Pixar Top 10

Let me start off by saying that this is a somewhat unnecessary exercise. I am in love with all the films that Pixar has produced, and ranking them is like choosing your favorite child. You still know your favorite… you just don’t ever say it out loud. After a recent purchase of a CD collection of music from the Pixar movies, I’ve spent a lot of time assessing the profound wonder of each of them. How can one fathom the sustained level of quality that this “little production company that could” continues to achieve. It is the equivalent of pitching a perfect game in ten innings. So after a little soul searching, I’ve gone ahead and made some tough decisions.

10. A Bug’s Life

I already feel bad for having to rank this happy little film last. Pixar’s sophomore effort had the unenviable task of following the breakthrough success of Toy Story. It also suffered from the unfortunate timing of a similar insect themed movie “Antz” from upstart rival Dreamworks. With all the challenges it faced, it is still a crisp and colorful lark. If Toy Story laid the foundation for all to follow, it was A Bug’s Life that solidified the structure.

9. Ratatouille

Can you just imagine the pitch for this movie? Would any studio in their right mind even consider the concept? The main character is a rat… who lives in France… and oh - he loves to cook. This is the best example of Pixar showing no fear, and that a quality story is the best marketable value. This film also reinforces the fact that Pixar movies are for everyone to enjoy at any age, and not to just pander to children.

8. Cars

A love letter to a slice of Americana – celebrating our fascination with automobiles, the love of the open road, and the pockets of community that make up the pit stops along the way. Not the most groundbreaking story to come out of the Pixar canon, but it chock full of the heart and themes of friendship and responsibility that is the hallmark of this studio.

7. Monsters Inc.

This is a film of textures, many that we hadn’t seen before in a computer animated film. The big blue monster Sully was a breakthrough at the time with his thick coat of flowing fur. This was also the first completely made up setting for Pixar, with everything from the citizens to the architecture of the monster world cleverly envisioned. There is almost too much to take in some cases. Quite a task for sure, but yet infused with a great deal of fun. Everything from the character banter, to the soundtrack, to the whimsical opening credits keeps you grinning the whole way through.

6. The Incredibles

To date this is Pixar’s only foray into the action movie realm. Let’s be quite plain about this – there is nothing in this film that we haven’t seen before. We’ve seen this type of family dysfunction, the James Bond villain type island fortress, and even the super powers the characters have are lifted from existing comic heroes. What made this film fresh was the combination of these elements and then making them work better. We can relate to each character through their super powers: the Mom who is stretched too thin, the teen daughter who’d rather disappear in her insecurity, the rambunctious youthful energy of the son. Balance this with a great deal of kick-butt action, and you have one heck of a roller coaster ride.

5. Finding Nemo

This feature film is as vast and deep as the ocean itself. More than the rest, this film feels truly alive, with the waves and currents keeping every screen element in motion. This is the best of Pixar’s environments, and it is a wonderful place to visit.

4. Wall-E

Somewhere in the middle of this environmental statement a delightful little love story happened. Not exactly love in the romantic sense, but love of all the things we take for granted. A man-made object not programmed to do anything but stack garbage finds a way to fall in love with everything around him. We can be so pampered and attended to with all the innovations and corporate distractions that rule our existence. We don’t spend enough time embracing the love of clean air, warm sunshine, the comfort of physical contact, and what it is like to just be smitten with someone.

2 & 3 (tie) Toy Story 1 & 2

The argument on which of these movies is superior to other is like trying to justify if the Empire Strikes Back is better than Star Wars: A New Hope. Toy Story 2 is clearly more polished at every level, but it hard to overcome the magic of the very first computer animated film. Friendship is a strong theme in all the Pixar films, but it is on no better display in this tale of play things left unattended. The matching of familiar voices to iconic toys was inspired, and these have become some of the most beloved characters on film. A movie about talking toys could have easily been… plastic. The triumph of these films is perspective: from a toy’s eye view of the world around us, and from how our movie viewing experience has changed forever.

1. Up

This is a beautiful film. The first ten minutes alone takes you on an emotional journey through the life of a sweet married couple. No words – just shared moments of joy and pain that will make your heart ache. It is hard to call this a high concept film, since it is actually so wonderfully simple. This film is a portrait of expression. You can add all the whiz-bang 3D effects that you want, but the true technological marvel is in the fluid emotions on display. The emotions subtly crafted on both mature and young faces – even the blank expression of Dug the guard dog is a stroke of artistic genius. This film is only the second movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Some might note that its inclusion was due to the list of nominees being expanded to ten films, though I would argue it would have still been nominated with only five.