Animation studio Pixar has, since 1995, released a total of 15 feature films. Some have been excellent. Others have not.
For the purposes of science and posterity, then, here is a ranking of all 15 of those films. If your own beliefs do not align with these, I feel bad for you son.
15. Cars 2
14. Cars
13. Brave
12. Toy Story
11. A Bug’s Life
10. Monsters University
9. Ratatouille
8. Inside Out
7. Up
6. Toy Story 2
5. Wall-E
4. Finding Nemo
3. Monsters Inc.
2. The Incredibles
1. Toy Story 3
NOTES:
- There are people in this world who will say “Oh, I actually think Ratatouille is the best Pixar movie”, because they want to be the person who says “Oh, I actually think Ratatouille” is the best Pixar movie”. Do not listen to these people.
- Have you seen the original Toy Story recently? That movie is terrible. And the toys themselves are even worse. It should be called “Woody And His Jerk Friends Spend 82 Minutes Out-Jerking Each Other”.
- “Up is so moving! How is it so low!” No, the first few minutes of Up are moving. The movie slides steadily downhill from there, to a place (geriatric duelling?) not even Russell can save us from.
- The list doesn’t get messy until 12. Bug’s Life is forgettable, sure, but it’s still a fun movie about bugs. It’s only when you get to Toy Story, Brave (aka Sleep) and the Two Films Which Shall Not Be Named that you’re dealing with actual bad movies.
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Comments
50 responses to “Pixar Movies, Ranked”
To me, even the bottom half of that list all the way to cars aren’t bad movies as such, they just look bad compared to the top half of the list. Compared to the junk from other studios there are still pretty good.
Cars 2 however is a xenophobic abomination that should be burnt to dust.
I saw Inside Out not long ago and it was pretty great. I’d rate it higher.
Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc seems overrated in this list. I would move Inside Out higher in the list above the aforementioned.
Also there’s no way the original Toy Story should be so low down
Agreed. It hasn’t aged well, and Woody is a jerk in the first one, but it’s still a quality film.
See, I don’t see how Woody being a jerk affect’s the quality of the film. Tom Hank’s (and rest of the cast’s) voice acting is still top notch in the first Toy Story. And I reckon that’s what really brings an animated film to life.
“Woody And His Jerk Friends Spend 82 Minutes Out-Jerking Each Other”
Never thought I would see this in a sentence that isn’t related to the adult industry.
Not going to have a big discussion on where movies are place on the list but you’re wrong.
The title should read: “Hastily Written List of Ranked Pixar Films by Some Guy on Internet Who Gives Absolutely No Fucks about what You Might Think”
Toy Story 3? Especially when you’re down on the first one… the series is the same story, on repeat.
Was considering the list til I read the ‘notes’.
Toy Story is not a terrible movie at all. If you think Toy Story was 82 minutes of them out-jerking each other, way to miss that crazy little thing called subtext, which appears in every single Pixar movie. The movie can quite easily be viewed as a parable on the step parent/stepchild syndrome, where a new member is introduced into a divorced family. Where Buzz is introduced, Woody feels threatened and jealous of the attention he receives from others like a child may when a step child is introduced, often lashing out, feeling they will be replaced, that their love will be reduced etc, thus Woody acts like an ass despite Buzz quite frankly not deserving it. But yeah just 82 minutes of them ‘out jerking’ each other… I guess 😛 I guess that little comic Xmen is just ‘mutants fighting each other’ and couldn’t have been commentary on the racial divide of America at all…
Yeah, can’t help think that Luke missed the whole point of Toy Story. And rating a film on a character being a jerk just boggles my mind. I know Luke’s list and notes shouldn’t be taken seriously, but he’s just glossed over the fact – or worse: didn’t even notice – that Tom Hanks and the rest of the cast had outstanding performances in the first film (and the other two).
I’d put Monsters Inc. and A Bugs Life at the top.
I still don’t understand what everyone sees in The Incredibles
Also Toy Story 2 is better than 3 and the first cars was alright
Yeah, Incredibles is too high but no way is TS2 better than 3. That was their most rushed movie ever.
Toy Story wasn’t rushed. In fact an entirely different version of Toy Story 2 was written and animated only to be trashed due to not being ‘good enough’. So it was actually made twice.
So the script was completely reshaped over a single weekend, then 9 months of crazy production leaving people with RSI. Yeah, not rushed at all.
Wasn’t that the one where someone accidentally deleted all the models but they had a single backup at some employee’s house? That or Toy Story 3.
Toy Story 2 wasn’t rushed. In fact an entirely different version of Toy Story 2 was written and animated only to be trashed due to not being ‘good enough’. So it was actually made twice.
Agreed. I didn’t mind The Incredibles at the time, but damned if I can remember any of it, and a good Pixar movie I will remember.
Also – Cars 1 was great. I don’t know why more people didn’t like it. Haven’t seen 2 so can’t comment on that.
I liked Cars a lot better when it was called Doc Hollywood, personally.
Ace comment. I had that in my mind the whole time while I saw the movie.
You know I saw Doc Hollywood some years after cars and yes if I were WB I would sue Disney for plagiarism – stills Cars is good, Cars 2 is one of those Straight to Video Disney sequels that accidentally got a cinema release
Well I would probably rank in the following order, although my thoughts on this will probably change before lunch. There are a few I should probably rewatch and I haven’t seen Inside out so that is off the list. Although I’m an odd person who actually quite enjoys the cars movies so you probably shouldn’t pay any attention to me
12. Toy Story
11. A Bug’s Life
10. Monsters University
7. Up
6. Toy Story 2
15. Cars 2
13. Brave
9. Ratatouille
14. Cars
4. Finding Nemo
5. Wall-E
3. Monsters Inc.
1. Toy Story 3
2. The Incredibles
Ratatouille is in my top 3 for sure. Along with Wall-E and Finding Nemo.
