We all have our favorite Pixar movies, favorite Pixar shorts, characters, etc. But there has to be a point in time where Pixar just grabbed our hearts and never let go. At what point in your life did you realize that you became a Pixar fan? Feel free to share your stories. I love to hear it.
What a great idea for a thread, TSS! So if you’d like to go ahead and hear my story, then I shall be the first to go:
It all may have started out with a brief glimpse of Toy Story playing on the TV screen when I was just 2 1/2. And soon I would be spoiled with promotional items for A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2–all of which used to come from Blockbuster. Of course, Toy Story 2 would probably have been the first thing I ever saw in theaters, but I’m not exactly sure.
So over the years, and during my childhood, I had gotten quite a bit of merchandise related to Pixar–though I wasn’t really aware of my fan girl self at the time. It used to be that I owned a Woody doll, as well as a Monsters Inc LeapPad booklet thingy plus a whole set of Bug’s Life figurines (but that wasn’t all of it–there was a little more than that). But due to some other interests I had around that time, part of me may have gotten distracted to the point where I suddenly don’t go far enough to notice some of the merchandise that was there.
Then came the Cars Phase of 2006. Not only did I get to see it at the Rennassience Theater downtown while the car show was being held, but I had also gotten quite a bit of Cars merchandise. I remember cutting out the collector cards from the back of the cereal boxes, and getting all 4 of the pullback racers which had already been advertised around that time. After the phase had come and gone, however, my seemingly unnoticed Pixar side began to drop.
And then came the biggest mistake I’ve ever made: Getting rid of my Pixar stuff.
For a while, I had thought that it wasn’t really something I would be interested in. But then after a short while, I felt deep inside of me that something was not quite right. This was probably around the time I had started Junior High (where I was in the old Red Brick for some of my classes).
So that winter, while I was constantly hanging out in the attic, I would sometimes be left alone with my thoughts while staying up late and watching old videotapes–it’s like part of me was flash-backing on such things. But still I could never quite figure out what was bothering me…
And it wouldn’t be long until I had become a teen.
Now a lot of things had happened in the summer that followed. I’d gone to the movies, went to 3 different camps, and a few other things that may have happened around that time–though I’m really not sure what happened. Unfortunately, when the DVD came out, I was too much distracted by the other stuff to get it. And it wasn’t until the following summer did my mom finally get the DVD for me…though at first I didn’t show much interest.
There was, however, one little gap: Due to this scenario, I had forgotten to see Up while it was in theaters.
So now we have reached the point where Pixar was just beginning to touch my heart, and I shall tell you what really happened:
It happened in the summer of 2009–just gotten out of Junior High, and awaiting my freshman year. Mom had just brought home a DVD copy of WALL-E, but at first I didn’t show much interest. And I figured this was all because, at the time, I was still trying to figure out what was bothering me and yet I could never get there. Then it soon hit me: I had actually seen quite a few other robots on screen over the years, but I had never seen one this cute! Intrigued, I quickly grabbed the DVD and took it upstairs.
And then I started watching the movie on one of my old portable DVD players…
But wait! Now I can’t stop watching it! What was happening to me? I didn’t really know. Not only was I suddenly going through repeated viewings of my favorite scenes in that movie, but one night I got caught falling asleep with the DVD cover inside my pillowcase! But then later that summer I had gone for my 3rd year at Hidden Hollow Camp (which is just a few miles down the road from where I live), and I had shined my Cars flashlight on a camp counseler’s tissue box.
They had also planned for Superhero Day the week I went, and that night everyone gathered on the patio to watch The Incredibles.
At that moment I was just beginning to notice the strange things that were happening to me–all the repeated viewings, sleeping with the DVD either in my pillowcase or just underneath me, shining the flashlight on the camp counseler’s tissue box–and then later, those first several times where I had walked to the library after school and then kept getting distracted by the junior novelization. And not only that, but my heart was soon going really fast, and I mean just briefly–whenever I found myself exposed to that stuff.
And that was when I had suddenly noticed my Pixar side for the first time.
And sure enough, it would slowly begin to grow again. With the sudden purchases of Pixarpedia and Disney/Pixar Greatest, plus a viewing of Up over at my church and among the little ones, I would soon find myself heading to the corner of the kids’ section over at Barnes and Noble–that very corner where, just a few years ago, I would find myself flipping through Pixar-themed BOOM! Comics, including those of Laugh Factory and Recharge. And I was rather surprised to notice how many cameos had appeared in Laugh Factory…
And then I got Scene-it?: Disney Magical Moments. For a while I was pretending to be all 4 players–and I had also quickly found my favorite token. But then after a while I just stopped–though I still have it on top of my bookshelf.
That must’ve been right about the time when I had started collecting the Pez dispensers.
