Dear Pixar Animation Studios,

Here's the thing...I love going to the movies. It's one of my favorite activities, and I try to do it as much as possible. As a 21-year-old man-child, I get very excited about all your typical 21-year-old man-child movies. I'm first in line to see any new Marvel offering, and, while I don't yet have children, I'm almost scared that, deep down in my soul, I will always love "Star Wars" a little more than I love them. I feel I can say this to you, because you're all owned by Disney, so they're basically your siblings. And none of it is surprising, I'm sure. I'm definitely not the first young, white guy to declare his love for superheroes and Jedi. What may be surprising, however, is that I have the same type of devotion to Pixar Animation Studios.

I was eleven months old when "Toy Story" hit theaters in November of 1995, so your films have been a part of my life and development since before I can consciously remember. I spent many a night laying on my bedroom floor, watching my family's VHS copy of "Toy Story 2." I would laugh out loud at Mr. Potato Head and Tour Guide Barbie, sing along to the "Woody's Round-Up" theme song, and, of course, I loved the references to Star Wars with Buzz and Zurg. Shortly after that, "Monsters, Inc." came out and for the first time, I realized how conceptually brilliant a film could be. You took a fairly common idea (monsters in a kid's closet) and completely flipped it on its head. The monster world felt massive and unexplored; It felt like I could spend a whole year there and still not fully understand it. And even at a young age, I identified heavily with Mike's sarcasm and dry wit.

Then came 2003's "Finding Nemo" and 2004's "The Incredibles." Gosh, what a one-two punch! "Nemo" was the biggest adventure film I think I had seen at that point in my life. Dory made me laugh and, more importantly, taught me to "just keep swimming." It's nice to have reassurance like that at such a young age. "The Incredibles" is just absolutely one of my favorite films of all time. For one thing, I loved and still love superheroes, and the importance of family the film teaches is something everyone needs to know. 2006 brought Cars, and that movie was nearly impossible to escape, especially growing up in Southern Missouri. It also made the majority of people think "Life is a Highway" is actually a Rascal Flatts song. "Ratatouille" made my mom scream out loud in our local theater. That's how you know you're doing something right, Pixar; when my mother screams at the sight of animated rats because they move too realistically. From "Toy Story" to "Up," you were providing a foundation for my childhood, full of adventure, laughs, and life lessons.

Then, in 2010, you released "Toy Story 3." I walked into the theater on opening night, excited and ready to see the next chapter of the Toy Story tale. I left in a pile of tear-soaked popcorn and my own shattered emotions. I never expected it to hit me as hard as it did. Maybe it was because Andy was going to college and, for the first time ever, I felt time moving quicker, and I knew I could do nothing to stop it. I saw the film two more times in the theater, and cried harder each time. Had I lost my youth? Were my childhood days really over? I was only a few years younger than Andy.

That's what you do so well, Pixar. You truly create films for the whole family, and not family films like "Ice Age" or "Minions," where the kids laugh because there's two fart jokes per minute and the parents are just happy to be sitting down somewhere with air conditioning. No, you create layered films that everyone can enjoy. While the kids are singing along to "just keep swimming," perhaps it's the parents who need to hear those words the most.

As the years have gone by, I've started to take a look back at the films I grew up and see them through different, older eyes. When you do that, you start to see that "Monsters, Inc." is a movie about overcoming stereotypes. It's about learning that the enemy may not really be the enemy. "Cars" teaches you to slow down; that getting caught up in the fast-paced stress of life can make you miss out on some of the most beautiful moments. Ratatouille is about pursuing your dreams, even if the odds are stacked against you and that, sometimes, help can come from the least expected places. The beginning of "Up" is always sad, but, as you watch your parents and grandparents grow older each day, it begins to hit home just a little more. The deepest of them all, however, has to be "The Incredibles." While on its surface, it's a fun film about a family of superheroes fighting crime, underneath it's a devastating look at a depressed man longing for his "glory days". It's about a wife who wishes her husband wasn't so absent and uninterested in their family's life. She even suspects he's cheating on her. It's a story about rebuilding a family, and finding the passion that they once had, both in their marriage and their life.

Your films have impacted me more and more the older I get. Seeing "Inside Out" in theaters was a surreal, emotional experience for me. The themes of losing innocence and embracing all your emotions really spoke to me. It has to be your most complex and thought-provoking film to date. The reason I decided to write this letter was because I just saw "Finding Dory" last week, and cried a good majority of the runtime. It's an important film to see, especially if you or someone you love has a disability. It plucked all the right strings of my heart, and it made me thinking differently about mental illness. It also made me think about how thankful I was for Pixar, the films brought into my life, and the lessons I've learned from those films. In most of my childhood memories, there's a Pixar movie playing in the background and, I'm happy to say that in my adult life, there's often a Pixar movie on in the background.

So, I just wanted to say thank you, Pixar. Thank you for almost 22 years of quality filmmaking. Thank you for being the gold standard of not just animated film, but of film in general.

Thank you for "Toy Story," which showed me good friends can come from all sorts of places.

Thank you for "A Bug's Life," which said I could achieve big things, no matter how small I felt.

Thank you for "Toy Story 2," which taught me to cherish the time I have with the ones I love.

Thank you for "Monsters, Inc.," which proved I should never judge someone based off my preconceived notions of them.

Thank you for "Finding Nemo," which taught me to take risks, and never give up on the ones I love.

Thank you for "The Incredibles," which says the past is the past, and that my most exciting times are ahead.

Thank you for "Cars," showing me how to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life.

Thank you for "Ratatouille" which proved that passions are important, and that I can shoot for even my most wildest dreams.

Thank you for "WALL-E," which taught me never to settle; to shoot for stars and try my hardest.

Thank you for "Up," which showed me I'm never too old to achieve my goals.

Thank you for "Toy Story 3," which proved that letting go is hard and that I have to embrace change as it comes.

Thank you for "Cars 2," which told me to be my unique and weirdly wonderful self, no matter who I was around.

Thank you for Brave, which taught me that my fate is my own, and also about the value of my mom.

Thank you for "Monsters University," which says the path that seems to be laid out for me may not be the best one. I need to make my own way sometimes.

Thank you for "Inside Out," which showed how important all emotions are, even fear and sadness.

Thank you for "The Good Dinosaur," which told me I can overcome my fears and do great things.

Thank you for "Finding Dory," which taught me to "just keep swimming."