It's the reason I've accomplished frivolous feats such as watching all 89 movies to win BEST PICTURE at the Academy Awards. Or why I've watched all 100 movies on the American Film Institutes list of 100 Greatest Movies - both the original in 1998 and the updated version in 2007.
Earlier this year, after a discussion with some friends, I decided to watch all the Pixar movies. At the time of the discussion, I had only watched 12 of the 18 movies. But over the past 4 months, I got around to watching the other six. And then this past weekend, I took my 3-year-old son to watch his very first theatrical movie... Coco.
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(Sidebar - the act of taking him to the movie was terrible. Thank goodness for my wife!)
So that makes 19 Pixar movies in the book! Naturally, the only thing left to do is to rank them:
19 - Cars 2 (2011)
Abysmal. Atrocious. Awful. These are just a few of the words I can think of to describe this movie, and I haven't even gotten to the letter "B" yet. If I was grouping these movies into category, Cars 2 would be in a class by itself. This is the one movie I'm sure Pixar would like to take back.
18 - A Bug's Life (1998)
Full disclosure here. It's been well over 15 years since I last saw A Bug's Life. And I'm pretty sure I've only seen it once. With that said, I've never had a desire to watch it again, hence it's ranking.
17 - Toy Story 2 (1999)
Toy Story 2 was made too soon after the original. Heck, it was just the 3rd movie Pixar produced. And it's easily the weakest of the Toy Story trilogy.
16 - The Good Dinosaur (2015)
There are some cute moments in The Good Dinosaur, but overall I felt very little connection to the main characters. That's very rare in Pixar movies, and hence it's place on this list.
15 - Finding Dory (2016)
The whole short-term memory loss thing got really old for me in a hurry. Considering that's essentially all Finding Dory is about, I'm forced to put it in the bottom five.
14 - Cars 3 (2017)
If you are sensing a theme, it's because there is one. The Pixar sequels rank much lower than their predecessors. (However, there is one major exception later in the rankings.) I'll say this about Cars 3 though: it was a MAJOR improvement over Cars 2. I'm glad to see Lightning McQueen go out with some dignity.
13 - Inside Out (2015)
I loved the concept of Inside Out, and I had some serious LAUGH OUT LOUD moments while watching. But I think the plot could have been handled much better. I see this movie as a missed opportunity.
12 - Monsters University (2013)
Kudos to Pixar for trying to go the prequel route -- the only time they've ever done so. But there's a reason this doesn't happen more often. It's simply not as compelling telling someone's past when you already know their future.
11 - WALL-E (2008)
When I first watched WALL-E, I loved it. It's a cute robot. What's not to love? Then I watched it again, and realized the rewatchability of the movie is pretty low. How many times can you tell the story of machines taking over?
10 - Brave (2012)
What I like: a princess is fighting her own battles and kicking butt while doing it.
What I didn't like: there is a LOT of little kid humor that makes me roll my eyes.
9 - Cars (2006)
So I guess it's pretty obvious I'm not the biggest Cars fan, but the first one was good. Just not good enough to crack the Top 8.Th
8 - Up (2009)
Up was just the 2nd animated movie to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It was universally praised and critically acclaimed. It also had the saddest introduction I've ever seen an animated film have. This was a solid movie. I have not watched it since it initially came out. When I watch it again, I could easily move it up a couple slots.
7 - Toy Story (1995)
The original Toy Story gets an artificial bump in any ranking you see because it was the first ever movie to be made with computer animation. It was groundbreaking and changed the film industry forever. We are at the point in my rankings where all these movies are great. So I have nothing negative to say. It's simply a matter of taste.
6 - Finding Nemo (2003)
Adorable and heartwarming. It's the movie that made clownfish a known commodity throughout the world. Finding Nemo is the quintessential movie for both kids and adults.
5 - Monsters, Inc. (2001)
The fourth Pixar movie to come out, Monsters Inc. was the first of the films that intentionally catered to adults. Pixar films will always be made with kids and families in mind. But what separates Pixar movies is their ability to find characters such as Sully & Mike for whom adults can relate to.
4 - Coco (2017)
This is not a case of recency bias. This is just a dang good movie. If you're reading this, make plans to see Coco next weekend. You will not regret it. Because this movie is so new, I will refrain from additional comments.
3 - Ratatouille (2007)
As someone who loves spending time in the kitchen, I'm a natural-born sucker for Ratatouille. It's the perfect recipe made with a cup of humor, 2 tablespoons of excellent writing, and a dash of romance. "Not everyone can become a great artist. But a great artist can come from anywhere."
2 - Toy Story 3 (2010)
Confession time: This was the first animated film I ever watched in a theater. And I cried like a baby. This is the "lone exception" I referred to earlier in the rankings. I've never found a more relatable animated movie than Toy Story 3. The concept of outgrowing the things you once couldn't live without really struck a nerve with me. Well done, Pixar. Well done.
1 - The Incredibles (2004)
And that leaves us with my favorite animated movie of all-time. Perhaps one of my 10 or 15 favorite movies of ANY kind... and that's The Incredibles. Such a fun and entertaining movie that can be watched several times without getting old. Who can't relate to Mr. Incredible's situation at the beginning of the movie? And then getting a chance to relive the glory days with your family at your side. Pardon the pun, but it's an "incredible" movie.
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