Pixar: The Good, The Bad and Cars, Part 1
Sometimes you take on endeavors that turn out to be difficult. It might not be life altering, but tough nonetheless. For me it was writing this commentary where I rate the top Pixar flicks.
I would liken it to being asked to pick your favorite child. Each has its own aspects that make them special and to narrow it down to the best of the best is a tough task. But one I take on.
So sit back, get yourself a little popcorn and enjoy what I believe are the top Pixar flicks thus far.
10. Cars (2006) To be a Pixar offering and only garner a fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com (plug!) of only 75 percent, should tell you all you need to know about Cars. It might have an All-Star cast of actors lending their voices, but the story is boring and easily ranks as the worst film the company has put out. This surprises me with John Lasseter being the director and co-screenwriter, but even the best have a horrible outing from time to time.
9. A Bug’s Life (1998) While the movie is a charming little story about an inventive little ant named Flik and his journey to right the wrong his inventions have delivered on the colony, it just didn’t have the same magic Toy Story had. I think the movie suffered from being too long, and as evident in the times my kid have watched it, it’s not good enough to hold a child’s interest or an adult for that matter.
8. Monsters, Inc. (2001) This movie really benefited from the voice talent of John Goodman and Billy Crystal. The story revolves around Sulley (Goodman) and Mike (Crystal) and their adventures to return a little girl after she followed Sulley back to Monstropolis. It shows Pixar’s strength when a film as good as Monster’s Inc. drops all the way to No. 8 on my list. In another cruel turn, the film lost out to Shrek for Best Animated Feature at the 2001 Oscars, a fact that should turn the stomach of any moviegoer.
7. Ratatouille (2007) A little rat that wants to become a chef. That’s Ratatouille in a nutshell. I feel bad that it fell to No. 7 on my list because in fact, I really liked the film. It’s charming, smart and very different from what Pixar had done before. The main difference for me was the fact the film had an art house feel to it. Meaning, it’s played not as an animated film, but as a very good film that just happened to have animated characters as its leads. Very smart and very creative.
6. The Incredibles (2004) This story about a family of superheroes really blew me away when it first opened. I usually didn’t make my way to the theater to catch animated flicks, but I loved the premise and I’m a sucker for Holly Hunter and Craig T. Nelson – and not necessarily in that order. I was another success for the company because as with all its films, it felt fresh and had all the elements for a great family movie.