Five of the best Pixar movie moments

Buzz Lightyear realises he's a toy

Toy Story (1995)

Self-realisation has never been as painful as the moment when bumptious Buzz catches a TV advert about himself making him realise he is not an elite Space Ranger but a mass-created toy. With Randy Newman's "I Will Go Sailing No More" heightening the pathos, Buzz jumps off the top of the stairs in a final bid for glory.

Jessie's song

Toy Story 2 (1999)

The sequel's stand-out scene was when the traumatic backstory of cowgirl Jessie unspools in flashback, with the haunting song "When Somebody Love Me" relaying her hurt. We learn she was the favourite toy of a girl called Emily, only to be replaced by nail varnish and phone calls.

The space dance

Wall.E (2008)

Robot love reaches its peak when space-bot Eve chases across the skies after the battle-worn Wall.E, desperately calling his name. After reuniting, the pair weave balletically across the galaxy, attracting the interest of a space ship in which a couple of holidaymakers hold hands while watching. It seems Eve and Wall.E's space dance encourages humankind to reconnect.

Opening sequence

Up (2009)

Michael Giacchino's Oscar-nominated score sets the tone for a scene tracing the married life of geriatric hero Carl and his wife Ellie. We see them get married, convert their derelict house, imagine having children, cope with not be able to, and save up for travelling before life gets in the way and finally Ellie dies. As gut-wrenching as it gets.

Anton Ego's tasting

Ratatouille (2007)

As critic Anton Ego tastes Remy's titular vegetable dish, he is plunged into a reverie so intense he's transported back to childhood. Back in the present, older Anton drops his venomous pen. Proust had nothing on this.

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