This is the first in a series of post which are going to try and find the best animated film out of the major animation studios of Pixar, Disney and Ghlibli, as well as taking into account some other greats outside of that (such as Shrek). Of course, these only include films I have seen so apologies if I miss out favourites and the like. Today I shall kick off with Pixar, with the films listed in alphabetical order.
Cars- 2 Stars
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| Cars, Theatrical Release Poster |
Shame to kick off with a bad one, but Cars is by far the worst Pixar film I’ve seen and is widely
recognised as Pixar’s first failure after a sleuth of high quality first films.
The biggest problem with Cars is that it feels forced- the humour isn’t clever
and doesn’t gel. On top of that, the characters are boring and the plot clichéd
(the arrogant champion who gives up his glory to help someone else and, of
course, falls in love- boring). It doesn’t help that, as all the characters are literally
cars, it requires a lot of good characterisation for us to sympathise with
them. Of course, in Pixar’s greatest successes such as Toy Story and
WALL-E,
where the characters are toys and robots respectively, the audience does relate
to the characters and their plight but this is why Cars is so disappointing
compared to the others- it simply doesn’t generate the same interest. That
said, I am willing to concede that it may make a more interesting film for
people interested in racing or cars, which I am decidedly not. However, a good
film should be able to engage the interests of many different people meaning
Cars is probably the worst Pixar film I have seen and is miles off the top spot.
Ratings: Entertainment: 5 Technical: 4 Intelligence: 2= 11/20
**
Finding Nemo- 3 Stars
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| Finding Nemo, Theatrical Release Poster |
Finding Nemo is widely regarded as one of Pixar’s absolute
greatest achievements. I have to say, I have never quite understood the hype
around it. It is a good film, there is no doubting that, and its originality in
setting a film entirely under the ocean was also a fantastic way to use the
medium of animation. However, the plot itself is pretty standard and doesn’t
really have a message to it like the Toy Story films, for example. The
character arc from Marlon is also completely predictable and a little boring.
The plot also feels forced in places to create emotion which is really aggravating,
such as when Nemo appears to be dead at the end, just after he’s been rescued-
the audience knows he’s not dead and the scene is just pushed in there to try
and generate some emotion from the audience which is fake and disingenuous. I
just wish they could have come up with more interesting characters and plot for
a film which is so visually amazing. I also do not find Dory particularly funny
and after the novelty of her character wears off she becomes rather annoying.
The rest of the wide cast of supporting characters are varied in their quality
with the vegetarian sharks being the best, but there also being many
forgettable ones. I do like Nemo and enjoy it as a film, I just wish it had
more to say and wasn’t so predictable.
Ratings: Entertainment: 7 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 2= 14/20
***
The Incredibles- 5 Stars
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| The Incredibles, Theatrical Release Poster |
The Incredibles is my second favourite Pixar film because not
only is it immensely enjoyable and watchable but it also has a sincere and
intelligent message about mediocrity and family. I have already written about
this film on my blog (see the previous post) and so shall keep this review
short, but I shall just reiterate again that this film’s success is down to the
fantastic pacing resulting in moving emotional scenes, funny comedic
ones, and tense bursts of action. On top of this, The Incredibles contains some
of Pixar’s very best supporting characters- Syndrome is one of Pixar’s most
memorable villains and its supporting characters of Edna Mode, Frozone and
Mr Huff outrank any of the supporting cast from Finding Nemo. On top of all
this entertainment, the Incredibles also carries a message about the importance
of family and the frustrations of a mid-life crisis, but all uniquely conveyed
through the medium of a superhero movie.
Ratings: Entertainment: 10 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 4=
19/20 *****
Monsters Inc- 4 Stars
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| Monsters Inc, Theatrical Release Poster |
Monsters Inc is a Pixar classic but is not quite up there
with the very best. It has good characters with Sully and Mike having excellent
chemistry throughout the film, creating much of the comedy. It is again another
completely original idea from Pixar and has a good depth of supporting
characters in Randall, Waternoose, and, of course, Roz, as well as a message
about the dangers of corporatism. On top of this, it has a strong emotional
heart in the connection between Sully and Boo. So why does it not reach the
heights of Pixar then? The problems, as I see them, are as follows: firstly,
the predictability of Sully’s character arc is clear from the beginning- in a
film made for human children, the ending is going to contain a message about
them in a positive light, and hence Sully’s realisation that human children are
not the dangers which they have been made out to be (as the audience also
knows) is entirely predictable even on a first watch. Secondly, the two
antagonists in Waternoose and Randall created a distorted climax as the big fight
is between Sully and Randall, yet it is Waternoose, the boss, who is the main villain. This
creates a slightly dissatisfying ending and takes away from the dramatic reveal
of the Waternoose's hidden evil intentions. Therefore, although Monsters Inc is a very good
film, it doesn’t quite sit up there with Pixar’s best.
