When it comes to movies, there are a lot of unpopular opinions that I can deal with. I’ve heard of people who have hated The Dark Knight and people who have loved Battlefield Earth. I’ve had friends who’ve hated The Empire Strikes Back and loved The Phantom Menace. I’ve even known someone who’s hated Meryl Streep and loved Katherine Heigl (there is a special eighth level of hell reserved for that person). After all of that, though, I have yet to meet a single person who doesn’t hold at least one or two Pixar movies very close to their heart. People like me can complain and complain about how Disney has creatively neutered the studio or how making Cars 2 was equivalent to giving up a home run on the last pitch of a perfect game, but at the end of the day nothing will change the fact that no other studio over the past two decades has managed to even come close to matching Pixar’s gold standard.
Today, in honor of the release of Pixar’s Monsters University, I thought it might be fun to find out what your favorite Pixar movie is? There really are no right or wrong answers here (except for Cars 2, that would be a wrong answer), so feel free to justify your choice however you want. As for my pick, I’d be a little torn. Do I go with the quirky fun of Finding Nemo, or the nostalgia bombshell of Toy Story 3, or the hindsight-defying originality of Wall-E or Ratatouille? I could make a strong argument for nearly any one of Pixar’s films, but at the end of the day I would still be left with one choice…
Yes, my favorite Pixar movie is Up, a film which I believe embodies every single characteristic that sets the studio apart from its competitors. I can’t think of many other animated movies that can match the combined one-two punch of consistent comedy and unwavering emotional potency that Up is able to deliver. The ease in which Up moves between sweetness, sadness, humor, and pure wonder is something that never ceases to amaze me with each successive viewing. Top that of with a premise this refreshingly original and you end up with one of the best pieces of family entertainment made in the course of my lifetime.
Now that I’ve had my chance to fawn, I’d like to hear from you. What is your favorite Pixar movie and why? Sound off in the comments below!
Man, such a hard choice. I think i’d probably go Toy Story, although it’s very close between that, Wall-E and Monsters Inc. I do like Up as well though. So many good films! I can’t wait to check out Monsters University, we don’t get it for a few more weeks over here I don’t think.
Hope you enjoy it, it really isn’t “best Pixar Movie” material but it’s still a lot of fun
I love Toy Story. It never gets old. “You are a TOY!” I must admit though, my colleague has been begging me to watch Up for years now. I am one of those people – love animations, but getting me to sit down and watch one is a virtual impossibility.
Toy Story, for sure! The original of course, although I loved the other two also 🙂 Finding Nemo is a close second. For some reason I’ve found that I like the older Pixar movies more although no one can say that Up, Wall-E, and Brave aren’t awesome movies
I need to go back and watch some of the older ones, I feel like I’m due for a Bugs Life viewing at the very least
Yes! For sure, I feel like Bugs Life has gotten a little bit forgotten with all the new Pixar movies getting most attention. I loved that one though!
No film Pixar has done fills me with quite the same combination of joy, wonder, and sheer child-like giddiness like The Incredibles does.
We used to watch that on substitute teacher days in Band, so I’ve probably seen it about a dozen times, lol. Honestly, if I could see a sequel to any Pixar movie it would be that
Or Toy Story 4?!? Can’t go wrong with that!! As much as we WANT a Toy Story 4 to be in works and to be happening, I (if I can also speak for anyone who agrees here) think it’s a good idea to have the Toy Story series stop with the best one ever!!!
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Up all the way. No argument there. 😉
Hells yeah
I’d go with Toy Story followed by Wall-E.
lol, I’ve just been mentioning how everybody loves Toy Story 3 or 1 but nobody goes with 2. It’s just sort of an afterthought
First off, are those people you mentioned in the first paragraph institutionalized? 😉
I’m so hard to please when it comes to animation. That’s not the animation’s fault though, it’s mine. I don’t know what it is but sometimes I have a hard time connecting with them. That said, “Up” is fantastic. I swear, that opening was one of the most powerful things I’ve seen at the cinema. And the first half of the film really won me over.
Powerful for sure, I wasn’t expecting that either. That probably ranks up with Mufasa’s death as one of the saddest moments in animated movie history for me
Also those people above are not institutionalized, but then again we live in a world where Two and a Half Men gets higher ratings than nearly any other comedy on television so I guess that shouldn’t be too surprising
Pretty close race between WALL-E, Toy STory 3 and Up, but I think I’d put them in that order.
Glad to see Wall-E getting so much love, I’ve heard so many people complain that it gets dragged down once the people show up but that doesn’t change how impressive the rest of the film is
It’s obviously not as great in the second half but it’s still very good and has a pretty biting social commentary, which is closer to reality each day.
It’s a tough call, there’s a lot of great ones. I love the Incredibles, Up, Wall*E all of them, pretty much.
