One of the things that I remember from my childhood is watching the Toy Story clam shell VHS tape constantly growing up, to the point where we worried that it was going to break the ribbon out of the shell. Pixar, like many of the traditional Disney animation projects, were such a big part of me getting older. With most things it is hard to keep up with all the new releases that come out, and with Pixar growing after being purchased by Disney their output kept increasing.
After many conversations with friends, I came to the realization that I have only seen 6 or 7 Pixar animated movies and half of those being Toy Story sequels. Instead of just watching the ones that I have not seen, I decided to take this opportunity to rewatch all of Pixar’s animated catalog in release order and rank them in order from best to worst. What I remember being Pixar’s claim to fame was world class, boundary pushing animation with story lines that could cross demographics and age groups. These movies were something you could take your child to and enjoy yourself. I am looking forward to seeing how the animation style grows, how their storytelling as a studio improves, and if these movies are still able to be entertaining to all.
I am going to break up the ranking articles into 5 movie sections, with this first set of movies being ones that I have already seen. The next set of movies after this one will start to feature movies that I will be viewing for the first time. Alright with the introduction out of the way, let's start talking about some Pixar movies!
Toy Story
For some reason I had completely forgotten that Toy Story was the first Pixar original movie, and for it to be first one the animation is extremely strong. The movie originally came out in 1995 with a budget of $30 million and ended up making a box office of $363 million by the end of its theatrical release.
Sitting and watching Toy Story for the first time in probably a decade, the movie has aged well. The version I watched on Disney+ has been scaled up to 4K and was taking advantage of Dolby Vision. For the most part, the animation of the characters holds up, with only certain things like the plastic look on Woody’s face looking a little dated.
The actual plot of the movie is simple but is effective at telling the story of what it can feel like to be replaced by something newer. What I really enjoy is how emotionally deep the interactions with the characters are. One of the scenes that I have a new appreciation for after watching it again is when Buzz figures out that he is just a toy and not a “space ranger”. Buzz still tries to fly and ultimately fails, hurting himself in the process. The movie does a really good job of showing Buzz handling the downturn his mental health takes, with similarities to imposter syndrome. This shows that even in the beginning, Pixar was committed to making these movies fun for kids, while giving adults something to dig deeper into. Overall, with this being Pixar’s first theatrical movie, it still holds up in a meaningful way today.
Bug’s Life
The last time I saw this movie was when I was still a child watching those Disney VHS tapes. Bug’s Life feels like the forgotten stepchild of Pixar movies, one that came out in the early years but forgotten about because it is sandwiched between Toy Story and Toy Story 2. According to Box Office Mojo, Bug’s Life had a production budget of $120 million dollars and ended up making $363.3 million during its original theatrical run. Even with the thinking now of this being a sophomore slump or the Pixar movie that everyone forgets, this showed that Pixar was more than just a one-hit wonder.
Watching the movie, I see how this is one of the Pixar movies that people forget about. Unlike Toy Story, the animation did not seem to age as well. It looked older than Toy Story even though it came out a few years later. None of the characters really connected with me on a deeper level like Buzz and Woody did. The plot of Bug’s Life is slightly based off the fable “The Ant and The Grasshopper” where the Grasshopper wastes all spring and summer not gathering food, while the Ant works hard during those seasons to be prepared for Winter.
Like other Pixar movies, I do appreciate the attempt at deeper subject matter not usually found in kids movies. The scene that comes to mind is when Hopper is explaining to his other grasshoppers why they cannot just leave the ants alone, because if the ants figure out that they are more powerful in bigger numbers than the grasshoppers. I think in 2022 with labor unions having a resurgence and people realizing their strength in numbers that this movie’s message of standing up for yourself rings truer than ever.
Toy Story 2
When I think of the moment that Pixar showed that they were here to stay as an industry leading animation studio, it is Toy Story 2. This movie is one of the best animated movies of all time. Releasing in November 1999, its budget was $90 Million and in its original theatrical release made $511.3 million, making it the 3rd highest grossing film in 1999.