Pretty soon Cars 2 came out. That night, I decided to start off my very own Pixar film marathon and in celebration of the studio’s 25th anniversary. But because of 4th of July plans and some other things that happened, part of it had run a little late–therefore taking longer to finish than what was originally planned. But along the way I also got to show some of the short flilms and point out the so-called Easter eggs.
And then, months later, I joined the Pixar Planet forums. (I’m guessing we shouldn’t forget to add that part…right?)
The following summer, within a few hours after landing in California, I finally got to visit the studio. Because earlier that spring, I had met an animator from there and over at the Kehoe Center in Shelby where he had signed my copy of The Art of Pixar. That day the animator, Michael Comet, gave me the private tour which he had offered the night I met him. I got to see the RenderFarm, the cottage-like offices, and a few other things–including the props and characters with which I got to pose for pictures, and I got to eat their pizza which had come out of a real brick oven.
But I had also wanted to go to Disneyland. When we went there, I got to see and enjoy the new Cars Land which had just opened up at the time, plus I got to meet-and-greet Merida, Woody, and Sulley. I also got to enjoy the Pixar Play Parade. Now I had thought that the WALL-E thing would be there, but unfortunately there was no sign of him anywhere in the parks–which is why ended up getting the trading pin double-pack so I would stay calm during World of Color.
The following winter (I think it was), I had just walked in to my Auntie Sue’s house…when all of a sudden, something had caught my attention through the corner of my eye. I turned to see what it was, and then I noticed she was using a WALL-E tissue box which Chrissi had given to her. Then I walked into her laundry room and when I looked inside one of the cupboards, it looked like she had one extra box waiting for me. So I took the tissue box home that night, and I’ve kept it ever since.
And so the following spring, I started using Disney Movie Rewards for the first time. The first thing I had redeemed my points for was a double-sided Up poster–with Russell on one side, plus the main cast with the floating house on the other. Months later I got this huge Monsters Inc “3D” poster, with an image of Mike Wazowski holding up 3D glasses and the rather surprised look on his face.
And then on Labor Day weekend 2013, I wore my Pixar studio T-shirt to the Pixar in Concert thing up at Cuyahoga.
This year I had gotten quite a bit of Pixar stuff, thanks to my prepaid. So for Christmas I got the Limited Edition 2012 EVE ornament plus a Nemo pin, and for after-Christmas sales I went over to Barnes and Noble and got myself a Funko Pop figurine of WALL-E. I had also found that Elastigirl box a perfect place to store my pins and matching lanyard. I had also gotten a Disney Store Incredibles mug. Then I got a Valentine pin plus 2 BOOM! Comics off of eBay, and I also got an EVE mug. Later I refilled my prepaid and picked up a copy of Creativity Inc by Ed Catmul, and when I started reading it I couldn’t stop! (In fact, this book I read was so good and yet very interesting…I just might want to read it again!) But I had also gotten the Groiler ornament of WALL-E holding up a wreath, a bean-bag miniature plush Kevin, a poster that says “Goid guys rule!”–plus a Dug pillow and a Keepsake Edna ornament. Just last month I had gone to Toys 'R Us and found some Pixar-patterned wrapping paper…now I have the Interactive WALL-E thing underneath my palm tree (which has now been decorated with Pixar ornaments I had collected since I started back in 2011–with the limited edition Bright Beginning Luxo ornament hanging off the branch which sticks out on the top).
So there you have it: My journey to discovering the Pixar fan-girl inside of me. (And to shorten it up a bit, if there was one moment that made me a Pixar fan, then this would be the fact that I had realized my mistake just 2 years after it happened…all because I had somehow fallen in love with the robot.)
–evspixarfan2012
As you guys probably know, I’ve enjoyed Pixar’s movies for quite a long time, but it was only in late '09 that I realized I was obsessed. I’m not sure exactly when this moment happened, but it was somewhere in watching A Bug’s Life for the first time that Pixar grabbed my heart and didn’t let go. It was the last Pixar film I had to catch up on at the time, and it really made me realize just how amazing their films were, and from there on out, I loved all the films even more than I already did and found I could call myself a Pixar superfan. Thinking back, it’s hard to say what part of the film started pulling me in, whether it was a purely funny moment or a heartfelt moment, but at some point in that hour and a half, my love of Pixar, and in some ways, my love of animation in general, exploded :3
I loved reading your stories you guys. 
Now here is mine.
Like many of you, it was a combination of many moments that culminated and bloomed into what is known as Fandom
Many of you may or may not know this. The old members did, but I had a family member who worked for Pixar. He worked until the 3rd Toy Story movie. But it was kind of a gimmie that I and my family would see every Pixar movie.