Ratings: Entertainment: 8 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 3= 16/20
****
Ratatouille- 4 Stars
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| Ratatouille, Theatrical Release Poster |
Ratatouille has never been one of my favourite Pixar films,
although I am still willing to concede that it is very good. Again it is
original in that no one has made a film about rats in the same style. The
Parisian setting creates a good atmosphere and the characters of Remy and Alfredo
are both well defined. It also has an emotional heart in the relationship
between Alfredo and his girlfriend, Collette, which helps create the drama.
However, I feel that the message of acceptance and non-judgement is a little
predictable and certainly not as original as the film’s premise. The villainous
characters of the restaurant critic and the chef are also disinteresting. The
first, Anton Ego, has such a completely clichéd reversal in character from
simply eating a meal which, although some would argue is original and moving, I
simply felt was rather dissatisfying, and Skinner, the second villain, is a
complete stereotype of the evil bad guy with very few or no redeeming features.
The three way relationship between Remy, Alfredo and Collette is also a little
clichéd and the result is predictable (that Collette would react badly to Remy,
resulting in Alfredo throwing the Rat out, only for it all to work out in the
end when she realises Remy isn’t too bad after all- plays like a bad romantic
comedy). Therefore, all in all, Ratatouille is one of Pixar’s weaker films
although certainly represents a solid endeavour.
Ratings: Entertainment: 7 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 3= 15/20
****
Toy Story- 5 Stars
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| Toy Story, Theatrical Release Poster |
The first ever Pixar film, Toy Story is also one of the
studio’s very best. The characters are brilliant, with both the protagonists,
Woody and Buzz Lightyear, being rather dislikeable at first but developing into
better people (or toys rather) as the film’s goes on. What is genius about this
arc however, is that the two characters change but not so much that their
whole personality changes. Woody is still the same Woody from the beginning of
the film, he’s just matured and become a better person, and his personality is
still the same. The same goes for Buzz who is a less deluded and bossy version
of his earlier self. This is how to do a character arc well- the character should change, but still remain true to their inner personality traits. The film also has a very intelligent message about human
identity. Buzz’s own realisation that he is an insignificant toy and subsequent
depression is comparable to the human realisation that we ourselves are
mundane, ordinary men and not special like we supposed. This is a recurrent
theme in Pixar’s film, with The Incredibles having a similar theme of the realisation
of mediocrity. However, in Toy Story this is, in the end, a cause for
celebration. It doesn’t matter that Buzz is only a toy- in the end he still
flies Woody out of danger (‘This isn’t flying, this is falling in style’) and
learns to celebrate his being toy and accept his purpose which is to entertain
Andy. The first Toy Story also has a fantastic villain in Sid and the moment
where Buzz realises he is only a toy having thrown himself off the banister is
heart breaking putting this very high up the list.
Ratings: Entertainment: 9 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 4= 18/20 *****
Note: Although Toy Story is obviously the least visually
impressive of all the Pixar films, it still scores full marks for technical
because it was the first ever big budget, computer animated film and so was
very technically impressive for the time.
Toy Story 2- 5 Stars
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| Toy Story 2, Theatrical Release Poster |
Toy Story 2 is not only the most underrated Toy Story film
but also the most underrated Pixar film in general. Often it is dismissed as
doing not much more than introducing Jessie, but in fact it takes the same
characters and themes from the first film and builds upon them. Buzz’s
revelation that he is a toy in the first film, here is magnified as he realises
the implications of this- that he is only one of many identical Buzz Lightyear’s.
This reflects the human realisation that we are not special and are in fact
part of a much larger whole. However, there is still a celebration of the
individual in the fact that although visually identical, the two Buzz’s have
distinguishable personalities, which in the end is what counts. On top of this,
Toy Story 2 contains two excellent villains in Stinky Pete and, the often
overlooked, Emperor Zurg. Out of these two, Zurg provides the comic
entertainment (the Star Wars Darth Vader parody being the particular highlight)
whilst Pete represents a new theme. His sheltered life within his box means he
doesn’t understand a toy’s true purpose- to be loved by a child. This reflects
the purpose of human life- not to live one secluded from all real experience,
but to live it to the full and thereby build human relationships which provide
life’s most valuable experiences. To cap it all off, however, Toy Story 2 has
the excellent addition of Jessie and her heart breaking account of abandonment
by her previous owner. One of Pixar's absolute best.
