I've been wanting to do this after listening to the What the Fridays crew doing the list months ago but it's only just recently that I caught the last remaining film by the studio that I didn't watch which was Cars 3 and now I can justifiably list them out after watching all of them. Here we go!
01) Toy Story [November 22nd, 1995]
Oldie but a goodie, right? Even though it was their first outing, it is still on a level well above others in the whole genre with its rich underlining themes and the groundbreaking animation at the time that is aging remarkably gracefully. The characters are iconic now in our pop culture lexicon and will always a classic in everyone's book.
current placing: top 5 - 02) A Bug's Life [November 25th, 1998]
I didn't know this was right after Toy Story but you can see it in the quality of the animation but the character designs are as excellent as its predecessor. The less serious approach translates into a more upbeat ride, there isn't much under the surface comparatively but this world among the grass will always put a smile on my face.
current placing: low 7 -- 03) Toy Story 2 [November 24th, 1999]
Continuing on the surprise hit, they effectively expand upon the journey of self-discovery by including side characters that delve more into the life of toys and their purpose and how they view themselves are synonymous by how they are treated. May not match the level of the original but it is still up there and stillthere are action and emotions aplenty. Just like the predecessor, it is still remarkably quotable and immensely rewatchable.
current placing: middle 8 --- 04) Monsters, Inc. [November 02nd, 2001]
The monster in the closet saying has been reinterpreted in many ways but this was the first time it's been so widely known as a positive thing, well, at the end of the film at least. Pixar movies always have that grand concepts that are so interesting and how they explore them are always the best part of the journey. The whole scaring industry and work environment are really interesting but the friendship between Mike and Sully and the surprise relationship with Kitty that really lift the feature to another level.
I didn't know what was waiting for me other than the exquisitely ocean life that's brought to life and its marine life but then the heartwarming journey of a father trying to find his son really warm my heart and make me quite teary eyed, I'm not afraid to admit. The adventure is full of ups and downs, making it an exciting watch every time.
current placing: middle 8 ----- 06) the Incredibles [November 05th, 2004]
Superhero genres hasn't thrivethen as much as now but credits have to given to the studio for bravely attempting to do a smart commentary on the genre and being successful in their attempt with aplomb! It it true that this is the best Fantastic Four film to date in regards to the dynamic between the Parr family members and how superhero being in the limelight is affecting the world around them. Every bit of this is excellent and it ages really gracefully.
current placing: top 5 ------ 07) Cars [June 09th, 2006]
Vehicles having their own human emotions has been made popular yet again by this flick and having it centered on a racing championship is smart. It is entertaining definitely and the American vistas are the standout.
current placing: low 7 ------- 08) Ratatouille [June 29th, 2007]
Restaurant culture was never something that exciting to base a whole movie on but when you include humanoid rats that can cook into the mix, now you're talking! Following the latest trend then, the smart twist on the industry and how the love for food brings everyone together in the end really make the unique feature stands out.
current placing: middle 8 -------- 09) WALL-E [June 27th, 2008]
Mute protagonists are never the norm in this medium since it's definitely easier to tell a story when the main characters could talk but this feature is an exception to the rule as we follow for the whole first two acts the naive yet adventurous trash compactor listening to his 'heart' and tirelessly trying to appeal to the futuristic elegant robot. It is in its heart a love story and a remarkably effective one at that. There will be nothing like it anymore.
current placing: top 5 --------- 10) Up [May 29th, 2009]
One of the most heartwarming and then heartwrenching opening montage sequence not only in animations but the whole medium! While the rest of the film could not live up to the astronomic high of the first ten minutes, it is still a journey of coming out of the rut and being a parent to someone that really needs the guidance.
current placing: middle 8 ---------- 11) Toy Story 3 [June 18th, 2010]
Eleven years after the second iteration we were back into the foray and it's surprisingly a worthwhile journey back and a fitting way to conclude this series in a nice trilogy (or so we think). Going to a kindergarten now and having to leave through another complex tyrannical community with that fakeout ending when they hold each other's hands really left me on the edge of my seat but when Andy left all of his childhood toys, it makes me chokes up, even to this day! Knowing they'll continue to have another adventure leaves me cautious ... but Bo Peep returns!
