In lieu of the 25th anniversary of Pixar and the release of their 12th major motion picture I now give you my ranking of the pixar movies.
*Disclaimer- I love all of these movies. None of them are bad in my mind. I am ranking them relatively and not compared to other movies because, let's be real, these movies are some of the best of the last 25 years.
#11: A Bug's Life: It's cute. It's moving. The story is great. The amount of ant animation is ASTOUNDING! what gets me though is just the feeling of this movie. Out of the 11, it feels the most like a kids movie to me. Does it has its adult moments, of course, it's Pixar. But it's probably the weakest of the Pixar movies so far.
#10: Cars: I feel like I speak for a lot of people with this assessment of Cars. It is a lot of people's least favorite. I feel like the die-hards like me tend to like it alright and it's lower and those who just watch it for the laughs and to have fun, it's their favorite Pixar film. It's a tad gimmicky and childish but the animation is wonderful and the landscapes along route 66 want me to take it across the country.
#9: Ratatouille: Now that I have my least favorites out of the way, these next ones are going to be hard to really rank. They're all close and really, could change depending on my mood and how recently I have seen it. With that being said, this movie is bad for me. It makes me love food even more and that's not good for healthy habits. The descriptions and artful playfulness of the eating scenes are to die for and the story is just fantastic. I wish the could have given a little bit more attention to Linguini and Skinner but other than that, an amazing film about beating the odds.
#8: Toy Story: It really pains me to rank this so low but, it must be done. I know that this is the movie that changed the landscape of all animation, and that it opened doors to not only other amazing Pixar movies, but other amazing sequels as well. The story- pitch perfect. The animation- rocky but it was their first (and amazing for 1995). The music- awesome. There's not really a reason to ranking this one so low other than it sometimes feels a little dated when comparing to the other Pixar films.
#7: Finding Nemo: This movie = ridiculous. The animation is Pixar's best. The water looks literally swimmable. This was the first Pixar movie that made me look at it and say "How on EARTH did they pull that off." And I'm glad I did. What makes this movie a little less for me probably is that I've seen it SO many times. It has lost some of its watchability to me and really stresses me out. But that's what is amazing about this film. It makes you LOVE these fish so much that the story get to you and you have a hard time watching it. So, it's almost like what makes it so amazing is what is ruining it for me. If that makes sense.
#6: The Incredibles: This movie is definitely the most man powered of the pixar films. Lots of action and adventure and super hero stuff. However, it is definitely not a movie that most women don't like Transformers or The Terminator. It was good, wholesome fun. It IS Pixar's most violent film. I love the themes that this movie touches though: growing older, keeping your family together, the consequences of your actions (no matter how small- they could create Syndrome). It's a great film and I love the Jack Jack Attack short they made as well. He's definitely the funniest part of the movie.
#5: Wall-E: The first 15 minutes of this movie are reason enough for this movie to be one of Pixar's best. The rest of the movie keeps up the momentum bringing a wonderful blend of comedy and action, all done with very little dialogue by the main two characters. How they get you to have such a deep connection to characters that barely say anything is beyond me. What brings this movie down in my head is how preachy it tends to become towards the end. Its message is a good message but I liked the green earth message moreso than the everyone becomes fat and rolls around message.
#4: Monster's Inc.: Such a great film. I love the story of the monsters being scared of humans just because they don't know them. I love the humor that Billy Crystal brings with his amazing voice talent. And Sully's relationship to Boo is so beautiful. I can't really pick this movie apart like others, what made it so awesome or not as much... it's just one of my favorites, plain and simple.
#3: Toy Story 2: I'm not going to lie. For a long time, this was my least favorite Pixar movie. I thought that it didn't live up to the first at all. I didn't like Zurg. I didn't like other Buzz. I just didn't like it. I saw it in theaters, hated it, then didn't watch it again for about 8 years. Upon rewatching, I was blown away. Not only with the movie but with myself. I have NO idea why I didn't like it at first. I love the new characters. The Prospector is SO evil and it so well done. Jess is just fantastic. Seeing the "When She Loved Me Scene" is probably the most I've ever cried in a movie. This movie is just so well done and is a beautiful step from the first to the 3rd.
#2: Up: Again, Pixar is amazing at making the audience feel without saying much. The Life Together scene is beautifully done. You feel everything in the scene like a ton of bricks and when it's over, you're right there with Carl, feeling old, bitter, and alone. I love his relationship to Russell. And Dugg is amazing. He thinks exactly how I feel like my in-laws' goldendoodle thinks. A lot of people think this movie ends depressingly with Russell not having a father to see him at the badge ceremony and I ask them "Were you watching?" Of course he has a Dad. He has a father in Carl. It's a beautiful ending to the movie and I'm glad that they have them become a family, no matter how mismatched they seem.
#1: Toy Story 3: Cop Out? Hell no! It is definitely their best. I was scared for it at first. Could it bring the story full circle? Could it live up to the other Toy Story movies? Yes. It does this and beyond. The storytelling has vastly grown with the videotape at the beginning, the normal narrative we're used to, and the dark flash back story of Lotso. Lotso is even more evil than the prospector. The ties to the holocaust in this movie are striking. Hiding in the attack. Being sent to a camp. Being tormented by an evil leader. It was amazing. And it all came to a head as the Toys were almost incinerated in the furnace. I had been told before seeing the movie that I would hate the ending so I thought that when they were dying together, that's how it ended. Then the aliens save the day. Thank goodness. I'm glad Andy gives them away. It's a beautiful way to end their story with him and journey on together as friends for a new owner.
Thanks for reading this list. Maybe I'll tell where Cars 2 lands after I see it. I'm thinking just above Cars 1 but I'm not sure. I don't want to go in thinking it's horrible. I was to give it the benefit of the doubt before I rate.
So what do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Feel like I'm an idiot? Leave me a comment below telling me what you think and maybe your list too.
Have a wonderful Day,
MH
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