Every Pixar Movie Ranked!

 

Hello, Everybody! Happy New Year! Today I'm going to rank all of the movies in Pixar's filmography. I'm ranking these movies based on popularity, critical reception and it's place in animation. Mainly I'm doing this list to show my love for this groundbreaking animation company.

23. Cars 2

The sequel to Pixar's Cars from 2006 remains the studio's lowest point and is the only Pixar with a low score on Rotten Tomatoes. Lightning, Mater and their friends return as McQueen is entered in the World Grand Prix and travel all over the world while Mater does spy shit. Look, the espionage may have looked decent on paper, but in execution it feels very out of place in a franchise about racing and it's basically a Mater short that lasts for an hour and a half. I love Tow Mater as much as the next guy, but him having to be in the center stage just makes me wish that he should've been the supporting "comedic relief" character instead. I liked it when I was a kid, but looking back on it now, it's not even half as decent as the first movie.

22. The Good Dinosaur

This movie had a very good premise. What would happen if dinosaurs didn't cease to exist a million years ago? I was intrigued by that. What do they do in the present? Well... nothing really. They own farms, interact with today's mammals. Oh, and cave people apparently still exist. This is the story of a brachiosaurus named Arlo who befriends a cave kid named Spot and they both go on this journey to return Spot back home. While their friendship makes the movie watchable, it's not one the most successful Pixar movies, it was actually kind of boring and it didn't really have any impact on me in the slightest.

21. Monsters University

It's not a Monsters, Inc. sequel but I guess it made do. In this prequel, it's the story of how Mike Wasowski & James P. "Sully" Sullivan went from college rivals to becoming one of the most iconic movie friendships ever. Here's my main problem tho, in Monsters, Inc., there's a line about the duo knowing each since the fourth grade which makes it a major continuity issue. Despite that, it had pretty good animation, great humor and it made children of Gen-Z wish that they could go to college.

20. Cars 3

Cars 3 was ok I guess. Lightning McQueen finds himself being pushed out of the sport that he loves becausing of the growing landscape of blazing-fast cars. Hoping to get back into it, he recruits Cruz Ramirez, a young technician who has her own plans of winning and McQueen prepares to compete in one of the Piston's Cup's biggest races. I liked that it returned to its racing roots and had Lightning back in the central role, Cars 3 has a very poignant story and dazzling animation, It just didn't make me feel emotional.

19. Brave

Ok, I don't mean to put Brave low on this list, due to the fact that it's the only film from the studio to have a female lead, it's just that didn't really live up to its promising premise back in 2012. It feels like a traditional Disney animated movie instead a Pixar movie with a very important message. Merida is the Scottish Princess and daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor and she's a skilled archer who wants to carve her own path in life and she defies a very old tradition and she seeks help from a witch to change her fate, but rather than having Merida's faith be completely changed, Elinor turns into... a bear? You can sense that I put on my palm on my face as I first saw it. It had great animation, it was funny and it perfectly captured the Scottish highlands, it just didn't feel like a Pixar movie.

18. Cars

Cars is pretty decent. Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater are iconic characters, it's got pretty good animation and a good story, but it really didn't really have an emotional punch, y'know? I liked it when I was a kid, maybe I'll have another opinion when I watch it against who knows? What else can you really say except KA-CHOW! It was also a great tribute to late actor Paul Newman who voiced Doc Hudson.

17. A Bug's Life

I loved A Bug's Life when I was a kid and I still love it now. Since its release in 1998, A Bug's Life has been one of Pixar's underrated movies. Loosely inspired by Akira Kurosawa's magnum opus, Seven Samurai, it follows, Flik, an ant who's basically the colony's screw up. His latest mishap was destroying the food to pay off Hopper and his groundhopper army and demands that the ants double their food or face annihilation. So Flik goes on a journey to recruit fighters and he ends up recruiting circus bugs. The animation holds up very well and it was such a great sophomore achievement from Pixar due to its witty dialogue and memorable characters.

16. Onward

Onward had a great premise and a cool urban fantasy setting, great animation and story. It's such a shame that this was the last movie that I saw in theaters and that it underperformed at the box office. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt voice elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot who cast a spell to bring their back dad for one day, when the it backfires, they go on a journey to find the Phoenix gem for the spell to really work. It had a great message about brotherhood and it's one of 2020's best movies.

