Today marks the 40th anniversary of Pixar, one of the absolute best animation studios ever. If that feels like an astonishingly long time ago, that’s because it is. The first Pixar feature-length film didn’t come out until Toy Story in 1995, but the studio existed long before that. Nevertheless, in that 40-year history, there have been some truly incredible films. Here are the best of the best.
The Best Pixar Movies to Date
Note: I excluded Toy Story 2 and Toy Story since that would pretty much make the Toy Story franchise the focus of this entire list.
Honorable Mentions: Up, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, Inside Out 2, Cars 3, Coco, and Soul.
5. Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is great. There’s a bit of fear baked into the movie, with certain scenes coming off as really frightening. That’s what makes it work so well, because ultimately, it’s a movie about facing your fears, and so providing some fears for the characters and audience to face together is a wonderful way of teaching that lesson. It’s also got incredible animation that helped push the medium forward, which is a bonus.
4. Ratatouille
Ratatouille is excellent. The central idea that anyone can cook is pretty great, and it gives kids an entrypoint into deeper ideas about belonging, equality, and more. It’s very funny, too. The concept of a rat cooking and controlling a man to do it is just as wildly creative as prime Pixar was. Plus, the ending with Ego tasting the meal and essentially remembering why he does what he does is so important and so well-executed.
3. Inside Out
What if feelings had feelings? That’s the central question of Inside Out, adding a very meta take on Pixar’s very identity. What if toys, bugs, cars, and more had feelings has always been the exploration of these movies, but taking it inside one’s head to the very feelings they’re feeling made for a very emotional and cathartic trip. As a bonus, Bing Bong’s final scene is one of the saddest in all of Pixar. Growing up is hard.
2. Toy Story 3
There just isn’t a way to end a movie trilogy better than this. Because Toy Story 3 is so good, I choose to live my life as if Toy Story 4, which is bad, and Toy Story 5 (coming soon) do not exist. The story ended here, and it ended so well. Andy went off to college, and the kids who grew up watching him and his toys had largely moved into a more adult stage of life as well, and the way this movie illustrates that transition is so exceptional.
1. Cars
You either were a Cars kid or you weren’t. I was. The story here is great, and Lightning McQueen’s journey is still as inspiring and heartfelt today as it was in 2006. Few Pixar moments rival when he decides to forego the win to make sure Strip Weathers could finish his final race. It’s a perfect ending to a perfect arc for a decidedly imperfect character. Oh, and it features the best soundtrack, maybe in the history of movies. Life really is a highway.
Conclusion
Pixar or Dreamworks? That’s a question for another day (and maybe another article). For now, Pixar gets its day thanks to the 40th anniversary. The studio may not be in its prime anymore, but it is still more than capable of putting out incredible movies (Inside Out 2 being maybe the best example that they’ve still got it). There is more to come, and who knows? Maybe some of them will join this list.
