Top Ten Pixar Movies

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Pixar’s 13th feature film, Brave, is released in theaters today.  To celebrate, I’m ranking the top 10 Pixar movies of the 12 that came before it.

I always start lists with disclaimers.  I enjoy debating lists, but I hate making them.  There’s so much hair splitting.  I am really bad at taking something subjective like movies and quantifying them.  This is especially true of Pixar movies which are almost uniformly great.
When push came to shove, I went with my gut.  But really, this list could be re-ordered pretty easily.

10. A Bug’s Life
Pixar’s second film, 1998’s follow-up to Toy Story, was a Bug’s Life.  Technically, it was an eye-popping improvement over the relatively crude animation of Toy Story.  The story of an eccentric ant trying to find his place in society is a good one.  But A Bug’s Life isn’t as inventive as most of the Pixar releases to follow.  Also, bugs.

9. Wall-E
Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E is one of the most ambitious films the studio has ever released.  The hero is a robot and there is very little dialogue for the first half of the movie.  It is almost I Am Legend for kids.  I actually feel a little badly ranking Wall-E this low.  But as inventive and beautiful as Wall-E is, I enjoyed other films on the list more.

8. Monsters Inc
Monsters Inc is a great buddy comedy.  In a world where the Toy Story films didn’t exist, I think Monsters Inc would be regarded as a classic.  Unfortunately, the buddy formula feels a little familiar after watching Buzz and Woody in three films.  Even so, Monsters Inc is solid entertainment.

7. Toy Story 3
To be honest, I think people get a little carried away with their praise of Toy Story 3.  It is an impressive conclusion to the Toy Story trilogy.  But I don’t think it is quite on the same level as Toy Story and Toy Story 2.  At times, the tone becomes a little too dark for a movie about toys.  But Michael Keaton and Ken and Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants were great additions to the cast.

6. Ratatouille
One of the things that Pixar does remarkably well is to take a premise that should not be commercial at all, and then make it work as both art and mainstream entertainment.  A rat is an unlikely hero.  But the idea of a rat in a kitchen at a fine French restaurant?  No way that should have worked.  And yet, Brad Bird totally pulls it off in the charming and surprisingly deep Ratatouille.

5. Toy Story
This is the movie that started it all.  In 1995, Toy Story changed animation forever.  Almost 20 years later, the animation seems a little crude compared to modern technology.  But Toy Story still holds up as a great piece of animation.

4. The Incredibles
This one just pushes all my bottons.  Part super hero movie, part 60’s James Bond homage, part family comedy.  The Incredibles is far more sophisticated than most live action super hero flicks.  It’s consistently entertaining with characters who are exceptionally well-rounded.

3. Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is the rare sequel that is better than the original.  Toy Story 2 goes a little deeper into what it means to be a toy.  Woody essentially grapples with his mortality although not as overtly as in Toy Story 3.  And Jessie’s story chokes me up every time.

2. Finding Nemo
Of all the Pixar films, Finding Nemo probably makes me laugh the hardest.  Yes, Ellen is great as Dory.  But Albert Brooks is the unsung hero of Nemo.  He takes the tricky role of a helicopter parent and knocks it out of the park.  Plus, it’s probably the movie I can relate to the most.  I frequently fall back on the parenting lessons of Nemo.

1. Up
This was a tough, tough call.  Up has another one of those premises that should not work.  And yet, it totally does.  Up makes me laugh almost as much as Nemo.  But it has a heart that I think puts it ahead of all of the other movies on this list.  That opening short introducing us to Carl and his wife is one of the sweetest and most heart breaking pieces of animation I have ever seen.  It perfectly sets up the adventure to follow and gives it an emotional depth.  Up is full of colorful adventure, humor and spirit.  It’s as close to perfect as movies get.
The two Pixar releases that didn’t make the list were Cars 1 and 2.  Cars 2 is the only Pixar movie I haven’t seen.  I liked Cars okay and would have considered it for the bottom spot on the list.  Reaction to Cars 2 is that it is less than the original.  And since I am lukewarm on the original, I have given it a pass.
Review: Brave
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daffystardust
Editor
11 years ago

In general I agree with this list. I would rank Wall-E and Ratatouille higher and Toy Story 2 lower, but those are nitpicks. Cars did nothing for me, but billions of little boys disagree.

daffystardust
Editor
11 years ago
Reply to  daffystardust

Okay, here are my top 10 Pixar films from 10 to 1 as of this afternoon:
10. Toy Story 2
9. Toy Story 3
8. Brave
7. Finding Nemo
6. Toy Story
5. Monsters Inc.
4. Wall-E
3. The Incredibles
2. Ratatouille
1. Up

dwmcguff
dwmcguff
10 years ago

I’d go
10) A Bug’s Life
9) Monster’s Inc
8) Finding Nemo
7) Ratatouille
6) Incredibles
5) Toy Story
4) Toy Story 2
3) Up
2) Toy Story 3
1) Wall-E

Craig Hansen
Craig Hansen
10 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I absolutely love The Incredibles. It’s one of the few movies that I can even think of that I would actually really want a sequel to. A sequel hasn’t happened yet only because Brad Bird has become such a successful director that an Incredibles 2 has so far taken a back seat. I still hold out hope, because the film is so fantastic, and a sequel would seem a natural.

Rufus1983
Rufus1983
9 years ago
Reply to  lebeau
J. Norman
J. Norman
8 years ago

They are all good, but I would vote
1)The Incredibles
2) Ratatouille
3) Pick em
Side note: I didn’t like Wall-E for some reason, but was convinced by disbelieving friends to see it again. I did, and like it much better.

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