But if pressed for an answer, I’d probably still go with Toy Story. 😉
Lol, no love for Toy Story 2 so far, that poor middle child. I honestly haven’t seen the first two in such a long time that it’d be hard to judge them against some of the others.
My favorite is definitely Finding Nemo. I love all the characters in that movie and I quote it a lot. Mixed feelings about the upcoming sequel though. WALL-E comes in second for me. That film seems really deep for a kids movie.
Definitely, I mean I could go either way with the environmentalist themes but it’s amazing how human they manage to make a story about two robots. I really hope Finding Dory is good too, but I feel like it’ll probably end up being similar to Monsters University; lots of laughs but not quite as much heart. I guess there are worse things in the world than that
Like Cars or worse yet, Cars 2!! Hehe!! I haven’t had the time to see Cars 2 yet and I really don’t want to!! It looks very silly and Pixar’s weakest film, and so far, based on what I’ve been seeing, reading, and hearing I don’t think I’m wrong on that!! Aren’t I?!?!
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Wall-E. The two most important characters have almost no dialogue, but have more personality and make the viewer care more about them and their plight than most real actors ever achieve. And the animation is fantastic, especially on a big screen in HD.
Wall-E’s definitely my second, any movie that can go for the first forty minutes without a line of dialogue and still manage to build a sweet relationship between two inanimate objects has my complete respect. Also I had no idea that you read this, I’ll have to start minding my grammar… Amanda is my editor, I’ll just blame her for any mistakes
There are plenty of good contenders, but I have to go with Ratatouille. I wasn’t as excited to see it, but it struck a really strong emotional chord with me about creativity and following your passion. The shots of Paris were also gorgeous, and it was fun too. Just behind it are the first two Toy Story movies, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo. Really, there are only a few that don’t reach the top for me.
Another Ratatouille! Good to see that, so far it seems like the only ones not getting picked are Brave, Cars 1 or 2, or A Bug’s Life, but I totally agree that really anything could work for this one
Yay for Ratatouille *high-fives Dan*
Pixar fucking rules. I think Ratatouille, WALL·E and Up are the Holy Trinity of animation, and released one year apart from each other! Amazing!
My favorite is Ratatouille, though, which is not only my favorite animated film, but one of my favorite movies, period.
Interesting, not a popular choice but I’m not entirely sure why. My girlfriend chose that as her top one as well though 🙂
I don’t know, maybe the rat turns people off, but I just looooove that film.
“I’ve even known someone who’s hated Meryl Streep and loved Katherine Heigl (there is a special eighth level of hell reserved for that person).”
I’m shocked that Fernando read this without saying anything! Eighth, ninth, AND tenth levels of hell would be correct!
Anyway, I’d have to say my personal favorite is either Ratatouille or Monsters, Inc. I’ve found that certain Pixar flicks get stale with repeated viewings, but not those two.
Lol, luckily the Meryl Streep person and the Star Wars person were two separate people, otherwise that might’ve been too much to take. I’ve probably only seen Rat two times in total but I’ve seen Monsters University at least five or six. Up I’ve seen about twenty times though, it’s one of my comfort movies that I’ll watch at the end of the day every now and then.
You’ve seen Monsters University five or six times?!? Or do you mean Monsters Inc. ? I just saw Monsters University last night and it was a completely pleasant and joyful surprise for me!! If I can, I might want to see it again as a film, but not to re-grade the film (again)!!
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Lol, yeah I meant Monsters Inc… Derp
Wait you’ve seen Monsters U 5 or 6 times!? Already?
lol, sorry, monsters inc. I have seen monsters U twice though including the advanced screening
Oh wow. Still pretty impressive.
I give Monsters University a:
4.23/5
89/100
8.89/10
And an A-
It’s not quite a Pixar classic like Toy Story 3, or a Pixar original (or an original Pixar film) like
The Incredibles!!! I thought UP and Ratatouille were just alright…not bad…but they were just okay for me!! UP was a little too slow for me because I had seen this film in 2009 when I was 12 years old and I had very little patience when I first the film!!! Ratatouille was a little slow for me when I first saw it in 2007 when I was 10 years old…this is also the age when my patience was VERY limited!!! But I really did like The Incredibles very much…and I still really enjoy it now!!!
Toy Story 3 is a film I incredibly and extremely enjoy it very much!!!
Finding Nemo is fantastically enjoyable and entertaining!!
Wall-E was little slow for me too because when I saw it in 2008, I was 11 years old, and again, that was also the age when my patience was VERY limited!! Cars wasn’t a great film for me!!
So…my favorite Pixar movie is Toy Story 3 by far!!! But for my favorite original Pixar film..it would actually be The Incredibles!!!