The production journey that this movie went on was one of nightmares. Karen Jackson (co-producer on Toy Story 2) talked about this in an interview a few years ago “When we went from a direct-to-video to a feature film and we had limited time in which to finish that feature film, the pressure amped up. Forget seeing your family, forget doing anything”. The project started out as a direct-to-video sequel, like some of Disney’s other animated properties but quickly transitioned to a theatrical release, with Pixar only having 9 months to rewrite everything and get it ready for theaters.
Watching this again after not seeing it in a few years, Toy Story 2 still makes a gigantic emotional impact on me. The plot of what happens from the toy’s point of view when they are seen as just a collector's item instead of what a toy really is: a child’s plaything. The scene where Jesse is recounting her story of being left on the side of the road after her owner grew out of wanting to play with her is still one of the saddest scenes I have seen and is still as impactful as it was when I saw it for the first time. The new characters that were introduced like Bullseye, the Prospector, Zerg, and many others are inserted into the world of Toy Story seamlessly making the animated world feel more alive.
Monster’s Inc
This is another one that has been awhile since I had sat down to watch it. Monster’s Inc came out in November 2021 after going through a long production cycle. This was also the first movie that had someone besides John Lasseter in the director's chair with Pete Doctor making his directorial debut. A budget of $115 million, the movie went on to make $577.4 million in its original run.
I feel like the animation of this movie made a big jump from Toy Story 2, with the big takeaway for me being how well the fur looks on the monsters. Every world that Pixar had done up to this point had been tangential related to the real world, with Monster’s Inc they were able to create a brand-new monster world out of whole cloth. The performances by John Goodman (Sully) and Billy Crystal (Mike) were very funny and felt like these characters were made exactly for these actors.
Overall the story of Monster’s Inc is not as good compared to the Toy Story movies and falls in line more with Bug’s Life. It is not bad, but the movie lacked the emotional impact that the Toy Story movies had. The interactions between Sully and Boo (the child who escapes into the monster world) and the sadness that Sully has at the end when he must let what has become his child go back is well done, but it just feels disconnected from the rest of the tone the movie sets.
Finding Nemo The last of the first batch of Pixar rewatch is one of the best ones. Finding Nemo was released in May 2003, becoming the first Pixar movie that was released in the summer blockbuster season. This seemed to be the movie that made this animation studio blow up into a box office giant. With a budget of $94 million, Finding Nemo crushed that number by making $871 million in its original run. This was also the solo directorial debut of Andrew Stanton (he was listed as a co-director for Bug’s Life), who is now one of the most senior members of Pixar’s creative team. This movie also had a huge home video release with numbers that had been unseen up to this point and currently holds the record for most DVD sales at over 40 million.
Finding Nemo recovers what I think was missing from Monster’s Inc and that is the emotional resonance that Pixar movies are known for. The story of Marlin (Albert Brooks) going on this adventure with the ever-forgetful Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), discovering that since the death of his partner that he needs to let his son actual grow up and he cannot be there to protect him forever. The journey across the ocean helps Marlin go through the grieving that his character needed to finally get over the death of Coral.
The animation of the ocean and all the ocean life in it is unparalleled. The blue of the ocean, how dark it gets when the characters go to the deep parts of the sea, or how thick the jellyfish forest that Dory gets stuck in. Those moments and many others showcase how Pixar has become a master of its craft when it comes to building 3D worlds. This world is just so colorful and coming up on its 20th anniversary still dazzles my mind.
Current Rankings Alright after watching the first five Pixar movies, this is where the current rankings are: 1. Toy Story 2 2. Finding Nemo 3. Toy Story 4. Monster’s Inc 5. Bug’s Life
This ranking list will get updated after every set of Pixar movies, which could cause movies to move up or down depending on where the new ones get slotted in. As of right now, Toy Story 2 is the best Pixar movie of all time. I am looking forward to the ones that I have not seen yet like Ratatouille or Up in the next batch. This is going to be a good time, so buckle up for the next batch and I will be back to continue the Pixar Ranking Rewatch.