Beginning life as part of Lucasfilm, Pixar soon branched off to become its own company, and today it is considered one of the greatest animation companies in the world. They pioneered new and innovative technologies that pushed the boundaries of computer animation. In 1995, they made history by releasing Toy Story, the first fully CGI movie, which started the domino chain that resulted in 2D animation being replaced by 3D in the West.
Pixar movies are beloved for their ability to tap into human emotion and experiences to deliver deep stories favored by audiences of all ages. Though their more recent movies have been hit-and-miss, there are some films that everyone can agree are masterpieces. This list will rank the best Pixar movies based on their legacies, achievements, and contributions to modern cinema. One mere look at this collection of movies, and it’s clear why the studio is one of Hollywood’s titans.
10
‘Monsters, Inc.’ (2001)
James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) and his best friend, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), are a duo of monsters from a parallel world that utilize door technology to enter children’s bedrooms and harvest their screams for energy. Unfortunately, with the rise of technology, human kids are getting harder to scare, and their boss, Henry J. Waternoose III (James Coburn), fears that the company will go under due to low energy production. Things get worse when a human child that Sully nicknames Boo (Mary Gibbs) enters the monster world, as humans are believed to be toxic, and her arrival is linked to a dark conspiracy involving the duo’s rival, Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi).
Monsters, Inc. was Pixar’s first film of the 2000s and utilized groundbreaking new technologies to give better detail to fur and clothing, making the characters feel even more realistic. The monster world is also one of Pixar’s most creative, full of unique little quality of life details such as cup-shaped chairs for more spherical monsters to sit in, and a wide array of designs that ensure no two monsters look quite the same. As for its story, it’s hard not to fall in love with the characters thanks to how lovable they are, and it tells a solid story about corporate corruption, overcoming fear, and the dangers of preconceptions.
9
‘Finding Nemo’ (2003)
After losing his wife and all but one of their children to a barracuda attack, Marlin (Albert Brooks) the clownfish devotes himself to protecting his final child, Nemo (Alexander Gould). However, his helicopter parenting style causes Nemo to swim towards a boat in defiance, resulting in his capture by a human diver who intends to give him to his niece, Darla (LuLu Ebeling), as a birthday present. Teaming up with a forgetful regal blue tang named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), Marlin sets off on an odyssey full of sharks, jellyfish, and whales to find his son.
Finding Nemo cemented Pixar’s ability to create living, breathing 3D environments through its masterful re-creation of the ocean and all of its many environments. The water effects still hold up amazingly, and the various locations capture the size and majesty of the ocean, highlighting the beauty and mystery in equal measure. The movie is also full of iconic and memorable characters, from Marlin and Dory’s opposing personalities leading to numerous great jokes and moral lessons, to a gang of domesticated fish with quirky personalities who strive to help Nemo survive.
8
‘Ratatouille’ (2007)
Remy (Patton Oswalt) is a young rat with a passion for cooking, which frustrates his father, Django (Brian Dennehy), who encourages Remy to eat to survive and warns him against getting too familiar with humans. When the colony is forced to abandon their nest, Remy is separated from them and winds up in Paris, where he makes his way to the former restaurant of his idol, Chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett). After he is caught fixing a soup by the restaurant’s new garbage boy, Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano), the two form an unlikely partnership to become a culinary duo, while dodging the suspicion of the restaurant’s new owner, Chef Skinner (Sir Ian Holm).
Ratatouille‘s story is comparatively more grounded than most from Pixar, which works to its advantage by allowing plenty of focus to go towards the characters. Remy is a great protagonist thanks to his relatable desire to pursue his dream, no matter how far-fetched it seems, and the film gets clever by having Remy’s mind manifest a ghost of Gusteau to encourage him when he is down. Animation-wise, the depiction of Paris and the various meals makes you long for the real thing, and its writing contains some of Pixar’s best quotes, especially one delivered in the climax by Peter O’Toole.
7
‘Inside Out’ (2015)
Within the mind of Riley Andersen (Kaitlyn Dias), the personification of Joy (Amy Poehler) leads four other emotions — Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) — in helping Riley to navigate life, though she keeps Sadness at arm’s length. After her family moved from Minnesota to San Francisco, Riley broke down in front of her new class, creating a sad Core Memory. When Joy tries to jettison it, she, Sadness, and the rest of Riley’s core memories are shot out of the control room, and they need to make it back quickly before Riley spirals too deep into depression.
Inside Out is one of Pixar’s most emotional movies: through personifying emotions and abstract concepts like thought, the film is able to deliver a very poignant and mature tale about the difficulties growing up and how we often have to leave a part of ourselves behind. It doesn’t present this message in a negative way, though, instead highlighting how it leads to new experiences that work together to build our sense of self. It also emphasizes the importance of sadness and the dangers of letting it, or any emotion, become neglected.
6
‘The Incredibles’ (2004)
After superheroes are outlawed, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) get married and settle down as Robert and Helen Parr to raise three children: Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell (Spencer Fox), and Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile and Maeve Andrews). However, Bob feels unfulfilled in life and wishes to recapture his glory days. One night, he is contacted by a woman named Mirage (Elizabeth Peña), who recruits him to stop a rampaging robot that is linked to a dark conspiracy against superheroes.
