Pixar Films: Best - Worst - March Update - Toy Story 3 is at the top!

Pixar Films Best to Worst

There have been 13 released Pixar films. Most of them have been a critical success, only one has failed critically (spotlight on Cars 2). However, I don't think any of them have been all that bad! Here's my countdown, from 13 - 1. Check back occasionally, it might change. ;)

13. Cars 2

In Pixar terms, it was a disaster. Cars 2 was lighthearted, visually appealing and funny in parts, but, when your competing with Pixar greats such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, which are some of the best, Cars 2 is pretty much as bad as it could get, for Pixar standards.The focus on Mater lost some of the charm from the first film.

Favourite Character: Guido still! His screen time is reduced in the sequel sadly, but he's still great isn't he?

Favourite moment: The final action seen, even if it wasn't 'Pixar' it was still very entertaining, there's no doubt in that.

12. Cars

Cars 2 wasn't Pixar's best, as we know. Cars was better. Lightning McQueen was a much better protagonist, with lots of funny moments and even some depth. But Lasseter's feature really did feel very different from features like The Incredibles and Ratatouille.

Favourite Character: Guido! - For being hilarious and brightening up every scene his in, without saying more than 1 or 2 words in Italian.

Favourite Moment: McQueen pushing King over the line, finally giving the film some of the depth that was missing the whole way through.

11.Brave 

It exceeded expectations for me. Brave offered up the tale of Merida, a young Scottish princess, who simply wants to live her life her way. Pixar told this story expertly (as only Pixar could). Not only did it offer up a handful of memorable set of characters (Merida's whole family) it showed us some of the best animations ever produced, by any animation company. 

Favourite Character(s): The Triplets. These three guys are little devils, but they manage to please adults and children alike.

Favourite Moment: Merida and the triplets attempting to sneak Bear Elinor out of the castle, whilst Fergus and his gang hunt them down. What a piece of brilliance.

10. The Incredibles 
Definitely the most thrilling of all of the Pixar films. Maybe number 2 could argue against that, but that isn't what makes number 2 brilliant. Anyway, back to The Incredibles. The Incredibles makes normal, mundane, family life, exciting. That is the true magic of the first part of the film. Then, everything goes wild. Cars explode, superheroes get tossed around and massive robots smash up town centres. That's what you get for partnering up with Disney. 
Favourite Character: E. Isn't she delightful daaaaaarliing?
Favourite Moment: E showing Helen the excellence of her new outfits. Wonderful. 

9. Monsters  Inc. 
Within seconds, I wanted to check every nook and cranny in my house for a monsters. Or an escaped child. The plot is instantly believable, because we have all thought about it! Pixar are brilliant at making weird situations from our childhood, interesting, entertaining and fun! Sulley, Mike, Roz and Boo are really the only memorable characters, which is why this is quite high up, even if it is a classic. 
Favourite Character: Mike. Put that thing back or so help meeee. So help me, so help me and cut!
Favourite Moment: I'll be watching Wazowski, always watching.

8. Wall-E.

Yes, I've moved Wall-E up! It's charm has captured my love after watching it again and truth be told, I enjoyed the film, it's charm, audacity and humour, but because of the high standards, Wall-e still can't cut it above other classics for me. It is still fantastically clever, but it doesn't match up to some of the titans down there. 

Favourite Character: Wall-E of course! This little guy is so unbelievably brilliant. He is the reason this film was an undisputed hit.

Favourite Moment: When Wall-E discovers a fire extinguisher and he decides to explore space a little bit. Genius.

7. Toy Story 2 
I've done it again! Put another classic to high up! Oh well. Toy Story 2 deftly blends emotion, humour and action, into a fairly short amount of time. It also sees the return of Andy's beloved toys and the addition of some brilliant new ones, who we learn to love as much as the originals. This time, the main problem of the story is possibly even more perilous than it's predecessor.
Favourite Character: Rex, our favoured dinosaur, who is TERRIFYING. Honest.
Favourite Moment: The Star Wars spoof, I AM YOUR FATHER.

6. Toy Story
Listed by film aggregator Rotten Tomatoes as the joint greatest film of all time (along with Toy Story 2 no less!), Toy Story is genuinely brilliant. Because Pixar's first film was so brilliant, it made the films after it have so much hype, that the majority of them deserved. Introducing us to a whole new world, Toy Story is the godfather of animation and changed the way Hollywood thought about the then infamous animation industry.
Favourite Character: Rex. He's even scarier in this one!
Favourite Moment: BUZZ! Your flying! 
This isn't flying! This is falling, with style!

