A new Pixar film is out, which is always a reason to rejoice and be thankful. Toy Story 4 is the latest film to come from the studio co-founded by Steve Jobs and that paved the way for digital animation across the globe. In light of this most recent of movies, we run down the Pixar back catalogue from its least impressive to its best crowning achievement.
20. CARS 3 (BRIAN FEE 2017)
A threequel no one asked for about cars that are alive. There are some good voice actors in the film, including Chris Cooper and Armie Hammer but the film has zero reason to exist outside of fun toy cars to sell. It just lacks the wit and invention that we expect from Pixar and instead feels terribly run-of-the-mill.
19. CARS 2 (JOHN LASSETER (2011)
Swapping the Americana setting of the first film for an international spy movie… but with cars. Cars 2 is the epitome of self service. There’s nothing in the film to delight, and the decision to make the film a spy movie makes no sense. Michael Caine has fun as a James Bond style spy car, but the film’s choice to focus on the unfunny Mater voiced terribly by Larry the Cable Guy (yep that’s his name) is unforgiveable.
18. THE GOOD DINOSAUR (PETER SOHN 2015)
The good dinosaur is a confused film, somewhere between Disney’s Dinosaur and The Land Before Time but without the photorealism of the former or the emotional heft of the latter. The voice cast are all game, Sam Elliott is a ranch running Tyrannosaurus, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin and Jeffrey Wright are all good, but the story beats are from a thousand and one other films, and the little caveman child seems ripped from an Ice Age film.
17. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (DAN SCANLON 2013)
Prequels are dangerous things, because they can undo great stories. Case in point. No one was ever interested in a time when Mike and Sully weren’t friends, their friendship was the thing about Monsters, Inc that made it work. Here, we get a boring film that charts how two people were kind of dicks until they screwed up so badly they had to break rules to get back to where they wanted to be. Helen Mirren as the scary head scarer is good, and some of the physical jokes are good, but it’s a long time before the plot gets going and even then, the plot means nothing.
16. CARS (JOHN LASSETER 2006)
If the first thing in a Pixar film you notice is how well designed it is, the story doesn’t work. Case in point: cars. It’s well known that John Lasseter has a great love of Americana and that sort of world, but this film feels overly design orientated for a film that is a classic hot shot goes to a small town and learns humility. Owen Wilson is fine voicing Lightning McQueen, though really the best role goes to Paul Newman in his final film role as old hat Doc Hudson.
15. FINDING DORY (ANDREW STANTON 2016)
Having lost Disney a ton of money with John Carter (not of Mars for reasons unknown) Andrew Stanton thrashed out a sequel to smash hit Finding Nemo, which is a film that explores Dory’s family. The good things is a fun cameo from Sigourney Weaver, and Ed O’Neill as cranky octopus Hank. The bad, out of place The Wire gags, uninspired storytelling and boring meandering when the first was a well told adventure story that also pulled at your heart.
14. RATATOUILLE (BRAD BIRD 2007)
Ratatouille is neither good nor bad, it is absolutely fine. A film in which a rat dreams of being a fancy chef and uses a hapless kid to help him has moment of physical comedy and the voice cast are very well suited to their roles. Patton Oswalt does his usual nearly thing, while perhaps Peter O’Toole gets to relish his turn as snooty critic Anton Ego who utters the immortal line “I don’t like food… I Love It!” But the film is sort of forgettable once you’ve left the cinema.
13. BRAVE (MARK ANDREWS, BRENDA CHAPMAN 2012)
If you’re Scottish and you know it do a voice in Brave. Billy Connolly gets the best role as King Fergus the big scary jolly king of a Scottish fantasy land, while Emma Thompson is his faithful queen. Kelly MacDonald has fun as princess Merida the classic tough girl role and the scenes with the bear Mordu are quite intense at times but it feels like this should have been a musical and was more suited to a classic Disney film that a Pixar release.
12. INCREDIBLES 2 (BRAD BIRD 2018)
A wise man once said give the people what they want, and what audiences of The Incredibles wanted was more Jack-Jack. They got it, and when it’s on him, it’s very funny and cute. When it’s not, it’s a film that is a treat for the eyes but lacks reason for existing. The years since The Incredibles have birthed the MCU and this film feels lost adrift in a world where other movies have done bigger and better things.
11. TOY STORY 3 (LEE UNKRICH 2010)
It may appear strange that this piece of art is so far down, but what comes ahead of it is just as impressive. A story of love, loss and family. Toy Story 3 is both laugh out loud funny, and sob into your hands heartbreaking sometimes in the same scene. The story of moving on as adults will resonate with those who grew up with these movies more so than their kids, but even so, the storytelling is confident and the jokes come thick and fast mainly thanks to Michael Keaton’s hapless Ken doll.
