Is Collation a real Pixar movie? Dash & Lily's running film joke explained

Dash & Lily arrived on Netflix on November 10th and features a running reference to a Pixar film called Collation but is the movie real?

We all love a good Pixar movie and the same can clearly be said for the characters of Netflix’s new festive rom-com, Dash & Lily.

Throughout the seasonal series, many of the characters make reference to the new Pixar film, Collation.

Not only do we learn numerous details about the film but we even see a poster for the movie.

As a result, fans have been left asking “is Collation a real Pixar film?” and wondering how they can watch it themselves.

Dash & Lily on Netflix

Dash & Lily arrived on Netflix on November 10th, 2020.

The series, which is based on the book Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, tells the story of Dash, a cynical sourpuss who hates Christmas, and Lily, a hopeful teen who’s looking for love.

The cheery and cheesy rom-com is set on its way when Dash finds a mysterious notebook filled with clues in his favourite bookstore.

Collation in Dash & Lily

Collation is referenced in Dash & Lily as early as episode 1 and posters can be seen in the background of scenes throughout the series.

As Lily explains in episode 6, Collation – which means bringing things together, almost like collecting something – is a love story, like You’ve Got Mail but with office supplies where the female lead is a blank piece of paper who falls in love with a stapler.

It’s also referenced that a bold highlighter marker in the film is voiced by Gina Rodriguez of Carmen Sandiego, Annihilation and Jane the Virgin fame.

It all seems pretty believable, especially as the box office cashier at the cinema tells Dash: “It’s amazing, I’ve never cried harder and I’ve seen The Notebook 20 times.”

Yep, that’s a Pixar film all right.

Is Collation a real Pixar movie?

No, Collation is not a real film but rather a fake Pixar movie added into Dash & Lily as a running joke throughout.

Sadly, Collation is a fictional creation purely for Dash & Lily, something which should be made obvious by the quality of the film’s poster we see dotted around (as seen above).

Sure, it’s charming but we’re pretty confident Pixar’s character design is a little more sophisticated than just glueing googly eyes onto a stapler and piece of paper.

However, while Collation may be a fake film, Gina Rodriguez voicing a character is real as she can be heard saying her character’s iconic “be bold” line when Dash goes to see the film on his own in episode 7.

Dash & Lily, featuring the fake Pixar film, Collation, is available to stream now on Netflix after releasing on November 10th, 2020.