The Incredibles is consistently ranked among the best superhero movies thanks to how much it spoofs and praises classic tropes and explores the idea of a superhero family. In between the badass fight scenes and the heroes rolling their eyes as the bad guys’ monologues are heartfelt conversations that feel like they’d come from a real family, which adds to the comedy during the action sequences. It’s also full of very powerful themes, such as teamwork, the dangers of living in the past, when to conform to society’s expectations and when to be an individual.
5
‘WALL-E’ (2008)
WALL-E (Ben Burtt) is the last functioning robot tasked with cleaning up a heavily polluted Earth, and has been at his task for so long that he has developed a personality. One day, he meets a probe named EVE (Elissa Knigh) and shows her a plant he discovered. This leads to both Eve and WALL-E being brought to the spaceship Axiom, where the plant can be used to bring humanity home.
WALL-E is the perfect movie to showcase the strength of Pixar’s character animation. The robot characters have very limited dialogue and faces with minimalistic features, so the fact that you can always tell what emotion they are feeling due to subtle positioning is miraculous. As for the story, it presents a very strong environmental message, one that emphasizes the dangers of relying too much on technology, which is all too relevant in today’s world of rampant AI use.
4
‘Toy Story’ (1995)
For his birthday, Andy Davis (John Morris) is gifted a Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) action figure, who quickly becomes his favorite toy. This earns him the jealousy of Woody (Tom Hanks), Andy’s beloved cowboy doll and the leader of his other toys. This rivalry eventually leads to Woody and Buzz getting lost together, and they must put aside their differences to make it back to Andy before he moves to a new home.
Toy Story is one of the most important animated films in history thanks to how it completely revolutionized the genre, and while its effects are a bit dated by today’s standards, the story and characters are as timeless as ever. The rivals-to-best-friends dynamic between Woody and Buzz is brilliant, thanks to both Hanks’ and Allen’s voice work, but also to how universal their arcs are. For Woody, it’s that you have to accept the inevitability of change, even if it means giving up the spotlight, while Buzz has to wrestle with his identity and self-worth when he learns he is not the space ranger he thought he was.
3
‘Toy Story 2’ (1999)
Right before heading to Cowboy camp, Andy accidentally rips Woody’s arm, and he gets left behind while grappling with the reality that Andy will one day outgrow him. During a yard sale, Woody is stolen by greedy toy collector Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight), and Buzz Lightyear mounts a rescue mission to get him back. At Al’s home, Woody meets Jessie (Joan Cusack), Bullseye (Frank Welker), and Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer), who inform him that he is a collector’s item from the same TV show as them, “Woody’s Roundup,” and that Al plans to sell them to a museum in Tokyo.
Toy Story 2 amazed audiences, surpassing the high bar set by its predecessor by bringing even more laughs and tears with its profound story. The central theme this time around is the inevitable end of relationships, and whether it is better to enjoy life in the moment, knowing that things will end, or close oneself off from relationships to never be hurt by the loss. Between these heavy themes are plenty of great jokes, especially those involving a second Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), who also believes he is the real thing.
2
‘Up’ (2009)
After accidentally injuring a construction worker, Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) decides to fulfill the dream of his late wife, Ellie (Elie Docter), by tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying to Paradise Falls in South America. It proves to be trickier than he thought, however, when a boy scout named Russell (Jordan Nagai) is accidentally brought along, and the two of them encounter a talking dog named Dug (Bob Peterson) and a rare bird that Russel names Kevin (Peter Docter). Dug’s owner turns out to be Carl’s childhood hero, Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who has gone mad trying to capture Kevin and won’t let anyone stand in his way.
Up has the honor of being the first CGI animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the second animated film to receive the nomination after Beauty and the Beast. The reason why can be found within the first 10 minutes alone, as Carl and Ellie’s life plays before our eyes with no dialogue, relying instead on beautiful music and choice imagery to show all the beauty, loss, hardships, and joy they experienced together. The rest of the movie is just as beautiful: Carl and Russell develop a good relationship that helps remind him of the joys of life, Dug is hilarious, and Muntz serves as the perfect villainous mirror to Carl, emphasizing the theme of remaining stuck in the past and the importance of processing grief.
1
‘Toy Story 3’ (2010)
As Andy prepares to go to college, his mother accidentally puts the bag full of toys bound for the attic out with the trash, causing the toys to think that Andy was throwing them away. They follow the Barbie (Jodi Benson) that belonged to Andy’s sister in a donation box to Sunnyside Daycare, despite Woody’s attempts to tell them it was a mix-up. Unfortunately, Sunnyside turns out to be a police state run by the tyrannical Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty), who forces the toys into the Caterpillar Room where they are played with by children too young to handle them safely.
Toy Story 3 is the culmination of the franchise’s emotional journey, and to date, the third and final animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture. It ends with a tragic but poignant message about how it is OK to let go, because the end of one chapter is the beginning of another. The rest of the movie is a strong emotional rollercoaster, with plenty of moments of intense hardship, such as Lots-O’s backstory and the gang’s trip to the trash incinerator, but also some genuinely hilarious moments, most involving Ken (Michael Keaton), Barbie’s male counterpart.