universe’s planet. This, according to Carlin, would put Finding Dory as taking place before Ratatouille – a film in which a rat, a species known to thrive in trash-filled environments, becomes a world-class chef – and the eventual downfall of humankind and the planet as depicted in WALL-E. Therefore, the trash-filled oceans seen in Finding Dory are the pre-cursor to the wider damage inflicted upon the environment by humans as seen in WALL-E.

Is there any truth to this and the wider Pixar Theory? According to several Pixar bigwigs, the answer is no, not consciously and that any connections between movies are something that has happened organically rather than as part of a plot to create a super-connected Pixar Universe. Sorry, Negroni and Carlin.