What It's Like Inside the Pixar Studios

1/31 In the middle of Emeryville, a small industrial town in Alameda County, California, you will find Pixar Animation Studios.

2/31 When you enter, you get this gorgeous view.

3/31 There's a giant sculpture of Luxo Jr. in front of the main building.

4/31 He lights up!

5/31 There's the Steve Jobs Building. Steve Jobs didn’t just bring Apple to greatness, he was also instrumental in making Pixar what it is today. He purchased the company from George Lucas in 1986 and gave it its name.

6/31 When you walk in, you're greeted by Sulley and Mike Wazowski.

7/31 And Woody and Buzz made out of Lego!

8/31 There's also the Ratatouille rats!

9/31 A few things they've won are on display...

10/31 On display are Pixar’s seven Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, and Brave.

11/31 The awards case also holds this beat-up Woody doll, which has a special story. Woody is accompanied by a letter addressed to Pixar’s chief creative officer, John Lasseter, from a Walt Disney World cast member. It reads: “…we had a young child about 6-year-old by the name of Caleb come into City Hall at Magic Kingdom Park. He brought us his well played with Woody doll. You see, his parents bought him a new one and he wanted his first one to have a great new home and to spend infinity and beyond with Buzz Lightyear. We felt it was appropriate to share him with you…”

12/31 There are cars inside!

13/31 This gorgeous artwork from their upcoming film, Inside Out. Pixar promotes their latest film — which will be released June 19th — with HUGE pieces of artwork that are displayed throughout the main building.

14/31 There is a huge cereal bar!

15/31 Lunch is great too. The on-site restaurant serves up four fresh options every day. On this particular day they offered mahimahi steamed in banana leaves, andouille and black-eyed pea soup, ginger carrots, and a grilled Alsatian-style hot dog served on a pretzel roll.

16/31 The Pixar Studio Store sells heaps of Pixar merchandise, everything from Inside Out onesies to Monsters University wineglasses.

17/31 The store also sells stuff that’s only available at Pixar, like these iconic Luxo balls. The Luxo ball (aka Pixar ball) is famously featured in the Toy Story franchise, but can also be seen in almost every Pixar movie, including Monsters, Inc., Up, and even Brave!

18/31 Flyers advertise special events, like this Pixar vs. Lucasfilm (or Buzz vs. Trooper) trivia night.

19/31 Here's a Pixar version of the ladies' room! Bo Peep!

20/31 And the men's room! Woody!

21/31 There’s a Pixar basketball court…

22/31 A swimming pool…

23/31 And a soccer field.

24/31 They even grow Kale and other greens!

25/31 The Brooklyn Building, where preproduction happens. It’s called Brooklyn because the studio happens to be located on Park Avenue, so they went with a New York theme. Another building is named Soho.

26/31 In the Brooklyn lobby is this huge portrait of Merida from Brave.

27/31 This fireplace has a secret...

28/31 A hidden room! It’s located behind the fireplace and is named the Jimmy Claxton Lounge after the first black athlete to play in an organized baseball league in the 20th century. He played for the Oakland Oaks, whose field was on the same plot of land where the Brooklyn Building now stands.

29/31 This hidden room houses a collection of Oakland Oaks memorabilia. Amazingly, some of it was found when they were excavating for the new building.

30/31 There are aliens in the Brooklyn building!

31/31 Look down! Embedded in the floor are tiny little tributes to classic Pixar characters, like this Buzz Lightyear.