In 1979 a company began as part of Lucasfilm’s computer division and later would become a part of its own corporation thanks to the funding from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and in 1986, Pixar would begin it’s long journey and become one of the most successful animation corporations/productions of all time. The company began its success with shorts and in the process their popularity would continue to increase. Some popular shorts from the company include Luxo Jr., Tin Toy, Knick Knack, and The Adventures of Andre and Wally B. However Pixar would grow and change as the company would still work on shorts; they would also create feature films. For this list we will be ranking the 10 best Pixar films of all time as Pixar has 23 featured films as of January 2021 and only 10 can be chosen. Disney and Pixar have created some of the best Pixar films since 1995 and for 25 years they have created some big emotional/Academy Award winning/incredibly animated films. Now I would love to make this list opinionated, just like last week’s list of Non-Disney/Pixar films I will be straight forward with it. Week 2 of Animation Month is among us. Comment below your favorite Pixar film of all time and let’s start up that Pizza Planet truck, grab Luxo Jr. and the Luxo ball, check the credits to see who John Ratzenberger voiced and look carefully for A113 and countdown the Top 10 Pixar Films of All Time.
Top 10 Pixar Films of All Time
10. Monster’s Inc (2001) – Usually the saying is always check your closet for monster’s before you go to bed and Pixar took this idea and made a film about a workplace where Monsters scare little kids. Monster’s Inc. is actually about two monsters, James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski, who are employed at an energy producing factory called “Monster’s Inc.”. The film however goes from being a workplace that creates energy from scaring children to Mike and Sulley needing to return a child who escaped her room and goes into the factory. Now everyone knows about this film, especially if you were a late 90’s kid and early 2000’s baby as this movie was one of your first films that introduced you to Pixar’s animation. The film had many big names in Pixar under it including a screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Dan Gleason, Produced by John Lasseter and directed by Pete Docter. This was Pete Docter’s directorial debut and he knocked it out of the park. Monster’s Inc. relies on comedic scenes but also very heartfelt moments and of course the film has very loveable characters from Mike and Sulley to the adorable Boo. And oh the music in this film is pretty enjoyable, considering it was done by another Pixar legend Randy Newman. Now the film as a whole is great, but the animation in this film is extremely incredible. Back in 2001 the animation in this film was very new and looked very different than the previous Pixar films as the animators for this film found a new way to simulate fur and cloth realistically for the film. While the animation now isn’t as great as it is today, I still believe it holds up well. Monster’s Inc was a smash hit when it first came out as the film was critically praised and it was a huge box office success, brining in over $577 million. More importantly it became the first Disney/Pixar film to be under nomination in the Academy Award’s newest category, Best Animated Feature. While it came short to Shrek for the award, it did win Best Original Song. We can all say that Monster’s Inc. is truly one of Pixar’s greatest films ever and belongs on this list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPaTaEN2wxY
9. Inside Out (2015) - Pixar is known to have emotional messages and scenes in their motion pictures. So why not make a film that center’s on emotions and have a very powerful emotional story and message to back up the film centered on five emotions. Inside Out is one of Pixar’s more mature stories as the film is about five emotions (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger) that live inside a young girl’s mind and try to lead her through her life as she has recently moved to San Francisco and is adjusting to the move. The film has an amazing voice cast from Amy Poehler as Joy to Lewis Black as Anger, each voice actor perfectly represents the character they are playing. I especially love The Office’s Phyllis Smith as Sadness as her voice works perfectly for the role and the way she builds out her dialogue is really perfect. There are a lot of fun characters in this film, but then there is Bing Bong, voiced by Richard Kind. Bing Bong is an imaginary friend that Riley created as a young child but has forgotten about and he now lives on his own in her mind sub consciously. His character plays a key part in the narratives story and his *SPOILER ALERT* death scene is very heartbreaking and will leave you with some tears. Inside Out has its funny moments but it then gets serious real quick and will leave you with emotions. I mean that makes sense since the film is about emotions in a person’s body. The film has very great animation, but I truly love the fact that multiple psychologists were consulted when Docter was writing this movie. Human emotions affect the way a person reacts to stuff and this films shows what happens when your emotions control how you think, feel and pretty much act in the modern world and I like that Docter got multiple perspectives from actual psychologists to write this movie. As I said before the animation is great, the characters are great, the story is phenomenal, but most of all the film as a whole is one of the best for Pixar. The film was critically praised for its subject matter, story and concept and the film did massively great in the box office, bringing in $858 million. It also won many awards including Best Animated Feature in the Academy Awards. Inside Out might not be the most perfect film out of the bunch but it truly is one of the most emotional and mature films from Pixar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPQRHemfk9E
