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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2009 > May > 26 > Entry
How I rank the Pixar movies
It’s Pixar week here in Sir Critic land, commemorating the release of their 10th film, Up, this Friday. All the posts this week will be Pixar themed, and will include my Q&A with Up’s director and producer, Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera (uncut and commercial free), and of course, my review of the new film.
I’ll start today with that ever-popular comment generator, a list. I’m going to rank Pixar’s 10 movies. Granted, all their movies have been great to one degree or another. Yes, even Cars. But I love some more than I love others, and this list will reflect that.
The top three, especially are in flux, but here’s how I’d rank them today, at any rate.
1) Toy Story 2 - I’ve never quite bought the line that Godfather Part II is better than the original, or that The Empire Strikes Back is better than Star Wars. But there is absolutely no question in my mind that this Toy Story tops the original. The “When She Loved Me” scene always makes me cry, no matter how many times I see it.
2) WALL-E: It’s partly its mastery of pantomime comedy. It’s partly the amazing camerawork reminiscent of a dusty sci-fi movie from the 70s. But it’s mostly the fact that WALL-E reminds me of me: the lonely romantic.
3) Up: Yup, it’s that great. More later.
4) The Incredibles: The best superhero movie, animated or otherwise, except for MAYBE The Dark Knight. Don’t waste your comment arguing with me. You won’t convince me.
5) Monsters Inc.: I was never too afraid of the monster under my bed, but the premise of this movie is absolutely ingenious. And I MUST go on the Monsters Inc. roller-coaster based on the elevator room scene that will be built someday.
6) Ratatouille: Only Pixar could take an idea like a rat that wants to be a great French chef and make it work brilliantly. I would also point out that even though he’s the villain, the ciritc gets the best speech in the film.
7) Toy Story: Still tremendous fun. Even though the animation is obviously a bit primitive by today’s standards, the movie still feels fresh.
8) Finding Nemo - A lot of people would rate this as their favorite - it was the most financially successful. I adore it, but not as much as everyone else does, maybe because I don’t have kids yet. But I will say this is Pixar’s loveliest film visually.
9) a bug’s life: I don’t revisit this one that much, but whenever I do, I always have a great time with it, particularly the scenes with the “attack bird.”
10) Cars: It’s the only Pixar film so far not to make my 10 best list. It’s the only one I feel has unnecessary padding. And yet those who say this is a “bad” movie are choking on exhaust fumes. Making Larry the Cable Guy funny and lovable was a minor miracle.
Your ranking?
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Lists
Comments
By Hannah
May 31, 2009 5:16 PM | Link to this
Although every pixar movie is wonderful, my personal ranking would be: 1.Ratatouille 2.Wall-E 3.Monsters Inc 4.Finding Nemo 5.Cars 6.Toy Story 2 7.Toy Story 8.The Incredibles 9.A Bug’s Life— I haven’t seen Up yet but I can’t wait.By Jeff W.
May 27, 2009 11:55 PM | Link to this
Not a bad list. My personal Pixar top 5 would be: 1. Monsters, Inc.; 2. WALL*E; 3. Finding Nemo 4. The Incredibles (which, great though it is, is still bested by The Dark Knight and X2: X-Men United); 5. Toy Story 2. And, yes, Empire is definitely better than A New Hope. But The Godfather, Part II is just as good as, but not better than, The Godfather.By SRCputt
May 27, 2009 3:28 PM | Link to this
My rankings: 1. Wall-E 2. Toy Story 2 3. Monsters Inc 4. Ratatouille 5. Finding Nemo 6. The Incredibles 7. Toy Story 8. a bug’s life 9. Cars Seven great films and two good films. What a record!By SRCputt
May 27, 2009 3:25 PM | Link to this
Why do I believe Toy Story 2 better than Toy Story? Because the back story for Woody added a depth that was not there for the first movie. Because the story of Jessie got to the heart of how the toys fear of abandonment was all too real. This is not more of the same. It is taking the original and adding extra layers to make it a much richer experience than the original.By Barry
May 27, 2009 8:20 AM | Link to this
Empire was better than Star Wars, and Toy Story 2 was just more of what made the first one good, so basically all things being equal you have to put the original ahead of the sequel.By Sir Critic
May 27, 2009 1:23 AM | Link to this
Zack: I haven’t seen the 3D version yet so I can’t speak to it, but I heard it’s immersive rather than flashy - Pixar went for depth instead of throwing things at you. However, the 3D glasses would dim the often lush images some, so it’s a trade off.By Zack
May 26, 2009 10:45 PM | Link to this
Question: Should I see UP in 3-D or 2-D? I’m growing tired of 3-D, but it is Pixar. Here’s my ranking: 1. Toy Story 2; 2. Wall-E; 3. Ratatouille; 4. Toy Story; 5. The Incredibles; 6. A Bug’s Life; 7. Finding Nemo; 8. Monsters, Inc.; 9. CarsBy Chelsea R.
May 26, 2009 6:08 PM | Link to this
I definitely respect everyone’s opinions and of course you are all entitled to them. But my list is also a little different from the previous ones: 1. Finding Nemo I absolutely love this movie because of the comedic moments and the very colorful characters :) 2. Monsters Inc. 3. The Incredibles 4. Cars 5. A Bug’s Life 6. Wall-E 7. Toy Story 8. Toy story 2 I don’t know why, but I’ve never really been a huge fan of the Toy Story movies. And I haven’t seen Ratatouille or Up so I can’t rank them. But I really am excited to go see Up soon and Ratatouille ASAP! I seriously love all of the Pixar movies and I can’t wait to see what they come out with in the future =)By Allie D.
May 26, 2009 2:04 PM | Link to this
I like your rankings, though mind are slightly adjusted. First off, I’d put Bug’s Life right at the bottom. I didn’t care for it at all. 1. Wall-E, 2. Ratatouille, 3. Monster’s Inc, 4. The Incredibles, 5. Finding Nemo, 6. Toy Story 2, 7. Toy Story, 8. Cars, 9. Bug’s Life. I will fit Up somewhere in there once I see it. :)By ME
May 26, 2009 1:09 PM | Link to this
Excellent notion - I think we all can have fun ranking ourselves. First I will agree that the best lines for me in any of these films is in Ratatouille I love how the critic is honest and his words are so perfect. Second I haven’t seen UP of course so I can’t put it on my list yet, but I would rank top five as 1 - Ratatouille, 2 - Wall-E, 3 - Monsters Inc., 4 - Incredibles, 5 - Toy Story 2. I too think Toy Story 2 is a great sequel! Better than the first!! I rank Ratatouille at the top because of the story line and just how creative it is, but its tough as all Pixar films are creative and original. I love their concepts. I do love them all too so Sircritic you are not alone in your love for Pixar. Can’t wait for UP.