5.  A Bug's Life 
Very few people would have A Bug's Life so low down (or high up depending how you look at it) on their list. I, however, think it is absolutely brilliant. A whole host of memorable characters (See one of my other blogs 'Top 20 Pixar Characters' for my favourites) make this film great. A surprisingly good plot line and possibly one of the best Disney villains of all time, Hopper, are other key factors that make this film a treasure to watch.
Favourite Character: Heimlich. This gluttonous caterpillar is voiced brilliantly by the late Joe Ranft. 
Favourite Moment: The end scene, where the circus bugs leave in an emotional farewell.

4. Ratatouille 
It's imaginative. It's funny. It's memorable. It's moving. It's Pixar. Probably the most imaginative Pixar film (only Wall-E can beat it really) ever, Ratatouille is brilliant. Even if it only leaves a handful of memorable characters. Crucially, Ratatouille brings out a whole new angle to Pixar. We see a very entertaining, personal side to Pixar, which works. 
Favourite Character: Emile! He's like Heimlich, so how could I not like him! I enjoyed him particularly when he propelled grapes at Linguini.
Favourite Moment: The rats running the kitchen. Using every method, skill and trait they have to help Remy serve Ego. The scene is a brilliant example of Pixar's boundless imagination.

3. Finding Nemo

This is where the films get insanely good. Naturally, you can tell a film is popular when it's the best-selling DVD of all time. Finding Nemo is a dream for cinema-goers. Quite literally. 'Nemo' has such a beautiful wide variety of characters, an astonishingly well-thought out plot and moving situation, that hardly any critics could fault it. Only 2 critics on Rotten Tomatoes could find faults with it. Frankly, they shouldn't have a job. 
Favourite Character: Dory! Who didn't fall in love with the natural blue? Ellen DeGeneres brings her to life. She creates one of the most memorable (certainly one of the most famous) Disney characters of all time.
Favourite Moment: Nigel flying into the dentist's room and causing havoc. Then Gill saves Nemo and our dreams are fulfilled.

2. Up
Up has moved down, but that shouldn't diminish it's achievements. It's so damn brilliant! The amazingly orignal montage at the start brings tears to multiple eyes. The hilarious set of characters who include Russel, Dug and Kevin create a whole host of verbal and physical comedy, which leaves us in stitches. We believe the storyline, because it is told so brilliantly. I also love the scoring, it won an Oscar for that wonderfully catchy tune at the start of the film, for good reason. Up gas won me over several times. Then it won me over again. Then it won me over more. And more. Perfection, from Hollywood's finest.
Favourite Character: Dug! He's my favourite Pixar character, mostly because of the way he greets Carl and Russel. And because he's brilliant.
Favourite Moment: Anything involving Dug; what a legend.

1. Toy Story 3 
So Toy Story 3 has moved up. The 2010 masterpiece has become one of the most beloved films of my generation. (Rotten Tomatoes indicates that only 3 critics haven't liked the franchise, they're a bit weird). So basically, this is my favourite film ever, regardless of it's very few critics. Our hearts skip several beat, we laugh a ridculous amount and we cry and cry and cry. A host of new characters are introduced, just increase the already unbelievable levels of fun. Pixar pour it's heart and soul into this. And boy can you tell.
Favourite Character: Rex still. Even though I adore Bonnie's new toys and Mr Potato Head, he still wins me over.
Favourite Moment: Andy saying goodbye. It made grown men cry. Enough said.

Top 10 Pixar Villains - AUTO makes the list!

Top 10 Pixar Villains

Anyone who has read one of my blogs will probably have noticed a recurring theme; Pixar! This blog might change, so check back! Particularly when new films are released (I'm sure Monsters University in June will bring a world of changes). Please check out my other blogs, Top 20 Characters etc!

10. AUTO - Wall-E.
I watched Wall-E again recently. In my humble opinion, AUTO has more of a threat than Mor'du. Mor'du may be a lot scarier, with the claws and the jaws, but I was physically more worried for Wall-E and EVE than I was for Merida, which proves that AUTO is the superior villain! And that weird red eye is quite frightening, a good move from Stanton to include that.
Most Villainous Moment: Completely taking over the ship and nearly denying the humans of their return to Earth!

9. Al, the Chicken Man - Toy Story 2.
Perhaps one of the most hated characters in cinema history, Al the Chicken Man (real name Al McWhiggin)  is the antagonist in Toy Story 2. How dare he steal Woody from us and all the other toys? However, a villain is supposed to be hated, so Al was pretty decent! 
Most Villainous Moment: Stealing our beloved Woody, right from under our nose! How could he?!

