Sometimes, I tell people that I really like Pixar movies, and then they ask the dreaded question, "which one is your favorite?" So I set out on a mission to find my answer to this question.
First of all, let me just apologize in advance for the ridiculous length of this post. If you want to just skip to the end to see my final ranking, I would not be offended. Also, there might be some spoilers.
I decided I would watch all the Pixar movies in chronological order and then grade them on a 27 point scale based on the following 3-point categories:
Funniness: 1-funny 2-contains specifically memorable moments that made me laugh 3-I laughed the whole time
Animation: 1-obviously great 2-contains specifically beautiful moments 3-it's one of the most noticeable parts of the movie
Nostalgia factor: 1-new/not as memorable 2-I have a specific memory about it 3-I grew up with it
Plot: 1-nothing special 2-enjoyable and creative 3-life-changing
Characters: 1-like them 2-love them 3-I want to be their friend
Message: 1-positive 2-important 3-perfect
Concept: 1-great 2-wonderful 3-beautifully original
Heart: 1-beautiful 2-pulls at the heartstrings 3-I cried
How much I like it: 1-like it 2-love it 3-would watch it every day
Bonus points can also be awarded.
Clearly this is very subjective criteria, and the lowest possible score is a 9, which is still excellent if you read the descriptions of what one point means, but it works for my purposes.
Here's what I found:
1. Toy Story (1995)
Funny: 2 Animation: 3 Nostalgia: 3 Plot: 2 Characters: 3 Message: 1 Concept: 3 Heart: 2 Like it?: 3
Total: 22/27
I love Toy Story. I have Toy Story sheets, a toy Buzz Lightyear, and I recently bought Toy Story Vans, which are real shoes you can actually buy, you should check it out. I don't really like Woody though. He's kind of a jerk. I mean the entire first movie is just Woody freaking out because he may not be the favorite toy anymore. Buzz Lightyear makes up for it though, so it's characters score remains a 3. As for animation, it's only a 3 because Toy Story was the first ever feature length computer animated film, which is awesome.
2. A Bug's Life (1998)
Funny: 1 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 2 Characters: 2 Message: 2 Concept: 2 Heart: 1 Like it?: 3
Total: 16/27
A Bug's Life is definitely an under-appreciated movie and I really enjoyed watching it again because it's probably the Pixar movie I've seen the least, but it definitely doesn't meet my Pixar standards that I have developed through years of watching Pixar movies constantly.
3. Toy Story 2 (1999)
Funny: 2 Animation: 1 Nostalgia: 2 Plot: 1 Characters: 2 Message: 1 Concept: 1 Heart: 3 Like it?: 3
Total: 16/27
Toy Story 2 is the first to receive a 3 in the "heart" category. I feel like it's the first movie where Pixar decided that their mission was to make their audience cry. Jessie and Emily get me every time. Woody is still a jerk in this movie though. I mean he decides with not much convincing to leave all his friends behind and join some strange toys on a journey to a museum in Japan because he likes being famous.
4. Monsters Inc. (2001)
Funny: 3 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 3 Plot: 2 Characters: 3 Message: 2 Concept: 3 Heart: 3 Like it?: 3
BONUS +1 because I had the Gameboy game, the board game, and the play set. Total: 25/27
A near perfect score. It has always been one of my favorites though, so this doesn't really surprise me. When I was a kid, I had the Monsters Inc. Gameboy game, the Monsters Inc. version of Life the board game, and a super cool play set.
5. Finding Nemo (2003)
Funny: 3 Animation: 3 Nostalgia: 3 Plot: 2 Characters: 3 Message: 2 Concept: 2 Heart: 2 Like it?: 3
Total: 23/27
Finding Nemo is an excellent movie. It's also just super quotable. I found myself reciting a lot of the lines along with the characters as they said them, a movie habit that many find irritating. I remember when Finding Nemo first came out because I went to see it with my brother, who saw it six times in theaters.
6. The Incredibles (2004)
Funny: 3 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 2 Plot: 1 Characters: 2 Message: 2 Concept: 2 Heart: 1 Like it?: 3
Total: 18/27
Another quotable one. The kind of movie that makes me laugh at things before they happen. When I was in middle school I once watched The Incredibles with a friend of mine in his basement and we ate Pop Rocks and laughed so hard we cried. "NO CAPES."
7. Cars (2006)
Funny: 1 Animation: 1 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 2 Characters: 1 Message: 2 Concept: 1 Heart: 1 Like it?: 1
Total: 11/27
Now I know that I lot of people have really strong feelings against Cars, but I honestly still like it. I stand by the criteria for a 1-point score in each category. My main problem with it is that I don't like Lightning McQueen as a character, which makes it hard to care about his story.
8. Ratatouille (2007)
Funny: 1 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 2 Characters: 2 Message: 2 Concept: 2 Heart: 2 Like it?: 2
Total: 16/27
Ratatouille, like A Bug's Life, is one of those movies that is truly excellent, it was just never a big part of my life. Leave it to Pixar to make you love a rat. To be fair, I used to have pet rats so it wasn't really so much of a stretch for me, but I do have friends who dislike Ratatouille because they're disgusted by the idea of rats in a kitchen.
