You might be wondering what a list like this is doing in a blog about video games. Well, just because my main focus with the blog is one video games doesn’t mean I can’t talk about something else from time to time. Besides, I’ve always loved movies as much as I love playing video games, and I love talking about both of them in equal measure. One of my favourite types of movies are animated films and today we’ll talk about the films of one the greatest animation studios of all time, Pixar.
For the longest time the world of feature length animation was dominated by a single name, Disney. Apart from a few short periods of time Disney has stood on top of the animation industry since the late 1930’s, and for a good reason. Very few animation studios have ever managed to match the quality of Disney’s output, and those that have are usually only able to so for a short period of time. The best example of this is Don Bluth Studios, which for a while during the 1980’s put Disney’s films to utter shame. However, once the 90’s rolled out, the quality of Bluth’s films fell hard and by the end of the decade Bluth’s studio was a mere shadow of its former self.
However, in the mid 90’s a new animation studio made its mark in the industry with a bold new animation style and technology. That studio was Pixar, and the film they did it with was Toy Story. Ever since then Pixar has pushed the boundaries of what can be done through animation and shown us that Disney can in fact be both challenged and outdone in permanent basis.
So, today I’ll be ranking all the pixar movies from worst to best. I’m leaving their newest film, The Good Dinosaur, out for the simple reason that I haven’t actually seen it yet. Please remember, this is all based on my personal opinion, so it is more than likely that you will disagree with the placement of at least some of these films. If (when) you do, please leave a comment below and tell me how you rank these films.
We have 15 films to cover so let’s get started with their worst film yet:
15. Cars 2 (2011)
Without a shadow of a doubt the single worst film Pixar has ever released. Cars 2 was an utterly unnecessary sequel to an already average movie. The first Cars still had at least a few things going for it, but this one is just pointless.
Cars 2 centers around the character of Mater, who through a series of coincidences and accidents gets dragged into an international espionage plot surrounding a series of races and a new type of environmentally friendly fuel type. The hero of the first film, Lightning McQueen takes part in the Grand Prix and along with Mater travels around Europe and Japan. Mater is then mistaken for a spy and gets sidetracked by a plot to sabotage the races. Basically, it’s stupid, and yet somehow overly complicated.
This is the only Pixar film that is just bad. It has very few redeeming qualities and the ones it has are meaningless when the film has no point to even exist in the first place. The only good thing I can really say about Cars 2 is that it looks good. The animation is as good as we’ve come to expect from Pixar. Shame nothing else about it is good. The story is poorly written, the characters are varius decrees of annoying, the jokes fall flat and the whole film feels like a toy commercial rather than an actual film. And whose idea was it to center a film around a character voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. That voice he does get grating extremely fast. This is the only Pixar film that fails on almost all accounts. Cars 2, the only genuinely bad Pixar film.
14. Cars (2006)
I might have just written that the first Cars had at least a few things going for it. Well, it does. It’s still not a good movie though. Not a bad one either, just a decidedly average one. This is the first film that showed us that for all the great things the studio had brought us so far, Pixar wasn’t infallible. They could make mistakes as well.
Cars, set in a world populated by sentient Cars and other vehicles, tells the story of a cocky, egoistic race car named Lightning McQueen who gets stranded in an old town by Route 66 after accidentally destroying the towns main street. What happens then is pretty much what you’d expect from a story like this. The cocky, overconfident hero learns various lessons while being stuck in and environment he isn’t comfortable in. It’s cliched and been done many times before, but at least it’s not stupid like the sequel.
As I said earlier, Cars is just kind of average. The characters are mostly likable, but unmemorable, the story gives us nothing new, but is serviceable. Most of the movie is along the same lines. Does its job, but is ultimately forgettable. Of course, being a Pixar film, Cars looks great. The quality of animation is very high, the rest of the film just doesn’t reach the same heights. Cars isn’t either bad or good, it just kind of exists without leaving much of an impression. Which is why its so weird that it got a sequel, and the best part is, they are actually making Cars 3 already. Who thought that was a good idea? My bet’s on the guy who takes care of Pixar’s money.
