REEL List: Top Pixar Films
March 17th, 2008
Following the sheer excitement the recent WALL-E trailer generated in me, I found myself wondering what my favorite Pixar films are. So, I let my mind take me back to all eight of Pixar’s feature-length films and decided to order them in terms of my preference. It was no easy task, given that all of their films are excellent, leaving some choices really up to personal preference. Regardless, below you’ll find what I came up with.
More importantly though, be sure to post your own ranking of Pixar’s films below.
8. CARS
Something was just missing from this one. The story wasn’t very fresh or exciting, the characters (except for Mater) were just not quintessentially Pixar, and the film just seemed to be missing the big heart we’ve come to expect from Pixar. Personally, I think a big part of it was the fact that it’s hard to get much emotional expression of out of windshields functioning as eyes. The only thing I really adored about this film was this.
7. A BUG’S LIFE
I know this has always been an early favorite in Pixar’s canon, but it’s just never done much for me. Yes, it’s a great little underdog story, with a classic case of humorous mistaken identity (via the circus performers), but what was at stake just never seemed dramatic enough for me to become invested in the story and shed my indifference.
6. TOY STORY
TOY STORY finds itself a bit lower on my list largely because I find its sequel a vastly superior film. That and the fact that even though it’s still a fantastic film, there are times when elements of its storyline grate on my nerves a little, such as the sheer insanity of Sid, Buzz’s frustrating existential ignorance, and Woody’s immature jealousy hampering his inherent likeability.
5. RATATOUILLE
This one is still pretty fresh, so this poignant tale about grand ambitions coming to fruition in small packages, may – like an investment –appreciate further with time and multiple viewings. For now it earns a solid place in the middle of this list, because it’s better than those below, but in my mind still not quite better than the ones above on this list.
4. TOY STORY 2
I adore this film and its grand scope and range. I think it may be one of the funniest entries in Pixar’s canon, and at times the most heart breaking (this just emotionally demolishes me every time). The story is exciting (the various rescue operations) if not as in depth as the next three films on this list, which is why I just can’t place TOY STORY 2 higher – despite how much I love it.
3. FINDING NEMO
Voice casting is a crucial part of Pixar’s success, and FINDING NEMO has the best cast of them all. You have Willem Dafoe, Allison Janney, Geoffrey Rush, Elizabeth Perkins, Vicki Lewis, Brad Garrett, and Albert Brooks all putting in solid performances. Ellen DeGeneres is, of course, the best, and manages to elevate the film with through a performance that lovingly portrays scatter-brained Dory without ever showing any irony or mocking of her character. What helps of course is that the actors had one of the best layered and nuanced stories Pixar has yet produced to work with.
2. THE INCREDIBLES
The comic book nerd in me loves the Fantastic Four angle, and that this is a better superhero films than most of what is coming out these days. The film nerd in me loves the heavy references to Edith Head and Bond movies, and that it was written and directed by Brad Bird, a director I had been waiting to break out ever since THE IRON GIANT. The drama nerd in me appreciates that for the first half of this film is really about a middle-aged family man’s mid-life crisis, in which he is tempted by a younger lifestyle, and even – arguably – a younger woman, and almost forgets what matters most: family. At times this is really a “film,” not a movie, which is partly why I never quite got why it’s so popular with kids, beyond the action-packed second half of the film (which the action nerd in me, of course, loves).
1. MONSTERS INC.
This film is perfect. There’s not a single thing I can think of that is wrong with it, and that’s not hyperbole. The things I love about it could fill an entire blog entry in its own right. But the main reasons: the lovely heart-warming and fantastic story; Boo being the most adorable creation of Pixar yet (anything she “says” makes me melt); Billy Crystal’s performance as Mike Wazowski; and the exciting conveyor belt chase at the end of the film. It may seem like that’s a poor effort to explain why I adore this film so much, but much like true love, I am so overwhelmed with my passion for this film, that it’s incredibly hard to put into words.
That makes me sound like a pretty creepy guy who loves movies in the same way people love each other, doesn’t it?
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theTVaddict Says:
March 17th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Aside from CARS, which hands down is the only Pixar film I didn’t aboslutely love. Picking your favorite Pixar film is (I’d imagine) the equivelant of picking your favorite child. Who can decide!