Pixar’s New Scariest Moments Compilation Puts Fear in Focus

The short answer: Pixar’s Halloween compilation offers a chance to revisit the studio’s unsettling side, with filmmakers explaining how confinement, sound and trust can build suspense.

In this article

1. Jessie’s fear gives the suspense its stakes
2. Elio makes a sound hard to read
3. Onward puts trust over a drop

Pixar is putting the chills first this Halloween. Its new video, Pixar Scariest Moments | Official Compilation, was published on 30 October 2026, turning the spotlight on the unsettling side of its storytelling.

Beyond the new video, filmmakers’ accounts of Toy Story of Terror!, Elio and Onward offer three different studies in suspense: confinement, an ambiguous sound and a step over a bottomless drop. Each links a threatening situation to something its characters need to overcome.

Jessie’s fear gives the suspense its stakes

Toy Story of Terror! sends Bonnie and the toys on a road trip that takes an unexpected turn at a roadside motel. A lurking creature and a coffin-like suitcase help turn the stop into a Halloween story. Pixar’s first made-for-television short also gave its creators room to pay homage to classic horror films.

One reference is small enough to reward a closer look: the motel key was inspired by the one used at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. It brings a recognisable piece of horror history into the toys’ much smaller world.

The television format shaped the suspense, too. Director Angus MacLane told D23 in 2013 that the team worked to leave the characters in progressively worse situations before each commercial break. The interruptions became opportunities to leave viewers hanging.

But Jessie’s fear of confinement and abandonment gave those dangers a personal weight. As MacLane explained:

First and foremost, it’s emotionally about Jessie’s journey and revisiting her unfinished fears of being abandoned and being stuck in a box. Angus MacLane, director of Toy Story of Terror!, speaking to D23 in 2013

Elio makes a sound hard to read

Elio takes another route: uncertainty about what is calling to its protagonist. In a February 2026 D23 interview, director Madeline Sharafian described wanting the first act to feel almost like a thriller. The audience should be unsure whether that call is good or bad—even when the spaceship arrives.

Sound carries that uncertainty. Director Domee Shi explained that Elio initially hears only half of a melody developed with sound designer Jeremy Bowker, leaving its tone ambiguous. Some versions sounded too frightening; the filmmakers wanted something mysterious but inviting. Once Elio reaches the Communiverse, composer Rob Simonsen takes Bowker’s melody and completes it.

Onward puts trust over a drop

In Onward, Ian must use a spell to cross a massive crevasse. Producer Kori Rae describes the sequence as a test of more than his ability to face his fears: he must also trust his brother, Barley, like never before. The physical danger gives their relationship an immediate consequence. Getting across means finding the courage to take a step while relying on someone else.