13. Monsters University (2013)
Another sequel (well, prequel in this case) to a better movie makes its way to the list. Monsters University is a prequel to 2001’s Monsters, Inc. and as was the case with Cars 2, is completely unnecessary. However, unlike Cars 2, Monsters University manages to bring some creativity into the table and is at the very least a decent movie that I wouldn’t mind watching again.
Monsters University, as its name implies, tells the origin of the careers of Sully and Mike, the main characters of Monsters, Inc., and of their time as students. At the university they are both studying to become scarers, or monsters that go into the human world to scare children. At first the two, naturally, don’t get along since Sully is a popular, athletic guy and Mike’s a booksmart nerd, but eventually circumstances force them to work together and, of course, they end up becoming friends. It’s basically every school comedy film cliche rolled into one. The only thing that separates the story from every other film of its kind is the setting and characters.
The only reason this movie ends up higher than the cars movies is because of those two things. Its setting and characters are much stronger and more imaginative than their counterparts in Cars. The main characters are very likable and well written, and they carry with them the fondness people already gained for them in the original film. The new characters introduced are also quite well written, even if they are mostly based on various cliches. The monster world is also a very interesting setting and its nice to see it explored further in this film.
The animation is, again, absolutely gorgeous, but that’s to be expected at this point. In the end, Monsters University is a pretty good family film and nothing more. However, considering the nonexistent expectations I had for the film, that’s definitely a positive. I guess the best way for me to describe it, is as a minor film. It’s not an ambitious movie, but it doesn’t try to be one either. It’s a prequel that wasn’t really needed, but manages to do something quite good nonetheless. I’m glad I saw it, even if I won’t be watching it again all that often. If you haven’t seen it, take a look.
12. A Bug’s Life (1998)
This might be one of the more controversial placements on this list, but let me explain. A Bug’s Life is a good film. The three previous films have been either bad or just average. From this point on we get to the actual good stuff. A Bug’s Life is just the least good out of the remaining movies.
A Bug’s Life is a story about a colony of ants living in constant fear of grasshoppers who force them to collect food for them every single year. This prompts one of the ants, called Flik, to leave the colony in search of warriors that could fight off the grasshoppers and their leader Hopper (played by Kevin Spacey). Flik comes across a group of circus bugs and mistakenly thinks they are warriors and naturally hires them to save them, while the circus bugs believe they’ve been hired to perform their act to the colony. Misunderstandings and uncomfortable moments galore. The plot of the movies might also sound very familiar. If it does, you may have seen a movie called Seven Samurai, from which A Bug’s Life takes a lot of it’s premise and plot.
While I definitely like A Bug’s Life, I can’t call it a great movie. There’s nothing really wrong or bad about it. Unfortunately there isn’t anything great about it either. The characters are well written, the villain is fun, the story is well told and the animation is as good as 3D animation got at that time. The problem is, everything this movie does had been done before in other movies and done better. Still, like I said, A Bug’s Life is definitely a good movie and I’ve always enjoyed watching it. It’s well worth your time, and the first film on this list I can recommend without any reservations.
11. Brave (2012)
Brave is another movie that goes into the same category as A Bug’s Life. Easily better than the first 3 movies on the list, but fall well short of the movies to follow. However the reasons for this is very different, and I expect a lot of people to put these movies in the opposite order. While A Bug’s Life was good all across the board, Brave is great at certain parts and a confused mess in others. It all depends which you prefer. A movie that’s consistently good, or an uneven one with moments of greatness diluted by weird choices and uneven writing.
Brave is a story of Merida, a princess of a Scottish clan living in the highlands. Merida is a headstrong young woman who has problems with conforming to the traditions of the highland clans her mother tries to teach and make her act by. She defies an age old custom causing a serious rift between the various clans. After a heated argument with her mother, she escapes to the nearby forest where she meets up with an old witch and strikes a bargain with her, which ends up with her mother turning into a bear. There’s much more to the movie, but I don’t want to spoil it. So how does the movie hold up.