Toy Story was the one that started it all. Every week when I came home from school, I and my brothers would pop in the video Toy Story and watch it for the day. Their story telling was fantastic, even at a young age, I could see that. And of course, I would ask for a real life Buzz Lightyear every x-mas. Or an A Bug’s Life toy. I enjoyed al of their movies. but the one that really got me into the Spirit of Pixar was the movie The Incredibles.
The Incredibles was the movie that really impacted my life the most and in a way, got me into the whole concept of “fandom”. It wasn’t until TI where I wrote my first fanfic, made my first music video. and from there, the rest is history.
But after sharing my projects with the guys at Ikronos, Luxoforums, and finally, Pixar Planet, i got a sense of unity from Pixar fans all over. I was happy to know that it wasn’t just me. I wasn’t alone. I found a second family, friends.
Whoa! My story was kinda long, wasn’t it? (I’m very detailed over here…) 
And yes, that “Toy Story” part (as you’ve implied) is very common for us fans…
Sounds like you found your Pixar side just months after I did the same, right? Because as I explained in my story, it happened in mid-summer 2009: When I had found myself intrigued by WALL-E and then realized my mistake from just 2 years before shortly afterward.
Other than that, I’d say both your stories are just as much interesting as mine would be…
–evspixarfan2012
evspixarfan2012: i don’t mind that it was detailed. it’s a special moment in our lives that brought us to a fandom that has given us movies to treasure for years to come. I think that it’s appropriate.
As if that there special moment comes when either film or character should suddenly intrigue us…
I’m sure there was a time where a Pixar movie or character(s) just captured one’s heart so much that we couldn’t help but become immersed into the Pixar fandom. For me, that movie was The Incredibles. Toy Story may have been the launching point, but TI came and really blew my mind that i couldn’t stop thinking Pixar.
My good friend Mitch on PP, she’s a fan of all the movies, but the one that really got her in was Ratatouille. That movie inspired most of her art work and thus shared with us on the Pixar forum.
Well, I remember I always liked Pixar, ever since the first Toy Story. However, I was too young to see it in theaters but I watched every succeeding Pixar film in theaters and every film just awed me. I was captured by the story, the visuals, the characters, the funny and the emotional moments. The moment I knew the German release date of the next one, I would announce I wanted to see it - preferably in English (there’s a theater in Berlin that shows movies in English).
But I think Finding Nemo was the one film that made me realize I’ma Pixar fan. This movie was the first one I really, really wanted to see again in theaters, so I begged and begged my parents but they said no… While I loved the following movies, I didn’t have the urge to see those again in cinema until WALL-E. This was the first one since FN that I wanted to see a second time, didn’t get the chance though. The first Pixar film, and so far only one, I saw more than once on the big screen was Toy Story 3 - a total of four times. The first time was on the German release date in Berlin in English, second and third time in German and the fourth time in English again during a random trip to Berlin. Needless to say, I really loved TS3, so when school started again, we were supposed to write a short text of our highlight(s) during our six weeks of Summer vacation in English class and I wrote about seeing TS3. Then again, seeing that my family never actually does something, I had a very limited choice.
So, I may not be very active on here and I may have very little merchandise, I have and will always love Pixar No matter, I will see the ones coming in the future, even if it’s about something I’m not fond of. I’m not a fan of dinosaurs but I will see The Good Dinosaur when it’s released because I have faith it will be a marvelous movie.
This is hard to explain because I don’t know the exact moment I became a Pixar fan.
Does anyone else want to share their stories related to this topic? 
'Cause I think it’s time to revive this thread… 
I actually became a Pixar fan sometime after watching Monsters U, which I hate.
My brain’s just weird like that.
Thinking back on it, I really liked a lot of Pixar’s movies- Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Cars, but I think I really fell in love with the company and really became a fan of Pixar itself when I would watch all the DVD bonus features and just watch the directors and animators goof off and having a bunch of fun together. Eventually I turned into a full-blown Pixar maniac.
^That’s exactly how it went down for me, too! I’d loved and appreciated their movies pretty much from birth but it was around '09 or so when Up came out and rewatching all the old movies and seeing the special features that made me think, “Dang, this is such a cool company!”
I can’t think of a specific moment, sorry. I’ve always been a fan of Disney and Pixar. But I really got into Pixar after I saw Up in theaters. Then I rewatched Wall-E, which I fell in love with. And that led me to joining Pixar Planet, which really encouraged to become the nerd that you all know today.
I know I adored Toy Story as a toddler. Toy Story 2 came out I was 5, and that was my major obsession for a period of time at that age as well. Cars is what really sealed the deal for me as a Pixar enthusiast though, and has led me on the path to become an animator. I knew half of that movie by heart before it even came out, saw it at least four times in the movie theater, and have watched it countless times afterwards.
It’s nice to see Cars get love like this. I know it’s one of Pixar’s “best sellers” but I feel that most people in the fandom give it a lot of slack.
When there was the outtakes.