Finding Pixar Movie Rankings

I haven’t seen ‘Finding Dory’ yet but the 17th release from Pixar came out this weekend and is dominating the box office just like everyone predicted it would. The sequel to 2003’s ‘Finding Nemo’ is on its way to breaking the opening weekend earnings record for an animated film. But its not just audiences who are impressed, critics are universally praising it as well with a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 78 from Metacritic. Time will tell where it ultimately lands on my list (probably not too much time, there’s a good chance I see it with my daughter in a couple weeks) but I’m not completely optimistic. As much as I like the original, Dory’s character was always one of my least favorite parts. While adding some humor and heart to the film, she mostly just grated on my nerves. The fact that she has to carry an entire movie has me worried. I probably shouldn’t be too worried, Pixar has a great track record. Not too many of their oeuvre are sub par.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

With that said, lets take a look at how I rank their 16 (!) releases.

1. WALL-E – Not only is WALL-E my favorite Pixar movie, its in my top 5 favorite animated movies of all time and my top 50 favorite movies period. Its not a perfect movie, the last act is a little too conventional and cartoony, but the first half transcends being a movie for kids. The silent film aspect and the relationship at the center of the story are so striking its hard to stop watching if your flipping channels and come across it at that point. In a time of sequels this film stands on its own.

2. Toy Story – ‘Toy Story 3’ is probably the better movie but its hard to rank it over the original that started it all. I also just have more fun with the simple story of the first film. It introduces us to the iconic characters of Woody and Buzz Lightyear and gets us invested in the characters that we’ll eventually follow all throughout Andy’s boyhood. You also get the creepy villain toys and cute vending machine aliens. The animation doesn’t hold up very well but it doesn’t matter because everything else does.

3. Ratatouille – Pixar’s most underrated movie in my opinion although I also love Jon Favreau’s movie ‘Chef’ so maybe I just have a thing for movies that present good looking food in an artful way. I skipped ‘Ratatouille’ when it was in theaters, it just didn’t have that buzz that the other Pixar movies at the time had. When I finally caught up with it I was regretting that decision. Like all of the great Pixar movies it combined a fun original idea with a story that has a ton of heart that kids and adults alike can relate too. Not many people would put this as high on their list as me but if you missed it somehow, give it a chance.

4. Toy Story 3 – Like I said earlier, probably the best movie of the trilogy. Definitely the most emotionally invested I’ve been in any of these movies. The incinerator scene is genuinely terrifying and the ending really hits you in the chest. The animation is fantastic and there’s a great villain at the center of it but the real feat is how it gives you your own sense of nostalgia for your own toys you grew up with. It ends so perfectly that it seems a shame that they’re going to go ahead and make a fourth entry. But I never would’ve guessed the third one would be as good as it is so who knows.

5. Toy Story 2 – The fact that the worst movie in this trilogy is still top 5 in a group of movies this good says a lot. They just know what they’re doing with these characters. Its what makes the Toy Story trilogy one of the best in movie history. Buzz and Woody each get they’re own stories and both are very good, tackling identity crisis. What makes this one the worst of the bunch for me is that there just isn’t that one stand out set piece or moment that sets it apart. But I’ve still seen it just as many times as the other movies ahead of it.

6. The Incredibles – Until I re-watched this earlier this year it would’ve landed a little lower on my list but it really is a very good superhero origin story. I think the reason I was a little down on it before was I mostly remembered the third act and didn’t remember just how good the first two acts were. The animation is some of Pixar’s worst work but it almost makes sense with everything that is going on. It really gets to the heart of what makes a great team and family, superhero or not. It’s the best Fantastic Four movie to date essentially.