First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Brave is an absolutely gorgeous movie to behold. The level of detail in the characters and environments is amazing. The rest of the movie is really uneven. Some elements and ideas are downright genious, while others seem rushed and underdeveloped. For example, the story about the relationship between a mother and daughter is handled very well and some of the more mystical elements are very intriguing. On the other hand, many of the same mystical elements aren’t really explained all that well. The comedy is very hit and miss, with some jokes being really funny, and others missing the mark by a mile. I also like most of the characters in the movie a lot, and I think Merida is a very good main character. There’s also a kind of villain in the movie, the demon-bear Mor’du, but his story is also underdeveloped. What little we learn of him is very interesting, but there just isn’t enough of it.
Every time I watch this movie I get the feeling that there is a great film trying desperately to get out, but its dragged down by some really questionable decisions and uneven writing. It’s a shame really. Brave had the potential to be a masterpiece, but now it’s just a pretty good animated movie.
10. Toy Story (1995)
I can already hear the pitchforks being brought out of storage and the torches being lit, but here me out first, OK. Toy Story is a great movie, no doubt about it. In fact, every single movie from this point on is among the greatest animated movies made in the last 20+ years. So ranking them isn’t easiest of tasks, but we’re going to do it anyway. Toy Story is the film that started it all for Pixar. It is the first full length 3D animated movie ever, and is the film that forever changed the world of animation.
Toy Story is a film about a group of toys owned by a young boy named Andy. Unbeknownst to him or anyone else, the toys are actually alive and move about when there is no-one to see them. The leader of the toys is a cowboy doll called Woody who is also Andy’s favourite toy. However, his position is challenged when Andy gets a new toy for his birthday, an astronaut action figure called Buzz Lightyear. Film focuses on the relationship between the two and the jealousy and resentment the appearance of the new toy creates within Woody. The story isn’t perhaps the most original they could have done, but it is done with such expertise and heart that it doesn’t matter. There is a reason why Toy Story has become a beloved classic.
The character are some of the best Pixar has ever created. From Woody and Buzz to the wonderful side character like Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex, Hamm, and many others, every character that needs to gets a chance to shine in the film. The comedy is excellent and animation is impressive, especially for the time. Sure, the human and animal characters don’t exactly look good by today’s standard, but the toys still look great, over 20 years after the films release. The story can also get surprisingly dark at times, with Buzz contemplating his own existence, Woody struggle with feelings of resentment and jealousy along with other quite mature themes. Yet, it still manages to be a heartwarming family film with something for everyone, children and adult alike. This set the standard for future Pixar films to follow, and I’m sure for many it’s still their best work to date.
For me, it is absolutely a wonderful movie and a genuine classic, but not quite among their best. Toy Story is a great film, but for all its greatness, Pixar has simply outdone themselves numerous times since. This isn’t a knock on the movie, its simply a testament to how good Pixar really is.
9. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Monsters, Inc. is first of Pixars so called grown-up films. I don’t mean that their earlier films were for children only, what I mean is that this is the first of their films where the concept of parenthood comes into play in a serious way. Many of Pixar’s later films would also explore the concept in great detail, including Finding Nemo.
Monsters, Inc. takes place in a parallel universe to our own, where all the monsters who scare children during the night live. In the movie the reason monsters come to scare children during the night is because the power needed to run their world is generated from children’s screams. However, the monsters themselves are also deathly afraid of children, believing that simply touching one would contaminate them. When a child is accidentally brought to the monster world, Sully and Mike must return her to her own world. This is a deceptively simple concept that lends itself to a vast number of possibilities to be explored.
