I've never committed to a definitive
ranking of the films of Pixar Animation. Perhaps having
relatively few feature titles under their banner made a top ten list
kinda meaningless (although their ever growing roster of
memorable characters is always ripe for sorting). Or perhaps the frequently
high caliber of their movies made ranking them a more arbitrary
exercise than ranking movies already is.
But with raves for their fifteenth
feature Inside Out announcing a return to form after a few
years of middling success, now seems like a good time to go on record
as to which gems sparkle the brightest for me personally. Needless to
say, this list is in constant flux and subject to positional shifts
at any time – Probably as soon as I see Inside Out!
But which of the studio's first
fourteen is on the bubble?...
10. Toy Story 2 (1999) [dir.
John Lasseter]
That only the third feature to emerge
from the studio was a sequel might have struck many as a harbinger of
franchise-obsessed doom. But when a sequel is as smart, witty and
moving as Toy Story 2
is, who are we to complain? The second installment of the series made
a number of memorable additions to the beloved cast of playthings,
including Jesse the yodeling cowgirl with the most tear-jerking of
backstories (Randy Newman's "When She Loved Me" is the
finest song of his career). It may lack the novelty and simple genius
of the first Toy Story, but it still finds fun and interesting
extensions to that original idea like a good sequel should.
9. Brave (2012) [dir. Brenda
Chapman, Mark Andrews]
Though received somewhat tepidly on its
initial release – perhaps on account of more resembling a Disney
princess film than high-concept Pixar –
Brave
has already aged very well, infusing the modernisms of
mother-daughter relationships with the charms of classical
storytelling. Rendered with (what was at the time) brand spanking new
Presto software, it could also make a claim as the studio's most
purely beautiful work to date, dazzling with its evocative lighting
and colour choices in every frame. Backing up those visuals are
strong performances, expressive character animation, and a magical
morality tale that lend the whole project a timeless quality that
continues to hold up well.
8. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
[dir. Pete Docter]
The immediate follow-up to
Toy Story
2 found Pixar back in the realm of original premises, albeit
while still conforming to the same template of a community of
(
anthropomorphized beings of your choice) living right under our
noses.
Happily, the chance to manufacture an entire workforce of
loveable cartoon monsters – as opposed to trademarked toys and
bipedal ants – allowed the character designers to finally spread
their imaginative wings. But
Monsters, Inc. is so much more
than a cute world-building exercise, working in surprisingly mature
themes ranging from the desensitization of children to the ills of
our dependence on unsustainable energy. The ending is lovely.
7. The Incredibles (2004)
[dir. Brad Bird]
The Incredibles hews closer to
an action movie than any of its more kid-conscious Pixar kin, and in
doing so makes a strong case for animation as the ideal medium for
the genre. Dizzying set pieces such as the
airborne missile attack or Dash's high-speed escape through the
jungle had me gripping my armrests tighter than any cartoon I can
recall. What ultimately gives those action scenes such weight is that
Brad Bird – excellent story man that he is – has taken the time
in the film's first half to make us relate to and care about the
characters. In fact, I may enjoy the family dynamics more than the
superheroics, but it's all great stuff!
A sequel would actually be
welcome.
6. Up (2009) [dir. Pete
Docter]
The grief-triggered odyssey of an
octogenarian widower may not sound like a rip-roaring good time on
paper, but besides the weepy pathos of its brilliant "Married
Life" montage and all the cathartic beats thereafter,
Up
sometimes gets overlooked as one of Pixar's funniest adventures as
well. It lands a ton of fun laughs with talking dog collars, exotic
bird antics, and of course extracts a wealth of buddy-movie-humour
from the age difference between its two heroes. Instead of clashing,
the comedy and the tragedy are impeccably balanced and seamlessly
woven. Big props to Michael Giacchino's Oscar winning score for
beautifully echoing that emotional range.