8. Coco (2017) – I love this movie so much and I doubted that it was going to be a good film when I first saw the trailer. I was wrong and this movie helped me cope with my Grandmother’s death as it came out 7 months after she passed away. Coco is about a 12 year old boy name Miguel who gets himself transported into the Land of the Dead during Dia de los Muertos where he looks for his great-great-Grandfather so he can give him his blessing to reverse his family’s ban on music. This is one of my favorite animated films of all time and I would rank it higher but because it’s one of the more recent Pixar films I feel like ranking it in this spot is perfect. Coco has some beautiful animation and visuals and the music/soundtrack in this film is emotionally wonderful. The soundtrack of this film is small but has very beautiful songs/music including the Academy Award Winning Best Original Song Remember Me. That’s not the only Academy Award Coco won as it also won Best Animated Feature. The film was critically praised for the voice acting, animation, music, visuals, the emotional storytelling and the pure respect for Mexican culture. The film was also a huge box office hit, bringing Disney and Pixar over $807 million. The film Coco means a lot to me as I said before the film helped me cope with my Grandmother’s death and more importantly the finale of this film really put me into an emotional state and I cried my eyes out. The ending continuously makes me cry for each viewing. This film has one of Pixar’s greatest stories and in due time it will be ranked higher the longer it ages. Coco is undoubtedly one of the best Pixar films of the last ten years and of all time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_khmOMfuH0
7. The Incredibles (2004) – Brad Bird came into Pixar after directing only one film. That film was The Iron Giant and while the film was a box office flop, it still to this day considered one of the best animated films of all time. Let’s just say he finally got his name out there when he directed this Pixar gem as The Incredibles became his most financially best film to date that he has directed. And I’m talking about the entire Incredibles franchise as both The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 has brought Pixar and Brad Bird a whopping 1.9 plus billion dollars from the box office alone. The Incredibles first film however is about a superhero family who hides their powers and lives a quiet life in a suburban neighborhood. The film is jammed pack with amazing action scenes, a stellar voice cast, one of the best cinematography for an animated film and without a question the greatest Pixar villain of all time. Yes I said it; Syndrome is the greatest villain of all time in Pixar. This film was popular with Pixar, Disney and animated fans as the film became a pop culture phenomenon. Pixar and Brad Bird had a huge hit on their hands and became the one film under the Pixar company that fans wanted a sequel for and each year when a new Pixar film was announced fans would continue to voice their opinion on why there should be a sequel and then in 2016 it was announced that The Incredibles would get a 2nd film and it later came out in 2018. As for the 1st Incredibles, the film won 2 Academy Awards and was the first entirely animated film to win the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. The film is beloved by fans as the love for the characters, the story and action sequences made this film so popular and loved and the love for this film continues to this day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouHQI7lH8aI
6. Toy Story (1995) – Had Toy Story not have been successful then Pixar wouldn’t be where it is today. And I know what you are thinking, Steve are you crazy?!? Toy Story at number 6!!!! Yes the first film under Pixar might be one of the greatest films ever, but sadly there have been so many great films under the company that I have to make a judgment call here. Considering this film came out the same year I was born it hurts putting it this low but like I said I need to be straight forward with this list. Toy Story was directed by John Lasseter and was written by Andrew Stanton, Joss Whedon, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, a lot of big names under the Pixar company put this film together and made it special as Toy Story is without a doubt the most popular film under Pixar. Now there have been people that have never seen Toy Story and to that I say this: WHAT IS A MATTER WITH YOU PEOPLE, NO YOU UNCULTURED SWINE!!!! Sorry I got a bit carried away but I mean seriously how can someone not enjoy and fall in love or even watch this amazing movie. So for the uncultured swine, Toy Story is about the relationship between a cowboy doll and an astronaut action figure and how they become friends during a crisis when both toys are separated from their owner Andy. Toy Story was a huge hit for Pixar as critics loved the film, it gained over $400 million in the box office and on Rotten Tomatoes it has a perfect 100% rating, talk about a great first film for Pixar. This film was also the first computer animated film of all time and while the animation is defiantly not that great when comparing it to today’s animation, it still holds up well. Again this was the first computer animated film so the animation 25 years ago wasn’t going to look great and amazing like it is today but for what it’s worth back then in 1995 it was some groundbreaking stuff. The film was one of the few films that I had on all the time. Ask my parents I probably watched Toy Story over 100,000 times by age 5. I love this film and I know many people love this film and there is a reason why Toy Story is pretty much the most popular film in Pixar’s history as it changed the game not only for animation but it showed how successful Pixar is and from there Pixar became this juggernaut animation studio. All of that because of a film about Toys that come to life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htXEquI4QU0