Monsters, Inc. is another great film for Pixar. The characters are very likable, and the world they created for this film is one of Pixar’s best and they take advantage of every bit of it. This film also includes one of Pixar’s most imaginative animated sequences when the characters are zipping in and out of various doors leading to our world while being chased by one of the film’s villains. I’m already repeating myself with this, but the animation is once again stunning and it still holds up beautifully.
8. Finding Nemo (2003)
I might get some flak for stating this, but Finding Nemo is in my opinion Pixar’s most overrated movie. A lot of people hailed it as a masterpiece when it first came out, and it is still considered one of their greatest works by a lot of people. However, I can’t quite join in on holding up that particular pedestal. I’ll try and explain what I mean.
Finding Nemo tells the story of a clownfish named Marlin who lost his wife and almost all of his unborn children in a barracuda attack. He names his only surviving child Nemo, since his wife liked that name. The incident made Marlin extremely overprotective and neurotic, which is beginning to put a strain on his relationship with Nemo. During Nemo’s first day in school he gets captured by a scuba diver after he disobeys his father’s orders. Marlin then has to travel across the ocean in pursuit of his son. Along the way he comes across various different types of fish, most importantly he joins up with a fish named Dory who suffers from short term memory loss.
As I stated above, Finding Nemo is Pixar’s most overrated film in my opinion. It isn’t the groundbreaking masterpiece so many people made it up to be. However, it is still an excellent movie, just not quite among their best. The characters are very well written and much like in many of Pixar’s best films, it is their relationships with each other that make a lot of the film work. Even the supporting characters feel like fully fledged characters rather than one note caricatures one would find in most movies. The underwater world is also very impressive looking, and the effort of the animators is clearly visible in every frame.
Even if I’m not quite as big a fan of the movie as a lot of other people seem to be, I still like Finding Nemo a lot. It’s not one of their best, but it is still most definitely a great movie that you should go out your way to watch.
7. The Incredibles (2004)
Next up, a movie where an aging former superhero goes through a midlife crisis. A great concept for a children’s film isn’t it? Well, they made it work somehow.
I rank this film pretty much equal to Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, so their placements in relation to one another is honestly quite arbitrary. If I’d have to choose, I would say The Incredibles is overall the best film of the three. Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo have a bit more charm to them perhaps, but that wasn’t enough to carry either above The Incredibles this time. Still, These three films are constantly swapping places in my mind as to which of them I like the most, so you can consider the three as equals, despite their different rankings on this list. Besides, I already changed their placements five times and I’m tired of doing that, so this is the way they stay.
The Incredibles is an excellent film, and still one of the best superhero films ever made, despite the staggering number of superhero films released since. With The Incredibles Pixar showed its versatility in its ability to make all kinds of films, and make them work.
The Incredibles is set in a world where superheroes exist and used to protect the world from villains and disasters. However, that all ended when people began suing the superheroes for the damages their crime fighting activities caused. This forced them all to go into hiding as normal people living normal lives. However, Bob Parr, the former Mr. Incredible can’t let go of the glory days and keeps living them with his friend Lucius, A.K.A Frozone. This eventually attracts some unwanted attention, and brings Mr. Incredibles entire family into danger.
What makes the movie work is the fact that it isn’t your average superhero film about fighting some powerful villain. Sure, that happens in the movie, but the actual focus is on the family life and relationship between Mr. Incredible, his wife Helen whose known as Elastigirl and their three children Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. Quite frankly, the decision center the film on the family and their relationship was a stroke of genius. The relationships between the various characters in general are one of the films greatest strengths. You really believe that Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are married simply by listening to them talk to each other. You can hear the affection and commitment to each other from their voices. The chemistry between all the actors in the film is excellent, and that elevates it to another level. The story is imaginative and surprisingly dark. In addition to being just a great film on its own, it also works as a satire of both superhero films as well as middle class suburban life.
As with many of Pixar’s best films, The Incredibles also deals with many mature themes, including midlife crisis, marital life and family disfunctions. This ensures that the film isn’t just for kids. There’s just as much, or perhaps even more for adults than for children. I strongly recommend you watch this film at least once if you haven’t yet.