10. COCO (LEE UNKRICH 2017)
An interesting look at mortality, and how death is only permanent if we forget those we love. Coco is a film rooted in Latin America and its day of the Dead festivities. The music that roots the film won an Oscar and it’s hard not to find yourself both crying and singing along when the film offers us another croaky voiced rendition of Remember Me. The film balances light and dark well, with a story that covers issues such as health, death, love and betrayal and while a mid-film rug-pull might be a little too nuanced in motivation, it makes up for in pure emotion.
9. WALL-E (ANDREW STANTON 2008)
Though it’s less confident when it deals with humans, Stanton’s Silent Running for kids, about a tiny little robot trying to clean the planet is a cute but affecting science fiction adventure. Wall-E is the perfect Pixar character, easy to imitate and a fun toy to play with. The first half is the more confident one, with Wall-E on earth alone, cleaning up as much as he can, while the spaceship theatrics of the second half offer some fun and a chance to really ram the eco-message to the kiddies in the audience.
8. THE INCREDIBLES (BRAD BIRD 2004)
Watchmen for kids. What if Superheroes were outlawed but some couldn’t adjust? The film has a great Tomorrowland, retro-futuristic look about it and Craig T Nelson’s pitch perfect Bob Parr is a great character. Like a soldier returned from war his inability to adapt to life outside of crime fighting puts him at odds with his family. Having a villain that is a butt-hurt fanboy seems oddly prepared for the slew of keyboard warriors ready to pounce of any big release, and Syndrome is the prototype for those guys. The score is jazzy, the jokes are funny, and Brad Bird’s turn as Edna Mode is a scene stealer.
7. A BUG’S LIFE (JOHN LASSETER 1998)
Taking the basic structure of Seven Samurai and putting it into the world of bugs may have seemed like an insane choice once upon a time but Pixar’s second feature is a classic and full of deep rooted belly laughs. Dave Foley is Flik an ant looking to be more who teams up with some circus bugs to stop Hopper and his army of Grass Hoppers. There are moments of darkness in the film, but mainly it’s a fun film that features state of the art animation with witty storytelling to tell a story that will entertain children and adults of all ages.
6. TOY STORY 2 (JOHN LASSETER 1999)
Featuring for no reason other than to slowly kill people with emotion, a musical number. Toy Story 2 is everything you loved about the first but with some twists. Woody is taken from a yard sale and the toys must rescue him, but he meets his round-up gang and faces a crisis of what to do. Joan Cusack and Kelsey Grammer are the biggest new additions and the story of trauma and how it affects a person is a pretty intense story for kids, but the jokes never stop and nor does the wit and invention.
5. MONSTERS, INC. (PETE DOCTER 2001)
Billy Crystal and John Goodman make for a great pair in this adventure film that sees a world in which monsters have to scare children from their closets to produce energy from screams. The concept is bonkers, the design is flawless and the characters are rich and loveable. Mike and Sully are a great double act giving the feel of a real friendship, and while the film is never short of jokes, it manages to also be a story about friendship and love – and Boo is easily one of the world’s cutest characters. Just put that thing back where it came from or so help me.
4. FINDING NEMO (ANDREW STANTON 2003)
The story of one father’s quest to rescue his son is one of the most beautifully realised stories Pixar has ever told. Set in the Great Barrier Reef and mixing great animation with voice acting that moves us, Finding Nemo is a story about the love between a parent and child, and it couldn’t be more moving. Albert Brooks and Ellen Degeneres are good as Marlin and Dory, while the cast of oddball characters we meet – scary braces children, stoner turtles, vegetarian sharks are all quotable and easily make this one of the best animations of all time.
3. UP (PETE DOCTER 2009)
Pixar’s attempt to kill the world through crying, Up is an example of how some animations can be so profound that they are never fully understood. You can’t just watch this film, you must feel it. The story of Ed Asner’s aged and angry Carl and his budding friendship with young Russell is a story that takes us to the edges of the world but never once let’s us lose our grasp on the emotional core of what is being said. One of only three animated films to be nominated for best picture it deserves its place on every DVD shelf.
2. INSIDE OUT (PETE DOCTER 2015)
With Inside Out Pixar managed to articulate the importance of emotions all while creating a film that everyone can enjoy. In the head of a little girl lives five emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear who face issues when the girl they reside in moves. The idea of happy memories being tinged with sorrow but still existing as both is an interesting concept and there’s nothing more harrowing than saying goodbye to Bing Bong – easily one of Pixar’s most heartbreaking moments.
1.TOY STORY (JOHN LASSETER 1995)
The one that started it all. Before CGI animated was a thing, Pixar gave us a look into the lives of toys when we leave the room. Melding top level computer effects, an all star voice cast, and storytelling that earned the film a nomination for best screenplay, Toy Story remains the high water mark for Pixar, and a feat of history that will never be bested. It stands with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as history unfolding in a tightly told story with brilliant Randy Newman songs.
