Pixar: The Good, The Bad and Cars, Part 2

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.

5. UP (2009) An animated film with an elderly character for the lead? Are you serious? That was my first thought when "Up" was receiving an incredible amount of buzz before its release. And to be honest, my kids loved it, but I wasn’t a huge fan on my first viewing. It was my daughters who insisted we see it again and then the charm of this story hit me full force. Just as WALL-E had done the previous year, UP delivered a compelling story that was heavier than most non-animated pictures released in ’09.

4. Toy Story 2 (1999) Ah, the return of Woody and Buzz. Our old mates for the first Pixar feature came back and brought some new friends along for the ride. Just as the original, Toy Story 2 showed that Pixar is the absolute best when it comes to the medium because of their focus on the story. In my eyes, this is the Empire Strikes Back of the animated world. It’s a sequel that was equally as good as the original and surpassed it in some ways. I loved the addition of the new characters and another great screenplay by Andrew Stanton and crew.

3. WALL-E (2008) What’s not to love about this kindly little robot? Nothing. Again it was Stanton who co-wrote the screenplay and was behind the lens for this tale of robot love. OK, maybe the movie was more than that, but you gotta love a little robotic loving. Plus, Star Wars alum Ben Burtt produced many of the ‘voices’ in the movie and you can’t go wrong with a guy with four Oscars.

2. Finding Nemo (2003) And you might have guessed it by now, it was Stanton who brought the tale of a tiny fish’s quest to get back to his home. Nemo was Pixar’s first of five Best Animated Oscar winners and is at the top of many people’s list as the best film to come from the studio. What makes Nemo work is the formula Pixar has adopted for all their films (except Cars), which is surround an intriguing story with great characters, add some heart and let the magic take care of itself. For 15 years the formula has worked to perfection.

1. Toy Story (1995) Nothing can beat the film that started it all. Having two small children, I’m an avid watcher of all things Pixar and this is by far my favorite movie simply because it’s the best. It had everything I was sure at the time, a computer generated feature film couldn’t have — a great story, great characters and a great look. Toy Story accomplished all those and so much more. Toy Story and its sequel hold perfect ratings at rottentomatoes.com (plug No.2) and with early reviews in for Toy Story 3, it looks like Pixar is going to pull off the trifecta. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, respectively, gave children and adults alike two iconic characters that will last for infinity and beyond.