15. Incredibles 2

After over 14 years Incredibles 2 came out in theaters in 2018 and it certainly did live up to the hype! It had the same humor from the first movie, updated animation and great moments like Jack-Jack fighting that raccoon! The Screenslaver twist was a bit disappointing and while Incredibles 2 was a worthy and fantastic sequel, it's got nothing on one of the best animated movies of 2000s, The Incredibles.

14. Finding Dory

Another fantastic Pixar sequel, but instead of focusing on Marlin and his son, Nemo, it's Dory that takes the center stage. After Dory remembers her family she goes on a journey to reunite with her parents all the way at California at the Marine Life Institute with the help of Nemo and Marlin. Andrew Stanton returned to direct the long-awaited sequel and it's a great beautiful adventure to get lost in the sea with, but the original will always hold a special place in my heart.

13. Toy Story 4

I didn't really think I needed a Toy Story 4 when I realized that Keanu Reeves was going to be in it. I was very concerned that it was going to hurt the legendary franchise's legacy and I felt like Toy Story 3 wrapped up its saga quite nicely. In Toy Story 4, Woody and the gang go on a road trip along with a new member, Forky who isn't really a toy but a spork and Woody unexpectedly reunites with Bo Peep. It was more of an epilogue film than a sequel, but the animation is gorgeous, it was funny and it really mad me sad. It wasn't better than Toy Story 3, but I still loved it.

12. Monsters, Inc.

Pixar is known for its iconic friendships and Mike & Sully is one of them. When we were kids we all thought there was a monster in our closets and the movie expands on that premise alone, by making a workplace where monsters work in a scare factory to scare children. This movie will never not be funny due to Mike Wasowski being the funniest Pixar character ever! And Randall was such a great villain.

11. Toy Story

Toy Story changed everything! It was the first ever CGI-animated theatrical film and Pixar pulled it off so well. Don't lie, we all wondered what our toys would do whenever we left our bedrooms. The iconic friendship of Woody and Buzz still lives on and due to its success, marked the beginning of Pixar going infinity and beyond. I ranked this at #11 because has since been outranked by its future movies.

10. WALL-E

For about an hour, it's a silent film only relying on sound rather than dialogue. Andrew Stanton worked on another great animated film. The film follows a trash robot named WALL-E and is the only robot living on earth and spends his days cleaning up on garbage. But over the years, he has developed a personality even playing a tape from Hello, Dolly! every night. Then he meets EVE, a probe robot from space who goes on a scanning mission and follows her across the galaxy. The movie is also a surprise critique on global risk, obesity, consumerism, environmental impact and waste management. We all grew up learning that we only have one planet to live and must look out for our Earth. Not only was it a great achievement in animation, but in sound design as well, making WALL-E one of Pixar's iconic characters and movies.

9. Toy Story 2

Toy Story 2 turned out to be better than the first movie! Woody gets separated from his fellow toys and finds out that he was a TV star back in the 1950s and meets his fellow round-up gang, Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete the Prospector. It was also the first time that the franchise and Pixar had mature themes like abandonment. When we all grow. up, we do eventually stop playing with our toys and move on to other things. "When she loved me" still gets me every time. Not only was Stinky Pete a great villain, but one who's motivations were understood. Yup. Toy Story 2 is one of the best sequels ever made.

8. The Incredibles 

The Incredibles is classic Pixar! It's also part of the Golden Age of Superhero movies. Superheroes are outlawed and Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible and his wife, Helen Parr/Elastigirl are forced into solitude and years later have children and are living like normal people. But when one of Bob's mistakes bites him in the ass, it's up to him and his family to save the day. Ok, if you think about it, if Mr. Incredible didn't piss off a fanboy, he wouldn't be in this mess and yeah, we wouldn't have Syndrome but still. In addition to having great action sequences, it was funny and relatable, its musical score is iconic and it had a great villain and memorable characters like Edna Mode, I want her to be my personal fashion designer ngl. 

7. Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 managed to better than Toy Story 2! It had Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang become central characters. Andy is now going to college and the toys are prepared to head to the attic but end up at Sunnyside Daycare, a place of ruin and despair. It was certainly a very dark film and it was pretty bold to have the toys nearly be burned in an incinerator. In auditioning to be another great movie in Pixar's filmography, it had another great villain in the form of Lots-o-Huggin bear. I get it, you were replaced and when he said that toys are all trash waiting to be thrown away, I... agreed with him. Whenever I broke one of my toys, I had to throw it in the trash. There was really no point. And Buzz Lightyear in Spanish mode... hell yeah. It's also one of the best animated movies of the 2010s.

6. Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo is one of the best father/son movies of all time. The animators did a great job of recreating the Great Coral Reef and its sea creatures, it follows a clown fish who goes on a journey through the Australian sea to find his son and he meets Dory(the real star of the show), a blue tang with short memory and she helps him find him.  We all have one of those parents who worry too much and this was another great premise that was delivered so well. Andrew Stanton wanted to address his own memories of being the overprotective parent of his son Finding Nemo also had memorable characters, beautiful score and great humor. What makes it a great Pixar movie, is that it reminds parents to let their children live their own lives if they're going to make it in the world.

5. Ratatouille

The way that the animators recreated Paris, France is impressive! Named after the famous French dish, it's a very charming about a rat who dreams of being a chef despite living in a rat-phobic world. With the help of a lower-class working man named Linguini he puts his skills to the test to a food critic while also staying hidden. This is Brad Bird's second film after The Incredibles. It's both funny, charming and an important message, it's to never judge someone by their appearance and that everyone makes mistakes when pursuing a career. 

4. Coco

Coco is not only a great Pixar movie but a great movie, period. The first ever Animated movie to have a predominantly Mexican cast & crew, director Lee Unkrich of Toy Story 3 fame, perfectly captured what the Land of the Dead could look like and Mexican culture. When a young boy named Miguel discovers that his famous singer could be his great grandfather, he ends up in the land of the dead to get his blessing.  It's definitely one of Pixar's greatest movies. It had an unexpected twist that I didn't see coming, great songs and score, a beautiful story and wonderful animation. What makes it really stand out is that nothing is more important than Family. "Remember Me'' still gets me! This won't be the first time that Pixar has dealt with death.

3. Up

Damn, this movie still makes me cry. It's Heartbreaking open scene was what made Up memorable as it was a way for children to show loss and grief, but what earns its place on this list is the memorable duo of Carl Fredrickson and Russell and Dug was great! The story follows a widowed man whose balloons are tied to his house flies to South America to achieve the dream that he and his wife, Ellie shared many years ago. The animation is great to look at, Michael Giacchino's musical score is iconic, it had great comedic moments and like all other Pixar movies on this list, it had a great message, in life you have to let go of your attachments if you want to move on. 

2. Soul

Soul is by far PEAK Pixar. It took the premise of what your life is worth living for, which is rare in a kids movie, and turned it into something beautiful and is the first Pixar movie to have a predominantly African American cast. Jamie Foxx voices Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher who finally gets the gig of his life and unexpectedly dies. He ends up in the afterlife known as The Great Before, where meets a soul named 22 who's not really into Earth. It's got arguably the best message in any Pixar movie and it's one that we needed in 2020. Life is unpredictable, you just gotta accept it and enjoy the ride and appreciate every moment. The animators clearly took their time to craft something special and made everything in the movie like... well, life very amazing to look at. 

1. Inside Out

This one is my favorite Pixar movie! Soul dealt with life, death and what makes us human and Inside Out explores the complexity of the human mind. Ever wonder what goes on inside your head? Well, in the mind of Riley, there's Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, the four emotions who live in her head. When Riley moves to San Francisco, they try to guide her through this difficult time. However, when Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley's mind, the only emotions who can handle the fort are Anger, Disgust and Fear. This movie is for anyone dealing with mental health issues like depression, change and stress and the important message of being ok to express your other emotions including sadness. It's both funny and a very moving animated movie and it's Pixar's best work. I will never forget you, Bing Bong!

Thanks for reading and don'y forget to comment below what your favorite Pixar movie is!