5. Ratatouille (2007) - Brad Bird has returned again as while The Incredibles might be his best film financially, Ratatouille is his best film in his directorial career. The film is about a rat named Remy who dreams of being a chef and tries to achieve his goal by forming an alliance with a garbage boy who works at the most famous restaurant in France, Gusteau’s. This film has one of the best screenplays in Pixar’s history as the story for this film is heavily praised by critics. The writing, animation, directing and even the voice cast is praised by critics and I have to say this film has a very underappreciated cast. Patton Oswalt is a perfect casting as Remy as his voice flows beautifully with the writing for Remy’s dialogue and Brad Garret as Auguste Gusteau is pure perfection. Also the musical score by Michael Giacchino is extremely amazing and one of the best scores in any Pixar film. The film about a chef rat won many hearts as the film was a huge success in the box office as the film gained over $620 million and went on to become one of the best motion pictures of the 21st century. Ratatouille went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature back in 2008 and at the time held the most nominations for a computer animated film. Just to get an idea of how amazing this film is, it had a total of 58 nominations in many different award ceremonies and went on to win 38 of the 58 nominations. Talk about one of the greatest animated films of all time. Who would of guessed that a film about a rat following it’s dream of becoming a chef would go on to make history and become one of the best animated films of the last 20 years and possibly of all time. And of course the one studio to make this possible was Pixar. This film is beyond amazing as to some it is the best Pixar film to date and I can’t argue with those people that say that as it is one of the best Pixar films since the studio started to create full length feature films. Yeah its number 5 on this list but it’s still being recognized as one of the best and that’s a huge honor if you ask me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM1KCThsSj4
4. Up (2009) – If there was one Pixar film that made you feel the emotions really early on into the film then Up will be that film. The first 10 minutes of this film leave you with tears and broken hearts as the married life scene of Carl and Ellie is undoubtedly the most beautiful scene of the entire film. That’s not saying that this film as a whole isn’t beautiful as Up is one emotional rollercoaster film that will leave you with a few tears and a smile in the end. Pete Docter really knocked it out of the park with this film as he created such amazing characters in this film that we all love including Carl Fredrickson, Russel and the greatest dog in the world Dug. Up was carried by the amazing voice acting talent of Ed Asner, the beautiful musical scores by Michael Giacchino and the phenomenal storytelling from Pete Docter. The film was a box office success and had universal critical acclaim. I saw this film in theaters when it first came out and it was an experience I will not forget. Nor will I forget the history this film made. In 2010, the film was nominated and won Best Animated Feature, but it also became the 2nd animated film and 1st computer animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. While it didn’t win the award, to be up for the award with films like The Blind Side, Avatar, Inglorious Bastards and the eventual winner The Hurt Locker is a huge honor and shows how powerful of a film it is and how big the film was in 2009. Up has gone down to be one of Pixar’s greatest films to date and while one scene is the most mentioned thing about the film, I am here to say that the great character building and chemistry of Russel and Carl Fredrickson is phenomenal, the animation is outstanding, the music is beautiful and the whole film is pure perfection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIZrzHZduCk
3. Toy Story 3 (2010) – Before Toy Story 4 became the finale of the Toy Story franchise, Toy Story 3 was that film that was said to be the finale of Pixar’s most popular film of all time. Back in 2010 there was no animated film, no movie that would surpass the iconic moments this film had. I remember seeing this film the day it came out. Of course I was in my home watching it illegally online but seeing it alone in my home is an emotional memory I will never forget. Toy Story 3 is about Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang being accidentally donated to a day care center. Andy, the toys owner, is at this point 17 years old and is going off to college and the gang tries to return home before he goes off to college. There is a lot that I want to say about this film as this was one of my favorite films of the 2010’s. I love this movie so much as I was literally a baby when Toy Story came out and I grew up with the film/franchise my whole life. When Toy Story 3 came out and was said to be the “final” Toy Story film I was emotional to say the least. And this film will leave you emotional as from beginning to end the film is perfection, no question about it. The ending of this film literally makes me cry each time and on my first viewing I cried for 10 plus minutes