6. Toy Story 2 (1999)
Now we’re getting to the movies that are on the threshold of being a genuine masterpiece. Toy Story 2 is Pixar’s first sequel and their third movie overall. It’s also one of those sequels that is actually better than the original in every way. Considering how good the first Toy Story is that’s not a small achievement.
In Toy Story 2 we once again follow the same group of toys when Woody gets stolen by a toy collector with the intention of selling him to a museum in Japan. This forces Buzz and rest of the toys to plan a rescue mission to get Woody back. While the first movie focused a lot into the relationship between Woody and Buzz, this one expands its focus into the other characters and develops them further. Of course, Buzz and Woody are still at the center, but they are not the sole focus anymore.
Toy Story 2 is hands down one of the best animated movies ever made, and easily one of Pixar’s finest efforts. The characters that were already great in the first movie are developed further in the sequel, and new ones are introduced that fit into the mix very well and feel like natural inclusions to the cast instead of forced additions like sometimes happens. The animation is great and even after so many years it still holds up marvelously. For a very long time Toy Story 2 was the peak of Pixar’s filmography as it took almost a decade for them to finally make film that surpassed it. Even today, over 16 years after its release Toy Story 2 is still a near masterpiece. It gets very close to being one, but just misses that mark by a hair’s breadth.
5. Ratatouille (2007)
It took them a while to finally surpass Toy Story 2, but eight years and five movies later, Ratatouille finally did it. In addition, this is the film that started a period of time during which Pixar released a string of films of such unprecedented quality that only Disney during its peak, Studio Ghibli at its best and Don Bluth in the 1980’s can claim to have done something similar. The four movies Pixar made in a row starting with ratatouille are all among the greatest animated movies of all time. Ratatouille is a nearly flawless movie, and yet it is still only the 5th best Pixar film.
Ratatouille is a story of a rat named Remy, a young garbage boy named Linguini and how they come to work together in a high class restaurant to achieve both of their goals. Both are trying to be something they are not, and in order to do so they have to rely on each other for help. Remy, a rat, has a fascination for fine cuisine, which none of the other rats understand, including his father who wants Remy to act like a proper rat. Linguini on the other hand is accidentally roped into becoming a chef in the restaurant despite having no talent in making food.
As is often the case in Pixar films, especially the good ones, they take a concept or a story that isn’t necessarily the most original, but with clever writing, good characters and using cliches in imaginative and new ways Pixar created an unforgettable film that turns everything that could have become a weakness in any other hands into a strength. Once again, the characters are a huge reason the film works so well. The main cast is excellent, and the supporting cast all add something unique to the proceedings, even if many of them have very small roles. They still feel like unique, interesting personalities. The comedy in the film is excellent, and it is balanced perfectly with the more serious moments.
In addition, Ratatouille contains one of the most poignant, thought provoking scenes in any Pixar film to date, when the food critic Anton Ego writes his review of the restaurant near the end of the film. If you can’t remember it, take a look and really listen to what he says in the scene. The whole movie is excellent from beginning to end and filled with small touches that reward repeat viewings.
4. Toy Story 3
I had a lot of trouble deciding where I would rank Toy Story 3 on this list. My feelings and opinion on the film keep changing the more I think about it, especially in relation to the previous Toy Story-films. Mainly, I keep debating whether or not this is a better film than Toy Story 2 which I also hold in extremely high regard. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that of the three films, this one is the best.
Toy Story 3 takes place many years after the previous film as Andy, the kid from the first 2 films is now 17 and is about to leave for college. The toys are naturally worried about what will happen to them then when Andy leaves, especially as many of them are already gone. The toys are accidentally taken to a daycare center. At first this seems like a blessing to them as they are welcomed there with open arms and are finally going to get played with by children, but the longer they stay there the more ominous the place becomes. Soon, it becomes clear there is something sinister going on under the surface.