7. Monsters, Inc. – You can’t go wrong with ‘Monsters, Inc.’. Incredibly original, it gets you thinking about things from different perspectives. Just because something is scary from your point of view doesn’t mean you know whats really going on. Maybe the funniest Pixar movie, Mike and Sully operate like its a buddy cop movie. Except instead of arresting criminals they’re scaring little kids and trying to save their own little world. Short and sweet, it gets in and out accomplishing its goal. Which I guess was to make a decent sequel 12 years later…

8. Finding Nemo – The movie that inspired the biggest movie in theaters right now is very easy to get behind. Its a lot of fun (word of the day) while really delving into the fears of being a parent and how that fear can affect the relationship between a father and a son (parent and child really). They really give you a wide range of characters under the sea with seagulls, sharks, turtles, and of course fish. As a parent I can understand where Marlin is coming from and you also get the fear from the other side as Nemo is a sheltered kid out in the vast ocean. I like when he is in the dentist office too. And yeah, Dory is there.

9. Inside Out – We reviewed ‘Inside Out’ on episode 144 of my podcast ‘The Redbox Report’ and I felt like I was in the minority then and still feel that way now that this movie is a little overrated. Incredibly creative, I love the way everything is set up. It ends strongly as well but the middle act felt like mostly filler to me. If this movie was an hour long I think it would be much higher on this list but unfortunately that is not how they make feature films these days. As sequel oriented as Pixar has been lately this is one where I wouldn’t mind seeing more of. The small bits inside the parent’s heads were a highlight and it would be an interesting idea to follow the development of a kids psyche.

10. Monsters University – The prequel to ‘Monsters Inc.’ didn’t light the world on fire. You basically got exactly what you would expect going in but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable along the way. Nothing too innovative, just show us how Mike and Sully became the great friends we know and love. Some decent new characters and a predictable story. Paint by numbers but still turned out pretty good. We reviewed this all the way back in 2013 on the podcast, episode 41.

11. Up – Another one I think is overrated. The opening 10-15 minutes are pretty much as good as advertised. A powerful, emotional short film that played before a completely generic kids movie with talking dogs, over the top villain, and easy laughs. Not much creativity in this one outside of the admittedly cool floating house with a million balloons. But that is just one of two great scenes in an otherwise fine movie.

12. A Bug’s Life – The second Pixar movie, you can feel them still working out the kinks with this one trying to figure out what they want to be. From talking toys to talking bugs. I don’t remember too much of the details here as I’ve only seen it once or twice but I remember enjoying it but obviously not at the level of ‘Toy Story’ or even some of the other animated movies coming out at the time. It probably deserves a re-watch sometime soon to really give it a fair shake but this is where it lands for now.

13. The Good Dinosaur – The most amazing, realistic background visuals I’ve ever seen from an animated movie but that is quickly overshadowed by the bizarre choice to contrast that with incredibly cartoonish character designs. I think they would’ve been better going in either one direction or another but the real problem here is the story that borrows from so many better movies. The Land Before Time + How To Train Your Dragon + The Lion King. The script needed work but there were a couple of good moments like when the titular dinosaur Arlo finally interacts with animal like human Spot and they realize they’re not so different after all. Check out our review on episode 155 of ‘The Redbox Report’.

14. Brave – If there is a negative trend in Pixar movies its that they tend to start off great and trail off as it gets closer to the climax. Well ‘Brave’ accomplishes that faster than any other Pixar movie. The movie starts off by showing off the incredible animation of the lush Ireland landscapes (and hair) and sets up a fantasy tale only to cut itself off at the knees when an early twist reveals itself. From there I lost interest in what was going on and it was mostly silly. Does not do for mothers and daughters what ‘Finding Nemo’ does for fathers and sons. Bears…

15. Cars 2 – I can’t get behind the Cars franchise. To me it is the most simple minded, 100% aimed for kids. Which is fine of course, not every movie has to be for everyone. It all feels a little too Disney Junior. But I’m in the minority I think in liking ‘Cars 2’ more than the original. To me its just more fun. It takes a movie I didn’t like at all and gives it a whole new paint job, changing genres and adding some new characters. Anything that takes away from Mater is good in my book.

16. Cars – This movie sucks. I’m not sure why talking cars don’t work for me while talking everything else seems to but maybe it has to do with Mater. He is easily the worst character in the history of Pixar and actively hurts my enjoyment of this film and its sequel. Of course a third one is on its way… Maybe Pixar can have one of the worst trilogies in movie history to go along with one of the best.

How would you rank the Pixar movies?