Surprised it is so low on this list.
I’d have Up higher as well.
I do a mental Pixar ranking maybe once a month. Some of my favourite movies.
Cars is actually, easily, my number one. I’m a “car guy” though, and I can totally understand how it’s lower on the list for most people. There’s lots of great little inside-jokes and references which I just love. Plus I enjoy the new graphical effects they manage to develop and add into each subsequent movie, of which Cars actually has some really nice examples, as does Wall-E, my number 2.
As a father of a 3 year old Cars is a great movie, not up with Nemo or Monsters Inc (the best 2 IMO) but certainly not 14th.
And Cars 2 will always be my sons first taste and appreciation for the great Michael Caine, and if that for nothing else gets props in my book.
1. The Incredibles
2. UP
3. Toy Story
Monsters Inc. should be first.
A bad Pixar movie is still better than a good Dreamworks movie…..
You’re nuts if you think How to Train your Dragon or even Kung Fu Panda can’t stand against Pixar’s films.
Could probably stand against Cars 2.
I was going to comment exactly the same. DWs has tons of rubbish but the KFP and HtTyD movies have all been great. And let’s not forget the original Shrek movie.
I always found HtTyD to be over-rated. I did read the books first though, and that gave me higher expectations.
Well, at least I won’t go to my grave as the only person who thought UP was a great short film stuck at the front of an average long film.
Or the only one who liked Cars, apparently. I don’t think I’d put it ahead of much else, but I think it’s a better film than people give it credit for.
Let’s see here:
Brave
A Bug’s Life
Cars
Up
Wall-E
Toy Story
Finding Nemo
Ratatouille
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 3
The Incredibles
Monsters Inc.
Inside Out
Does anyone remember what happened in Brave? I saw it quite recently but it’s completely failed to stick in my memory. I think there were bears.
I couldn’t find anything wrong with Brave but it didn’t really do it for me. Could never put my finger on it.
I didn’t really enjoy Brave all that much. The story and characters weren’t that charming or memorable.
But Ratatouille is the best Pixar movie?
You hate rats don’t you!?
Toy Story 3 while great has to bank on the fact that you’ve already watched the previous two movies in order to build an attachment to the characters. It’s like how people think Return of the King is the best LOTR movie, except Two Towers (extended) is actually the best because it contains the meat of the sandwich and both Return of the King and Toy Story 3 end on a partially disappointing Deus Ex Machina.
What part of the Toy Story ending is a Deus Ex Machina?
The Martians beating the conveyor belt to the controls, getting in there, and knowing how the claw works, probably.
Deus Ex Machina relies on the idea that nothing is forshadowed, that ‘the god in the machine’ fixes all instantly with no prior warning. Toy Story 3 doesn’t conform to this ideal, namely because the Claw had been referred to *multiple* times in the previous movies, was utilised by ‘servants of the claw’ and was thus logically implemented. So unfortunately, Deus Ex Machina doesn’t qualify for this part of TS3.
Took a guess at it, since I couldn’t think of anything else besides the useless running jokes characters suddenly saving the day.
My reading of the movie was by the time you get to the incinerator scene, you’ve probably forgotten about the minor set up/run in the aliens have with the truck. The little space aliens see the claw as a god – Oooh – the claw! and they use god out of the machine to rescue everybody from death, when it almost seems apparent there’s no way they could possibly escape with their lives – that’s a literal deus ex machina. If it’s that’s not a Deus Ex Machina I’m not sure I understand the meaning of the term.
Wall-E, Up, Toy Story, underrated.
Incredibles, overrated.
Plunkett, terrible.
“Up” is actually way too high. Take the first 10 minutes away and even Cars is a better movie with a more coherent narrative and not so disjointed and random occurrences. (Not Cars 2, though, that is an abomination whose awfulness cannot be overdone.)
The Incredibles has always been a stumbling block for me. I can recognise the quality of its story, its powerful message, its brilliant parody/homage of the Superhero genre… but it does very little for me, I dunno why. I was bored out of my mind through most of it.
Lastly, I do believe that Inside out belongs all the way up with the “big 3” (Toy Story 2 and/or 3. Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo.)
I read that incorrectly.
The Incredibles is 1st for me, with Toy Story 3 coming in 2nd and Inside out 3rd. Screw finding Nemo though; it had more than one ending and that cannot be forgiven. Also Dory is a terrible character. Also why does the mother/wife die so unceremoniously, the pacing of the opening and closing segments are really confused and arguably there are also 2 beginnings. No, screw Finding Nemo. Pixar makes some great stuff, but their formula is starting to show a little too much; same with the non-pixar Disney films as well. That’s one of the reasons Inside Out was so good; it wasn’t as formulaic as some of Pixar’s stuff tends to be. Wall-E was very solid too.
Dude but Ratatouille is great! And i’m not just saying that because I feel like being different (and most people who rank Ratatouille highly aren’t fyi). It just has relatable characters and a simple yet effective story.
Also, Toy Story is great; The Incredibles isn’t!
The incredibles should be at the top. Best super hero movie to date.
Pretty damn close to a perfect film
Hmm, I’d agree with this list.
This is a pretty good list, although I would rate Toy Story higher and UP much, much lower. Probably would bump Monsters University and Brave up a bit as well. I think I prefer Incredibles and Finding Nemo to Toy Story 3 as well, although they are all quite spectacular films.
aall of these movies(including cars 2) are pre good, except brave, boring as shit