Toy Story is a perfect way to cap off the trilogy. Every remaining character gets developed even further. The story is a much more somber affair compared to earlier films in the series, which feels fitting as it is something of an end to the toys as well. Their previous owner is growing older and leaving them behind and the toys must embark on a new journey with new people. It certainly has a feeling of closure to it, as the movie ends on a somewhat bittersweet note, almost as if the characters are saying goodbye to the audience as much as they are to Andy.
Many people grew up together with these movies. They were just kids when the first one came out and 15 years later many of those kids were leaving or had already left their homes. Basically, they grew up with Andy. This seemed like a perfect ending to an amazing series of films. Of course, Pixar has since announced a 4th movie in the series, so we’ll have to see what happens next. Regardless, Toy Story 3 is an excellent movie that everyone should see. It is also the last in the string of great movies that started with Ratatouille, as the next movie after this would be their biggest misfire to date, Cars 2. So there’s a drop in quality if I’ve ever seen one.
3. Up (2009)
I know many people rate Up as Pixar’s best film, and even though I don’t quite agree with that opinion I also can’t really fault them for theirs. Up is, without a shadow of a doubt, a one of a kind movie that defies expectations in the most wonderful ways, from its unconventional heroes to its heartbreaking and emotional story that left many in tears after the first ten minutes. It takes a special movie to pull that kind of thing off, and Up most certainly is one.
In Up, we follow Carl Fredriksen, a widowed old man living alone in the city. He has a negative outlook towards most things in live and seems to prefer being alone rather than deal with other people. After some unfortunate incidents, he decides to fulfill his late wife’s wish of going to Paradise Falls in South America. He ties thousands of balloons to his house and sets of on an adventure. Unbeknownst to him, a young boy scout named Russell is accidentally brought along for the ride and before Carl can drop him off they’re caught in the middle of a storm. From there the adventure truly begins as they soon find themselves near Paradise Falls where they encounter many strange creatures.
Pixar hit their 3rd bullseye in a row with Up. Just the first ten minutes of this movie where we get to see Carl and his wife Ellie grow old together is a masterpiece of visual storytelling by itself, and one of the single greatest pieces of animation ever created, 3D or traditional. Fortunately the rest of the film is nearly as good as well.
Pixar has a knack for creating unique and memorable characters and the ones in Up are no exception. The 78-year old Car Fredriksen is an unlikely hero if there ever was one, and together with the young Russell he makes for a strange, yet very effective protagonist for the story. The same can be said for the villain, who I won’t spoil, but who also makes for a very different kind of bad guy from what you see in most animated movies. The animation itself is once again top notch as is the voice acting, with Ed Asner as Carl being particularly good. The movie is simply a marvel to behold. The comedy is brilliant, the sad moments hit hard and deep and as I stated before, Up contains one of the single most emotional scenes ever put on a movie, animated or otherwise. Up is nearly a perfect movie, but it is still not Pixar’s best.
2. Inside Out (2015)
I’ve only seen Inside Out once thus far, so I really contemplated for a while where I should place it in the pantheon of Pixar films. I knew from the moment the credits rolled that I had just seen a marvelous film, but it wasn’t until I realized the film had stayed in my mind for several days afterwards that I knew just how good of a film Inside out really is. I’m sure many of you will disagree, but this is how I feel about the film.
Pixar had been in a bit of rut for a while, as the previous three films they made were Cars 2 (which is awful), Brave (which I pretty good), and Monsters University (which is just OK), so a lot of people were already talking about how their good years were already behind them. Then they released Inside Out and once again everyone was onboard with Pixar and whatever they want to make.
Inside Out is a story of a young girl called Riley and her life as she tries to adjust to a new home, new school and new friends after her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. Trying to help her through this are the personifications of her five basic emotions, Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, who live inside her head. As Riley’s life begins to crumple around her, so does the world inside her head, and the emotions need to find a way to fix everything before its too late.
