Yesterday's sour market couldn't rain on Pixar's (NASDAQ:PIXR) parade. The stock gained $2.30 on a well-circulated rumor that Sony (NYSE:SNE) was readying a buyout offer.

Of course it is. And I'm the third Gardner brother.

Let's think about this for a minute. Pixar just broke off talks with Disney (NYSE:DIS) and is now savoring the potential of doubling its profits on features come 2006. Why would Pixar want to be shackled just as it's about to be emancipated?

It's ludicrous. The fact that both Pixar and Sony shares rose yesterday says it all. Sony would be getting a bargain, and the market knows it. Pixar shares had little choice but to climb as investors bought the rumor. Come to think of it, with Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Steve Jobs owning a majority stake, it would only take a firm handshake to close the deal.

Maybe that's how the rumor got started. Movie studios like Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), MGM (NYSE:MGM), and Sony are already jockeying to be Pixar's new partner for distribution after its deal with Disney expires. Pixar's appointment calendar is going to be chock full of heavies, and it's even possible that the company may get a marriage proposal or two along the way.

But why would Pixar say yes? Its balance sheet is more cash-rich and debt-free than are those of the leveraged media giants. It clearly has something to prove to Disney, having walked away from their joint production agreement. Why would Pixar be looking for a rebound when it's an eventual slam dunk?

Pixar is a dynamic company. Its proven history and fat margins attracted our own David Gardner when he recommend the stock in his Motley Fool Stock Advisor. Fun as they are, rumors tend to be false, but the good ones offer some fathomable sense of possibility. This one doesn't.

As for David Gardner, he ain't heavy. He's also not my brother.

Do you think Pixar is shark bait? Was the company wrong to end distribution talks with Disney? What would be a fair buyout price if Pixar were on the block? All this and more -- in the Pixar discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns all of the Pixar releases on DVD. Yes, he owns shares of Pixar, too -- and Disney.