Posted on January 5, 2016 by Tessa Boyce
Since its founding in 1986, Pixar Animation Studios has produced cinema magic. They have created imaginary worlds inside the mind, explored space, oceans and the prehistoric world. Pixar even makes the mundane interesting by creating adventures with everyday toys or the bugs we seldom think about.
Since each film is made with extreme attention to detail and takes years to produce, Pixar has officially only created 16 feature-length films. PrettyFamous ranked each of these films from worst to best, based upon each film’s Smart Rating.
The Smart Rating takes into account ratings from Metacritic, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Gracenote, as well as the inflation-adjusted U.S. box office revenue.
16. Cars 2
Smart Rating: 58.2
Cars 2 is arguably Pixar’s biggest blunder. While the animation is well-done, the story about Lightning McQueen
and his best friend Mater falls flat. Audiences and critics enjoyed the novelty of the first Cars movie, but there wasn’t enough new substance to wow fans.
15. The Good Dinosaur
Smart Rating: 83.1
The Good Dinosaur
is a shining example of Pixar excelling in animation technology. The snowy peaks, twinkling night sky and rolling plains almost look real. Children loved to watch the journey that Apatosaurus Arlo and his human companion take, but adults were not as entertained by the plot.
14. Monsters University
Smart Rating: 85.9
Billy Crystal and John Goodman come back as lovable monsters Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan in the prequel to Monsters Inc. Unlike Cars 2
, Pixar was successful in bringing back known characters because the plot was completely unlike the original. In 2015, rumors surfaced that a third movie in the Monsters universe following the adventures of Mike and Sully (and perhaps Boo?) is in the works.
13. A Bug’s Life
Smart Rating: 87.8
One of Pixar’s early films, A Bug’s Life
follows sweet worker ant Flik on his quest to defeat the evil grasshoppers. The film offers lessons in teamwork and friendship, and the witty banter between characters voiced by Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley and Julia Louis-Dreyfus keeps the movie fresh for all ages.
12. Brave
Smart Rating: 88.3
After a few years of exploring the lives of inanimate objects like toys, robots and cars, Pixar came back to the human world with Brave
in 2012. Brave is a coming of age story about Merida, a fiery heroine who is facing some serious growing pains as her tomboy nature affects her adolescence. Brave was originally titled “The Bear and the Bow,” but audiences liked the short, snappy title.
11. Cars
Smart Rating: 88.8
The original Cars
was a big hit. It won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film and, according to IMDb, merchandise broke the record for toys from a Disney/Pixar film — Cars brought in over $1 billion in merchandise alone.
10. WALL-E
Smart Rating: 89.9
For a kids’ movie, WALL-E
speaks volumes to both adults and children about how we treat the planet. Although there is barely any dialogue in the film, Pixar’s foray into space enchanted audiences. WALL-E was nominated for six Academy Awards (a record for Pixar) and won Best Animated Film.
9. The Incredibles
Smart Rating: 93.2
The Incredibles
is Pixar’s take on the world of superheroes and the exciting plot meshes well with a witty script. The famous line “You sly dog! You got me monologuing!” was even ranked number 15 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” in 2007 by Premiere magazine.
8. Monsters, Inc.
Smart Rating: 94.5
It’s hard to believe that Sully and Mike first came to theaters 15 years ago. Mary Gibbs
, the voice of Boo, is now nearly 20 years old. Still, the banter between John Goodman and Billy Crystal never gets old.
7. Toy Story 2
Smart Rating: 94.9
Fans were thrilled to see Woody and Buzz back in action in Toy Story 2
. It won a Golden Globe for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) and is ranked on Rotten Tomatoes as the 26th-top-rated movie of all time.
6. Ratatouille
Smart Rating: 95.9
In Ratatouille
, Pixar introduces us to Remy, a Parisian rat who dreams of becoming a famous chef. Only Pixar could make audiences care so much for a lonely rat — and they did their research. So animators could fully understand how rats move and interact, Pixar actually had pet rats in the studio for over a year.
5. Finding Nemo
Smart Rating: 96.0
Before exploring space with WALL-E in 2008, Pixar dove into the Great Barrier Reef. Their depiction of the colorful ocean world was impressive, and fans loved Nemo
, Dory and the vibrant aquatic cast. Hopefully Finding Dory (coming out Summer 2016) will be as captivating.
4. Up
Smart Rating: 96.1
Up takes audiences through a rollercoaster of emotions on an epic journey. Many of us shed a tear in the first three minutes as the love story between Carl and Ellie unfolds across the screen. Up
went on to win two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best Animated Feature Film.
3. Toy Story 3
Smart Rating: 96.2
In Toy Story 3 we finally say goodbye to Andy’s childhood as he goes off to college and leaves Woody, Buzz and the gang at home. For a sequel, Toy Story 3
was a smashing success. It was the highest grossing film of 2010, and it’s the No. 29 highest ranked film of all time, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It was also the first sequel to be nominated for Academy Awards — without any of its predecessors having been nominated.
2. Inside Out
Smart Rating: 96.9
Throughout the years, Pixar has based their films off of interesting questions: “What if toys and robots had emotions? What if people knew what bugs and animals are thinking?” The 2015 film Inside Out
took it a step further when they asked, “What if emotions had emotions?” The film is another example of how well Pixar can appeal to audiences of all ages since it deals with the emotional struggles we all face growing up.
1. Toy Story
Smart Rating: 96.9
There is nothing like the original. Pixar’s first feature-length film is also the highest rated. For 1995, the animation was way ahead of its time. It’s hard to believe that Woody and Buzz have been entertaining us for 21 years. In fact, Pixar is still cashing in on the success of the Toy Story
series — Toy Story 4 is scheduled to be released on June 15, 2018.
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