8. Alpha, Beta and Gamma - Up.
I originally only considered Alpha for this place. However, I watched Up a few days ago and I realised that Beta and Gamma just add comedy to Alpha's character! They truly are great, probably the funniest characters on this list. Not only is Alpha terrifying with his normal voice, but he provides one of the biggest laughs of the film when his collar breaks! "Hey Alpha! Your voice sounds funny!"
Most Villainous Moment: Alpha nearly tossing Dug (my favourite film character of all time) off the cliff! :(.

7. Randall - Monsters Inc. 
This creepy (close to paedophilic) monster is up there with number's 1 and 2 being one of the most threatening villains on this list. Imagine if he had kidnapped Boo! What kind of terrible world would we live in? Volcanoes would erupt, suns would supernova, children's heads would explode! Frankly, Randall is great, but he isn't scary enough to be on to far up this list. Mor'du is probably the scariest, except number one down there. He is frightening.
Most Villainous Moment: Nearly killing Sully. Pushing his claws off the door, one by one. Until Boo comes along. 

6. Stinky Pete - Toy Story 2. 
Ah yes, Stinky Pete. This guy wasn't really a villain until the last half hour of the film. Then he nearly killed Woody. Anyone who would consider killing possibly one of the most loved characters in cinema history will be hated. However, I think this guy is actually quite a good villain. Very sneaky and he's clearly a brilliant actor. But he hasn't got that little thing that puts the top five clearly above the rest.
Most Villainous Moment: Dragging Woody back into Al's case, after Buzz and the gang's attempt to save him! How greedy!

5. Syndrome - The Incredibles.
Syndrome (A.K.A Buddy Pine) is the antagonist in The Incredibles. The reason he made it to the top 5 was because we saw him as Buddy, before he turned evil and power crazy. It's great to see someone transform into a villain. Brad Bird decision to show him like that was a very good one. As well as this, he actually carries serious threat, potentially killing not only our beloved 'supers' but a whole host of innocent people! However, he is immensely stupid, being outwitted by your own robot isn't a good thing in my mind.
Most Villainous Moment: Torturing Mr Incredible, by sending rockets at his wife and children. Talk about blackmail.

4. Sid - Toy Story.
The very first Pixar villain. And isn't he a terror. He simply tortures toys (to be fair, he doesn't know their alive) using all kinds of sadistic methods and items. Somehow, he manages to get his hands on a rocket (what kind of parents does he have?!) and strap it to Buzz! This was probably a good thing in the end however. If he hadn't, the moving truck would've left Woody, Buzz and RC on the road! Sid finally gets his comeuppance in the third film, when he's grown up. He is the bin man who drums on the metal bins. Notice the skull shirt. Proof.
Most Villainous Moment: Nearly exploding Buzz! Life wouldn't be the same.

3. Charles Muntz - Up.
With Up being my favourite Pixar film (probably making it my favourite film ever) Muntz had to be included! He goes to extreme limits to kill Carl and the gang (for a pretty poor reason, not on Pixar's part but on his). He does however provide moments of amusement (unlike most villains). Notably, when Russel slides across the glass and he's standing there completely puzzled. He also helped Dug to speak. So naturally he's actually a massive legend. Maybe he isn't so bad. Wait, he threatened to kill Russel. GRRRRR.
Most Villainous Moment: His fight with Carl. Tense as anything! 

2. Lotso - Toy Story 3. 
The most hated villain in animated (possibly cinema) history. This guy nearly killed a wonderful set of toys. Even if he did seem like an old, loving bear, who smells of strawberries, at first, he ruined it by turning sour. Along with his cronies (special mention to Stretch, the purple octopus who I found hilarious for very little reason) he dominated Sunnyside for years. Until Woody, Buzz and the gang came along.
Most Villainous Moment: Refusing to press the button, in a dire moment of need. I could've forgiven him for all he'd done it he'd pressed it. But no.

1. Hopper - A Bug's Life.
As I've said previously on this list, only number one can match Mor'du for scariness. Hopper certainly is terrifying. He abuses the colony of ants, to breaking point. Eventually Flick gets his own back. Hopper is brilliant. He has a very dry sense of humour (some misinterpret as grumpiness), especially when confronted with his brother Molt. Hopper truly shines when he is at his scariness. Particularly when he is scaring his own kind. The grasshoppers.
Most Villainous Moment: Plucking Flick right from Princess Ada's arms. He soars from the canon, stealing him. Luckily he get's his comeuppance. The bird!