The story about a person’s emotions being alive has actually been done many times before Inside Out so people calling it original don’t really know what they are talking. What is original is they way Inside Out uses the basic concept. The movie does things with it that no-one else ever has. This is what makes it stand out from all the other stories like it. How the movie explains different emotions, the way the different parts of a person’s mind work and the importance of all emotions to a person is absolutely brilliant. The way they do it isn’t just funny and well thought out, it also makes sense, which is the real genius behind the concept. The film makes it seem plausible that this really is how our minds work. The lesson the entire story ultimately builds up to is perhaps the single most poignant scene in any Pixar film to date and deserves to be acknowledged as such.
Out of all the new films I saw last year, Inside Out was hands down the best. The only complaints I can think of are nitpicks. For example, I wish they would have given certain parts of the film just a bit more time and developed them further, but ultimately it all boils down to ”I wish there would have been more of the film”. As it stands, Inside Out is a masterpiece of modern animation that stands proudly along the genre’s greatest and most revered classics. Make sure you watch it if you already haven’t.
1. WALL-E (2008)
Alright, here we go. The best Pixar movie of all time is indeed Wall-E. No other film from them has brought me as many laughs, as much joy and sadness as this one. No other Pixar film has resonated with me like Wall-E did when I saw it for the first time by myself nearly 8 years ago. I consider Wall-E to be the best 3D animated movie ever created and very few animated movies in general rank higher in my mind.
Wall-E takes place far in the future where humankind has abandoned Earth after it became too polluted to support life any longer. Humans left behind an army of small robots that were supposed to clean the planet up so humans could one day return back to their old homes. However, the plan was seemingly a failure as hundreds of years later the planet is still devoid of life, and all but one of the robots have stopped functioning. This last remaining WALL-E unit is still carrying on its task of cleaning the planet up, but over the course of the long years it has developed sentience through its life experience. Over the years WALL-E has also begun to collect various items he finds interesting and bringing them back to his home. One day it discovers a seedling among the rubble, and being unsure of what it is takes it with him.
Then suddenly his solitude ends as a spaceship lands near his home and deploys another robot called EVE to search for any signs of life on the planet. WALL-E quickly develops a crush on the new arrival, and despite EVE’s initial cold demeanor, wins her over eventually. When she finds out the seedling, things begin to rapidly escalate in WALL-E’s life, and he soon find himself in outer space, heading to wherever EVE and the spaceship came from.
The story has clear environmental undertones, as the images of the Earth covered in waste dominate most of the early film, and the movie even shows gigantic sandstorms raging over the land as a result of the land’s destruction. Yet, the message is light enough to not become jarring or annoying. It is simply in the subtext, while the visuals do most of the work in conveying the message. The movie doesn’t try to hammer in anything, but instead lets the viewer come to their own conclusions.
WALL-E also contains the best piece of storytelling Pixar has ever done within its first 3o or so minutes. During that time there is almost no dialogue whatsoever. The film let’s the visuals and the music tell the story as it slowly unfolds while we follow WALL-E in his daily tasks. This sequence that introduces as to the setting, the main characters and the disaster that made the Earth that way is among the single most beautiful and evocative scenes in film history. The fact it was done with almost no dialogue only makes it more impressive.
WALL-E also features many of my favourite Pixar characters, most notably WALL-E and EVE who I rank as Pixar’s two greatest creations so far. Their relationship in the film is more believable and touching than most other couples in fiction. I felt more sympathy for these two little robots than I’ve ever felt for most human characters in movies. I’ve watched this movie more times than any other 3D animated movie, and I have no doubt I’ll be doing so many more times again. If you haven’t seen WALL-E, go do so immediately.
There we go, Pixar films ranked from worst to best. I hope you enjoyed reading. Do you agree with the ranking? If not, let me know how you would rank them, or if you don’t have time to rank them all, tell me your which are your favourite films from the studio.
I will be updating this list as new Pixar films are released, so these rankings will change over time, but for right now this is how they stand.
Junction Point 