It didn’t take long for Carlos Baena to decide what he wanted to do with his life after he moved to the U.S. from Spain at the age of 18 in the early 90s. All he had to do was watch a couple of animated films.

“The first movie was ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ and the second was ‘Toy Story,’” Baena, 35, told EXTRA during a phone interview. “It was then when I knew I at least wanted to try animation. Those two movies really hit me hard.”

Today, Baena isn’t simply trying to make a name for himself in the animated industry. He’s a major player working for one of the most well respected production studios: Pixar Animation. To top it off, Baena’s career seems to have gone full circle. He is part of the animation department that created “Toy Story 3.”

Since joining Pixar in 2002, Baena has worked on the films “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars,” “Ratatouille” and “WALL-E.” In “Toy Story 3,” he helped to animate the character Buzz Lightyear during scenes when the space ranger is accidentally reset to Spanish mode.

During our interview, Baena talked about how “Toy Story 3” complements the entire franchise, what kinds of toys he still enjoys buying and why the online animation school he co-founded, Animation Mentor, is important to aspiring animators.

EXTRA: How has your experience on “Toy Story 3” compared to other films you’ve worked on in the past?
Carlos Baena: This was one of the most gratifying experiences in my career. This is a beautiful film in so many ways. It has a great balance of adventure, emotion and humor. I am proud of the film. I can’t wait for people to see it.

How does “Toy Story 3” complement the ...