I realize I'm in the minority here but really what does Wall-E bring that the other Pixar films don't? Okay I get it, space is pretty but all Pixar locales are pretty so it doesn't get bonus points for space being pretty. The plot doesn't offer much, the whole silent narrative is fun for about 30 minutes than it gets a little annoying. Wall-E is not a bad movie, but it's bad when you compare it to it's Pixar contemporaries.
9. Ratatouille
Okay remember when I said all Pixar locales are pretty? Well Ratatouille is probably the worst, mind you it all takes place in a restaurant/apartment/sewer so they don't have a lot to work with. I love Brad Bird and I always will but his writing here was brutal. The pacing was all over the place he gave us like 4 climax points and not one of them actually delivered. The voice acting and the character animation was the saving grace here as this was the first time that Pixar really nailed the human component in their films.
As previously mentioned this was the last Pixar movie I needed to watch to make this list and I have finally done it... Like Ratatouille the animation is beautiful, our heroines flowing red hair was a sight to see, but the story lacked. I feel like Disney went to Pixar and said "We need these movies to be more Disney formulaic if we're going to work together... Oh and make a Princess movie dammit!"
7. Inside Out
The newest Pixar movie! It was a tough sell with very little information leaking out until a few months before release. Now that it's out it's a typical Pixar movie, by that I mean it's good but it's tough to tell how well it will age. It's undoubtedly original, incredibly smart but lacks great animation apart from it's boisterous colours. Seeing it in 3D brought very little to the party and the adult aimed humour was few and far between. Luckily the story kept us intrigued.
Monsters Inc. is easily a top 5 Pixar movie, unfortunately University knocks the Monsters franchise back a few steps. University was hurt by it's 3D which again gave us nothing and it's probably the most visually... Bleh. But the stellar voice acting is on display here and apart from Toy Story it'd be hard to top this series acting but something had to give and the climax in University was disappointing by Pixar standards and we'll hope for better in any future Monsters movies.
5. Up
Can you name the very first Pixar film, and only 1 of 3 animated films to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars? You guessed it, it's Up. The story of an old man who takes an unforgettable journey with a young boy that just wanted to earn scouting badges. The fact that this film, which I can not think of a single bad thing to say about, is number 5 speaks to the incredible depth of Pixar's films. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it'll make you want to see how many balloons you have to tie to your house so that you too can embark on the journey of a lifetime.
Nemo, like Up does a lot of things really really well, but unfortunately there are a select few Pixar movies that do those same things just a little bit better. It'd still be impossible to say that Nemo isn't a master piece of film making. The beautifully animated ocean, the hilarious dialogue the exciting climax and the lessons we learnt leave Finding Nemo at the number four spot for now, but if the upcoming sequel could come close to it's predecessor Nemo should have no problem jumping into the top three.
3. A Bug's Life
Definitely the most overlooked film in Pixar's catalogue as it is also one of their oldest. Their second picture put into production followed a colony of insects on an amazing journey. Most pundits say it didn't age well and maybe they're right? But the fact of the matter is for me this was my childhood. This film opened my eyes to what animation could do and I am forever grateful to it for that and I still enjoy popping in the Blu-Ray to this day.
Did I mention how much I love Brad Bird? The Incredibles is storytelling at it's finest. Sure it's an animated flick but regardless of medium this is a masterpiece, all the locations have a familiar feel despite being completely different from one and other. The cast, main and supporting alike do a great job with the material they are given and what we end up with is a highly original concept executed to perfection.
1. Toy Story
Yeah... Shocker I know. The last animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture was Toy Story 3, it's really a shame the original didn't given how groundbreaking it was back in 1995 but you know they had to nominate Babe and Sense & Sensibility apparently. Not that I'm bitter. Toy Story has been consistently great over the 3 films and here's hoping for more... The trilogy ended well with a nice little bow but there are still portions to build off of and if any series deserves more entries in this time where we sequel and reboot everything it's absolutely Toy Story.
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