I give Monsters University a:
4.23/5
89/100
8.89/10
And an A-
It’s not quite a Pixar classic like Toy Story 3, or a Pixar original (or an original Pixar film) like
The Incredibles!!! I thought UP and Ratatouille were just alright…not bad…but they were just okay for me!! UP was a little too slow for me because I had seen this film in 2009 when I was 12 years old and I had very little patience when I first the film!!! Ratatouille was a little slow for me when I first saw it in 2007 when I was 10 years old…this is also the age when my patience was VERY limited!!! Wall-E was little slow for me too because when I saw it in 2008, I was 11 years old, and again, that was also the age when my patience was VERY limited!! Cars wasn’t a great film for me!!
But I really did like The Incredibles very much…and I still really enjoy it now!!!
Toy Story 3 is a film I incredibly and extremely enjoy it very much!!!
Finding Nemo is fantastically enjoyable and entertaining!!
So…my favorite Pixar movie is Toy Story 3 by far!!! But for my favorite original Pixar film..it would actually be The Incredibles!!!
I might pick The Incredibles if it was on the basis of entertainment, it was a hell of a lot of fun. Toy Story 3 was incredible though, plus at the time it came out I too was an Andy who was heading off to college, lol
Why the different scores? Just curious
I give different scores to this film in case they’re are people out there (who are commenting on this subject) who rate their films on either a 5 star scale or 10 star scale, or even a percentage rating, or EVEN letter grade scale (1-100%)!! I really enjoyed Monsters University!! It really was the greatest and most pleasant surprise of the year for me!! Is it better than. 42 and/or Iron Man 3? Actually, yeah it is!!
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When I said that I grade movies on several rating systems, I meant to type out that the letter grade scale were grades A-F and the percentage grade scale were from 1%-100%, not the other way around!! I did NOT mean to have the letter grades show my percentage rating system!! Sorry about the incorrect mistake!!
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Toy Story, Wall-E and Monsters Inc. 😀
Oh come on, you have to chose one!
NEVER!!!
Since I haven’t seen all that many Pixar (i know, shame on me. . ) I absolutely have to go with the original Toy Story. That thing is just a timeless classic. My runner-up actually would be A Bug’s Life. I really really liked the world they created thru the perspective of little bugs!! haha
Nice! About time someone chose that. It seems to be overlooked a lot, I haven’t seen it personally for such a long time that It’s hard to compare it to the others. Maybe I should change that…
Up has made me cry the most (followed by Toy Story 3).
The Incredibles has made me laugh the most.
Wall-E has my favorite story overall.
I haven’t seen either of the Monsters movies and it’s been years since I’ve seen Bug’s Life, so those weren’t considered in my judgment.
I HIGHLY recommend seeing Monsters Inc., if nothing else for the adorableness of Boo. Other than that though I agree with those categories, Incredibles was probably pound for pound the funniest
Toy Story – The Incredibles – Toy Story 3- Wall-E- Up- Finding Nemo- Monsters Inc- Ratatouille- A Bug’s Life- Toy Story 2. I left out a certain few for various reasons. Although I have not seen Monsters University yet.
It’s pretty tame by Pixar standards but it’s still plenty of fun if you’re not expecting too much out of it.
Toy Story 3, all the way. I put it above the first… (pause for ridicule)… I love that one man. Just as fun and funny as the first but with the added emotional element.
Lol, I was actually just looking at IGN’s rankings and they did the same so no ridicule from me 🙂
I really like Cars 2. I assume there is a special place in hell for me and the other three people who feel the same.
Don’t get me wrong though, it is nowhere near my favourite Pixar flick. Monsters Inc is definitely my favourite. Twas the first film I ever bought on DVD – cost me 40 of my teenage Australian dollars way back in the day. So Monsters Inc for my favourite, whilst Wall-E I would say is Pixar’s ‘best’ film.
Damn, 40$ for a DVD? That is dedication. To be honest, Cars 2 isn’t terrible by most animated standards. I could go on and on about the issues I had for it but in the end most of my problems were related to the incredibly high standard I had come to hold pixar to (a standard which it had never broken before Cars 2)
It’s between Wall-E, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Can I have all three?
If that was the case, Sophie’s Choice would have been a much shorter movie
Up and Wall-E are my faves 🙂 Don’t know which to choose.
Damn how am I supposed to pick jut one? Wall-E, The Incredibles and Toy Story could all be my number 1 depending on how I feel that day.
great topic FYI
Ratatouille!!
I didn’t like Up much, don’t judge me haha!
It’s okay, lol, it’s pixar so there are pretty much no wrong answers. I won’t even make you feel bad for not liking Up 🙂
Excellent, excellent choice! Pete Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc.) is my favorite Pixar director, hands-down. Monsters, Inc. is my favorite Pixar film and, as far as I’m concerned, Up is the best Pixar film. I absolutely cannot wait for Inside Out.