Being reactionary is never a good approach to develop movies and this was their first major misstep in trying to spinoff the series with a fan-favourite supporting character and adding to it a spoof on the spy subgenre, while it's not that bad compared to other studio's offerings, it is still one of their worst.
current placing: low 7 -x- 13 Brave [June 22nd, 2012]
Projects have their own complications that are settled behind the scenes that we rarely know of but there were rumblings of problems for this as well and the trajectory of the storyline after the first act that are leaving some perplexed after a great character building early on. It's a personal journey rather than a more adventurous one, for better or worse.
current placing: low 7 --x- 14) Monsters University [June 21st, 2013]
Prequel was never part of Pixar's expertise but this first attempt was a successful one, bringing to life the world of college with the hilarious monster twist. Really fun watch for me but maybe compared to others is lacking in more impactful moral values. Hey, sometimes a good laugh is you need, right?
current placing: middle 8 --x-- 15) Inside Out [June 19th, 2015]
What a novel, simple concept of giving basic human emotions their own personalities and how each person have their own islands of aspirations and how they actually execute them make this feature one of my favourites ever! Giving children medium to understand their own feelings is genius and much needed, especially for them to communicate all of these with adults or their peers. This is something everyone could relate to and that is key.
current placing: top 5 --x--- 16) The Good Dinosaur [November 25th, 2015]
Another project mired in behind-the-scene antics regarding the plot of the film and where it should go and you can see the evidence in the finished product. It is still decent flick to me but didn't live up to its expectation at all. Learning of their mistake, they cancel the upcoming Gigantic just because of the same problem.
Sequels are a tricky thing to do when you have the original as a successful proof of concept and whether to follow it by redoing the same formula or changing it up a bit. This particular one did it in both ways by having a singular mission but now to find her family instead and while it couldn't reach the high of Finding Nemo, it is still an endearing ride.
It wasn't what we expected at all but this second trilogy is concluded nicely as they smartly returned to its root for and gives the real protagonist a final journey to bring his career full circle. It's a bittersweet finale ...
current placing: low 7 ----x---- 19) Coco [November 22, 2017]
Mexican culture had never been treated with as much respect as in this deeply personal and heartfelt story revolving around the love of music and the Day of the Dead holiday. The rather soap opera twist makes me love it even more as they embrace every facet of their culture whether a trope or something endearing such as the sandal. The soundtrack captures my heart and the end song with 'the real Coco' leaves me in tears every time.
current placing: top 5 -----x---- 20) Incredibles 2 [June 15th, 2018]
The long wait was finally over last year when we got the continuation of our favourite superhero family and while it went somewhere that we might not have expected, the family dynamic is still entertaining as ever and the change of focus to Elastigirl brought with it a lot of inventive action sequences that you can't see anywhere else. The others don't fall short as well. I am just happy they are back and can't wait for the followup!
current placing: middle 8 -----x----- top 5: Coco, Inside Out, Toy Story, the Incredibles, WALL-E middle 8: Finding Nemo, Incredibles II, Monsters, Inc., Monsters University, Ratatouille, Toy Story 2,Toy Story 3, Up low 7: A Bug's Life, Brave, Cars, Cars 2, Cars 3, Finding Dory, the Good Dinosaur ~ Let's go through low 7 first ... Brave is the best on the list since I do enjoy the journey, with Finding Dory following closely behind. It's still a good flick with A Bug's Life being an entertaining one and Cars is a solid outing through and through. Cars 3 is just a step behind with The Good Dinosaur just eclipses Cars 2 to miss the twentieth spot. Hm ... middle 8 is a more trickier affair trying to find the worst in this bag of gold. Well, we work ourselves up, okay? Up appears to be at the bottom, follow by Monsters University and Ratatouille. Toy Story 3 is next and Finding Nemo follows suit with Toy Story 2 being the next one in line. Incredibles II just falls below Monsters, Inc. to me. Well, now it's down to the top 5! ... Man, this is hard! If I have to choose (and I do), Coco gets the fifth place and Toy Story is just a step above.WALL-E is the third andInside Out is the runner-up. Finally my best Pixar film (as of 2018) is ... THE INCREDIBLES! 20. Cars 2 19. the Good Dinosaur 18. Cars 3 17. Cars 16. A Bug's Life 15 Finding Dory 14. Brave 13. Up 12. Monsters University 11. Ratatouille 10. Toy Story 3 09. Finding Nemo 08. Toy Story 2 07. Incredibles II 06. Monsters, Inc. 05. Coco 04. Toy Story 03. WALL-E 02. Inside Out 01. the Incredibles Finally I'm done! I hope this is worth it ... What is your own personal list? Please let me know!
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