5. Toy Story 3 (2010) [dir.
Lee Unkrich]
I questioned early screening reports
that claimed
Toy Story 3 was reducing grown men to tears. I
scoffed harder yet at the notion that it would manipulate me the same
way. It goes without saying that I was wrong. Perhaps I was
underestimating the power of nostalgia, which does play a pretty
hefty role in eliciting those third-act waterworks, but that wouldn't
be giving enough credit to the filmmakers. They didn't simply make
one heart-melting 5-minute scene; They made a damn good movie from
start to finish (cleverly packaged as a prison movie parody),
establishing themes of growth, change and acceptance from the get-go, writing to those themes throughout. Every tear is earned.
4. Finding Nemo (2003) [dir.
Andrew Stanton]
While Pixar's first four features
earned them the reputation as the animation house whose movies could
be enjoyed by more than just kids,
Finding Nemo was their
first to take the direct perspective of a parent. It dives headfirst
into an ocean of anxiety for an overprotective clownfish trying
desperately to find his son, and learning an all-important lesson in
letting go. It's a testament to the performances of the animators and
actors (namely Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres) that the characters
so effortlessly embody both the film's emotional maturity and its
comic edge. And oh yeah, it's a stunner to look at, with lush shades
of blue mirroring the mood of each scene.
3. Ratatouille (2007) [dir.
Brad Bird]
A feast for the eyes, ears and soul,
Ratatouille boasts some of Pixar's richest writing and most
savory images, at times literally visualizing its connoisseur
rodent's adventurous sense of taste. Inventing a warming fable that
sounds like something out of a European childrens storybook, but
painted in stylish strokes and sharp hilarity, it might be the finest
rumination on artistic origins and art criticism ever animated (Peter
O'Toole's climatic monologue is utter perfection). The characters are
a splendid blend of personalities and the storytelling
is crisp and unfettered, every moment serving up thematic substance
in entertaining spoonfuls; Cinematic nourishment that's both healthy
and delicious!
2. WALL-E (2008) [dir. Andrew
Stanton]
I thought long and hard about putting
this in the No. 1 spot on this list, because I do consider
WALL-E to
be the studio's creative apex. The near silent first half proves a
magnificent combination of the oldest and newest filmmaking
techniques
(the cooperation of old and new is niftily one of the
film's many thematic threads), introducing us to the eponymous robot
and its adorable mission to win the love of a sleeker model. But
rather than contain itself on our tiny planet, the story dares to
veer in unexpected directions, scaling up its intimate romance into a
grander quest for humankind's salvation. The result is an ambitious,
unique science fiction that's the best of its decade – the
same superlative applies to Ben Burtt's sound design. A modern
masterpiece.
1. Toy Story (1995) [dir.
John Lasseter]
Some may consider it a back-handed
compliment to say Pixar's first film is their best, the assumed
implication being that they peaked too soon. Well... not quite.
Toy
Story probably isn't their funniest film, nor their most
emotionally powerful, nor their most artistically conceived, and
certainly not their most technically accomplished. But its elegant
storytelling template has never been improved upon, and none of its
more evolved successors (wonderful though they are) can match its
flawless execution. Though the infant studio had a lot of growing up
to do,
this ground-breaking first step is as close to a perfect movie
as you'll see, animated or otherwise. At the age of seven, it became
my first real cinematic obsession – I can still quote its
delightfully witty dialogue verbatim – and 20 years later its quiet
profundities can still moisten my adult eyes.
No, I wouldn't
objectively call
Toy Story Pixar's “best” film. It's
simply the one that I love the most.
Outside, looking in:
A
Bug's Life is slight, but also so much fun. It sometimes
feels like the odd cousin of the Pixar family; Not quite substantial
enough to contend with the loftier entries on people's top ten lists,
but content to be its own humourous self. Didn't crack my dectet, but
I wanna make it clear that I still like it.
As for the rest, ordering them doesn't
really matter. I think just about everybody puts Cars 2 on the
bottom, while the first Cars and Monsters University
don't separate that much for me.
