Pixar Rankings

A little while ago, I saw someone do a basic summary of the Pixar movies and their opinions of them. From that, I thought it would be interesting to rank all the Pixar movies based on my opinion. Now, I should say that I have seen all the Pixar movies and liked all the Pixar movies. Some are better than others obviously or you couldn't make a list. I would also say that I don't really care about technical achievement or anything. I only rate on quality of story or overall atmospherics.

14. Cars 2 - Unlike many other people, I actually liked this movie. I like spy thrillers and I don't have the problem that a lot of other people do with swapping out people for cars. But, it is probably the weakest of the stories and the least innovative of all the movies.

13. Brave - I like Brave, but with me it suffers from contrast with Wreck-It Ralph. Ralph was in many ways, the movie you would have expected from Pixar and Brave was the movie you expected from Disney. It also gets dinged a little bit for being a bit slow in the middle. Still, props for being the first Pixar movie to deal with the mother/daughter dynamic.

12. A Bug's Life - Bug's Life suffers mostly from contrast. First, it followed Toy Story and it just wasn't as good as that first movie. Second, one of the Pixar producers left Pixar and took the idea with him and made it at Dreamworks under the title of Antz. The pressure of Antz probably caused A Bug's Life to skip a few rewrites and the story suffered as a result. The circus bugs were a great rebound for the movie, but the main characters suffered as a result.

11. Cars - Cars is an interesting character study with very nice visuals, but it is a recycled story and the story drags heavily at times. I don't have the animosity towards it that some do. One of the biggest complaints I've heard is because it followed The Incredibles, which was the first Pixar movie to get more realistic looking humans. But that doesn't bother me. Still, it's a weaker overall entry.

10. Toy Story - I ding Toy Story for two reasons. First, although it was groundbreaking at the time, the animation has not held up well. There are commercials that have better animation now and while it is fun to watch now, there are moments (like the dog) that just take you out of the movie because of the contrast in appearance. The second point is the contrast with the second movie. The first movie is pretty much just Buzz and Woody, and Woody is a jerk through most of it. That works fine as a stand alone movie, but when you compare to the texture you get in the ensemble casts of the second and third movies, it just makes the first one pale by comparison. A good movie, just not as good as it's sequels.

9. Monster's University - I only have seen this one once and that was a couple of months ago. It was a nice send up of the traditional college underdog story (Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, etc.). It also did a good job of fleshing out the one significant weakness of the first movie: Mike. The first movie was clearly a daddy/daughter story between Sully and Boo and Mike was left as the comic foil who didn't really quite fit in at points. Monsters University gave Mike some depth and helped explain why a heavy hitting scarer like Sully would be best friends with the dweeb like Mike. It didn't have a ton of emotional impact, but it was fun and I look forward to seeing it again.

8. Toy Story 3 - Toy Story 3 in theory should have eclipsed the second movie in terms of emotional impact and overarching story. However, there were too many moments where it felt like it was trying too hard. It was very dark, a times a bit too long, and Andy's sentimental reaction at the end just didn't really fit with a college kid. It was good, but it just missed what made the second one great.

7. Monsters Inc. - I've seen a high degree of contrast with this movie. Some people love it, some hate it. I think the appeal of the movie is tied directly to dad/daughter relationships. If you have kids (especially a little girl), you understand all of Sully's reactions and sympathize with everything he goes through. Likewise, you tend to find Boo cute. Otherwise, I could understand people saying that Boo is annoying and don't get sucked into the drama that goes on. Mrs. X has a very hard time watching this one just because of how Sully reminds her of her own dad. It's not Pixar's greatest but it does rate higher on my list than it might others.

6. Wall-E - This is a study in contrasts. Just about everyone who has ever offered an opinion on this movie raves about how great the first half is. In fact, if the entire movie were like the first half, with almost no dialogue and just the interaction between Wall-E and Eva, it would probably rate as just about everyone's favorite. Now, I don't despise the second half the way some people seem to, but it is weaker. I actually like the character of the Captain and the illusions to HAL amuse me. Nevertheless, it does change in tone dramatically and becomes just a bit more silly. Still, a great movie to watch.

5. The Incredibles - The Incredibles was probably Pixar's first move into a movie that was truly adult in nature. There were elements for adults in the previous movies, but they were still kid centric. The Incredibles finally stepped beyond that and made an animated movie that was aimed squarely at adults. It has stuff for kids, but I find that I appreciate it more, the older I get. I would probably rate it even higher, except that I thought that Mr. Incredible (Bob) was a weaker character for the focus. I thought the wife (Helen) was a more developed and complex character. I enjoyed her scenes more than with Bob and the movie got dinged down just a tad in my mind because she needed more focus.

4. Toy Story 2 - One of the very few exceptions to the rule that sequels will never be better than the original. This movie took what was good about the first movie and seriously upped the ante by distributing the story into an ensemble rather than letting Woody and Buzz carry the movie again. It also expanded the reach of the movie by incorporating the abandonment of toys (exploiting the parental metaphor). Seriously, anyone who does not cry during Jessie's back story song has no soul. Toy Story 2 also did not try to bite off more than it could chew by going too deep or dark. It kept things fairly whimsical and light, which made the poignant moments that more powerful.

3. Up - This is another movie that had much more of an adult focus and it worked extremely well. The montage of the marriage between Carl and Ellie alone made this a great movie and is another case where if you are not moved, you have no soul. The idea of escaping into a fantasy of the past to escape your present troubles, while at the same time refusing to face the new reality in front of you is fascinating story. The casting and portrayal of Carl is a perfect mix of curmudgeon and funny. His relationship with Russell is also both funny and touching. Doug and Alpha are played to their full comedic potential without going too far. My only knock on the movie is the villain. He reminded me too much of an ancient Ted Turner and just didn't quite work for me. Still, a great *SQUIRREL!* movie.

2. Ratatouille - I can't really explain why I like this movie this much. The main characters are good but there is nothing overly compelling about them and the story is pretty simple for the most part as well. But the mix, especially with the secondary characters just makes you want more of the story and I appreciate that. It also has one of the most interesting endings. I would also say that I first saw this movie during a very dark period in my life and the humor and atmosphere just made me feel good, so I may carry that over with me when I think of it. I probably rank the movie higher than most would.

1. Finding Nemo - This comes about as close as you can get to a perfect movie for me. It's touching in the father/son pursuit and relationship, it has memorable and interesting secondary characters, and it has a great sense of humor. Some people don't care for Dory, I find her hilarious and the interaction she has with Marlin works extremely well. This also doesn't even take into account the visual prowess that Pixar showed in the background, especially the coral reef flybys. Overall, I can't really think of any part of this movie that I don't like and would deprive it of my #1 ranking.