9. WALL-E (2008)
Funny: 2 Animation: 3 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 3 Characters: 2 Message: 3 Concept: 3 Heart: 3 Like it?: 3
Total: 23/27
WALL-E is in my opinion one of the most stunning things that Pixar has ever created. They took a bunch of robots and made you care about them and root for them, and at the same time they made some startling statements about environmental awareness. It feels very important and beautiful, like watching a piece of art.
10. Up (2009)
Funny: 3 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 2 Plot: 3 Characters: 3 Message: 3 Concept: 3 Heart: 3 Like it?: 3
Total: 25/27
Up has also always been one of my favorites. It's unique and beautiful and full of emotion. Pixar created yet another work of art. I always forget how funny Up is. I always remember it based on the first ten minutes that make everyone cry, but once I get through that part, I'm laughing pretty much the rest of the movie.
11. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Funny: 1 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 1 Characters: 2 Message: 2 Concept: 2 Heart: 3 Like it?: 2
Total: 16/27
I have mixed feelings about Toy Story 3. In theory, I love it, but the actual experience of watching it was more than anything just upsetting. It's so dark. The good ones are in serious trouble and the bad ones are truly evil. There are very few light-hearted moments. The ending is worth it though, I cried. Pixar did the thing where they aged the characters realtime, which was a great move because all the kids who watched Toy Story growing up were going to college just like Andy when this movie came out.
12. Cars 2 (2011)
Funny: 1 Animation: 1 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 1 Characters: 1 Message: 1 Concept: 1 Heart: 1 Like it?: 1
Total: 9/27
Again, not a bad movie, just definitely a movie for little kids who like cars and Cars. I'll be honest, I didn't actually watch it this time around. I had seen it recently enough that I could rate it accurately, and I just really didn't want to watch it again. Trust me, this was a very hard thing for me to admit.
13. Brave (2012)
Funny: 1 Animation: 3 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 1 Characters: 2 Message: 3 Concept: 1 Heart: 2 Like it?: 1
BONUS +1 for a prince-less princess who saves herself Total: 16/27
Brave is a weird one, because even though Disney has owned Pixar for a long time now, this movie feels very Disney princess movie, and Merida is even one of the official Disney princesses. Pixar's take on a Disney princess though involved her being a badass so I'll take it. I always enjoy it more than I think I will. But again, super weird.
14. Monsters University (2013)
Funny: 3 Animation: 2 Nostalgia: 3 Plot: 3 Characters: 3 Message: 1 Concept: 2 Heart: 2 Like it?: 3
Total: 22/27
I saw Monsters University nine times in theaters, three of those times were within the first 24 hours it was released. It gets three nostalgia points because it came out the summer before I started college. I think that's why I liked it so much.
15. Inside Out (2015)
Funny: 1 Animation: 3 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 3 Characters: 2 Message: 3 Concept: 3 Heart: 3 Like it?: 2
Total: 22/27
Inside Out is another of those amazingly original and creative works of art that Pixar seems to generate. It only gets two points in the "how much I like it" category though, not because I don't think it's amazing, but because it's so emotionally involved that it's almost overwhelming to watch.
16. The Good Dinosaur (2015)
Funny: 2 Animation: 3 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 1 Characters: 2 Message: 1 Concept: 1 Heart: 3 Like it?: 2
Total: 17/27
This is another one of those movies that people tend to have negative feelings about, because it really isn't that remarkable. It is, however, a visual masterpiece and I love it because of that.
17. Finding Dory (2016)
Funny: 2 Animation: 1 Nostalgia: 1 Plot: 1 Characters: 2 Message: 2 Concept: 1 Heart: 3 Like it?: 2
Total: 15/27
Finding Dory is lovely and incredibly heartfelt, but it did feel very sequel-y. Sequels can be hard, but I do love that Pixar doesn't seem to make sequels just for the sake of making a sequel (with the exception of maybe Cars 2 and Cars 3, coming soon, and Toy Story 4?). Finding Dory came out 13 years after the original, which makes it at least seem like they actually put some thought into what kind of sequel to make, as to not mess with a good thing.
Final Results
Without further ado, I would like to present my completely subjective and only mostly accurate ranking of all 17 Pixar movies released to date. The list is subject to change.
1. Monsters Inc. - 25/27
2. Up - 25/27
3. Finding Nemo - 23/27
4. WALL-E - 23/27
5. Toy Story - 22/27
6. Monsters University - 22/27
7. Inside Out - 22/27
8. The Incredibles - 18/27
9. The Good Dinosaur - 17/27
10. Ratatouille - 16/27
11. Toy Story 2 - 16/27
12. A Bug's Life - 16/27
13. Toy Story 3 - 16/27
14. Brave - 16/27
15. Finding Dory - 15/27
16. Cars - 11/27
17. Cars 2 - 9/27
This has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I don't know that I really even feel much better about the situation now that I have a real answer to such a hard question. I honestly probably would've guessed Monsters Inc. from the beginning, since I loved it so much as a kid. It definitely wasn't a waste of the time though. If anything, it gave me an excuse to watch all the Pixar movies and I loved every minute of it.
