Even with a handful of merely good movies, we still have four outstanding Pixar films post-Disney.

Also, I'm really enjoying the increase in quality of Disney movies post-Pixar. Just saw Frozen last week and loved it.

But given the timeline of producing those types of films, I wonder how much of those four was already in-motion prior to the deal closing?

I'm sure that all of them were, actually, which makes the post-purchase Pixar picture less pretty.

I think what helps explain this image is that it's likely everything before Cars 2 was already in development prior to the acquisition. Pixar seems to have lost some of their magic, however Disney is certainly stepping up their game. The aesthetic divide between them is shrinking. I did not like Wreck It Ralph though. Not at all.

Before Pixar was acquired by Disney they had a partnership.