in my home. Everything in this film is beautiful, the animation, the story, Randy Newman’s musical scores, the cast, the directing, the dialogue, everything I haven’t said or mentioned that is in this movie is perfection and beautiful. At the time of its release it was the highest grossing animated film of all time, grossing $1.067 billion. The film was loved by critics and when awards season came you knew that this film was heavily going to be nominated. While it didn’t win every award it was nominated for, it did however win some pretty big ones including a Grammy Award for Randy Newman’s musical score, a Satellite Award, a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. Now while it didn’t win this award, it became the 3rd animated film and 2nd computer animated film to be nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards. Now again just like Up it was in an award category with huge contenders including eventual winner The King’s Speech, True Grit, 127 Hours, Black Swan, Inception and The Social Network, so just imagine if it won. If it had won it would had beaten some of the biggest films of the last 10 years. Toy Story 3 for me is my favorite Pixar film of all time but I have to be straight forward for this list as Toy Story 3 is one of the greatest films in Pixar’s history and possibly of all time, but for this list it is the 3rd best film for Pixar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7uNGUJa7ak
2. Wall-E (2008) – I made a review for this film so I highly recommend checking it out after reading this list to get my full opinion on this film. Now while each film that we talked about on this list are very great, beautiful and perfect films, this film is a masterpiece and is in my opinion an underrated classic for Pixar. Now while the film is highly praised and rated so high by critics, I feel like the film as a whole doesn’t get enough love and recognition like most of the films on this list. In fact this is one of Pixar’s, if not their best purely animated film to date. The film has 30 % dialogue so the 70% that isn’t dialogue in this film tells the film’s narrative and does it beautifully. Andrew Stanton and the rest of the animators/storytellers for this film put a lot of love into making this film as they told a beautiful story of a robot named Wall-E and how he is the final living thing on the planet Earth. Wall-E is such an amazing movie as its animation is beautiful, its story is so amazing and the musical scores/songs used in this film is outstanding. Wall-E brings out such an amazing story that kids, teens and adults can love and be engaged with. The film has a lot of heart in it and its debatable that it is the best film of 2008 as many critics called it the best film of that year, but without a question it defiantly deserved winning Best Animated Feature in the Academy Awards back in 2009. While there is no message for this film, as that is what Andrew Stanton has said in multiple interviews, the film’s story is centered on climate change and how consumerism is killing Earth’s eco system. That’s what I get out of this film but while these themes center on Wall-E, the film is a love story between two robots and that’s probably the best part of the entire film, my opinion of course. But it’s how Stanton put together this film as a whole that makes this love story beautiful and amazing. In the end it can be argued that Wall-E is one of if not the best animated film to come from Pixar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPW3mvAN0Rc
1. Toy Story 2 (1999) – Had the Best Animated Feature been an award for the Academy Awards back in 2000, then the obvious winner for that award would had been Toy Story 2. Toy Story 2 had to outdo what Toy Story officially began. Toy Story 2 had to be a better film towards its predecessor and needed to be the sequel that people would talk about. And it did that and even more. Toy Story 2 is considered a perfect sequel, but more than that it’s considered a perfect film as the film has a perfect 100 % on Rotten Tomatoes and critics believe that this film/sequel is beyond superior to the original film. More importantly many people, critics or even fans consider Toy Story 2 the best Pixar film ever and the greatest animated feature film ever. Toy Story 2 has an amazing story, amazing animation and visuals, an all-star cast that includes some very loveable new characters, an extremely amazing score from the God of Pixar scores Randy Newman and without a doubt one of the best screenplays in film history. Now when it comes to my opinion, I truly love 3 and the original one more as they left me with some emotional moments, but Toy Story 2 if I can say is arguably the best film of the 4 films in the Toy Story franchise and I am okay to believe that. While the Academy didn’t give Toy Story 2 any awards, with exception of being nominated for Best Original Song, the movie did however win a Golden Globe for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, so hey that’s a pretty big deal if you ask me. Now while awards are something amazing to have under your film and make them prestigious in a way, Toy Story 2 is pretty prestigious without a huge amount of awards under its name and that’s a huge reason why it tops this list. It has a perfect 100% on RT, something that only one other film on this list alone has, aka Toy Story. There is no question that this film is the best Pixar film. I mean look down the line, it’s a sequel that isn’t trying to be better than the original but being just as great but still outdoing the original by being perfect in its own way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tMoJgFNz2U
Honorable Mentions:
Finding Nemo Toy Story 4 Soul Cars A Bug’s Life
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