Ratings: Entertainment: 9 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 5= 19/20 *****
Toy Story 3- 4 Stars
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| Toy Story 3, Theatrical Release Poster |
Toy Story 3 is a good film, no doubt, but it is not as good
or original as its proponents often claim. It is inferior to both other Toy
Story’s as it does not bring much new to the series, and the stuff that it does
is either insignificant or a rehashing of previous ideas. Ken and Barbie are in
my opinion the best things about Toy Story 3 as they are not only hilarious but
also provide a different theme to the ones we’ve had before in that they
criticise the superficial- both are visually perfect but that only masks deep
insecurities (Ken is mocked for being ‘a girl’s toy’). However, they only form
a relatively small part of the story and so cannot be cited as a major
improvement. On top of this, the villain, Lotso, has a rather clichéd backstory-
he was given up by his owner so doesn’t want anyone else to have a nice owner
(rather like an evil Jessie). This is such a basic motivation, especially when
compared with Stinky Pete’s sheer incomprehension of Woody’s love for Andy in
Toy Story 2- what Lotso does out of the well-trodden path of spite, Pete did
out of a more original fear of the unknown. Moreover, the evil ,and then Spanish, Buzz idea rips
off Toy Story 2’s alternate Buzz with only a slight twist and although
amusing at first, the joke slowly wears off. On top of this, the love story
between Jessie and Buzz feels rather forced and out of place- rather as if the
Disney executives demanded a love story and Pixar just randomly matched Buzz
and Jessie. The single biggest problem, however, is the much lauded emotional
ending. Not only could this apply to two moments- either the holding hand bit or
the scene where Andy hands over his toys- but both of these scenes feel like
manufactured emotion designed to make the audience cry, especially in the hand
holding scene where the audience knows the toys won’t die undermining any
emotion- it’s a clichéd sad moment before the victory. The manufactured feeling takes the audience out of the moment and therefore, ironically undermines any attempt at emotion for the perceptive viewer. Therefore, although Toy
Story 3 is an enjoyable film and brings some new stuff to the table, it is
overall not as good as the others because it has less to say and relies heavily
on the previous films.
Ratings: Entertainment: 8 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 3= 16/20 ****
Up- 4 Stars
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| Up, Theatrical Release Poster |
Up is one of the Pixar films that I do think is slightly overrated, although it is still very good. Ironically the film’s greatest moment is its biggest problem, as the very first scene’s brilliance is not matched by the rest of the film. Excluding that first scene, Up would be remembered as a pretty good but not particularly outstanding film. Sure it has some funny moments and the characters are well defined, but the climax is a little forced and to be honest the film’s pacing is slightly mixed as well as a clichéd and not very memorable villain. No point in the film really has the same emotional impact of any of Pixar’s other films or, indeed, the first scene. That said, although the hype around it makes it almost impossible to live up to expectations, the first scene is absolutely brilliant in its depiction of a couple growing old together and the pain of the husband after the death of his wife. Told through a simple montage after some introductory scenes it stirs emotion like no amount of dialogue could do. It shows a maturity and respect for the audience not present in many blockbuster films- things are not explained to the audience but shown to them which is what the medium of film is all about and contributes to the emotional impact. However, the rest of the film does not live up to the same standard and so, despite the first scene, it does not reach the top of my list.
Ratings: Entertainment: 8 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 4= 17/20 ****
WALL-E- 5 Stars
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| WALL-E, Theatrical Release Poster |
It is a complete coincidence that in a list done by alphabetical
order, the very best film has been saved till last. I first watched WALL-E when
it came out in 2008 and didn’t think that much of it. I have since rewatched it
twice and have loved it both times. It is not only Pixar’s most original film but
also by far its most moving and intelligent. The love story, although it
repeats well-trodden ground, has a simple genius in that it takes place between
two robots whose vocabulary extends to their own names. As in Pixar’s best films,
every character is fleshed out and we understand their feelings without any
need to rely on dialogue- we understand that WALL-E’s loneliness on the now
ruined earth is what causes his infatuation with the glamourous Eve, and WALL-E’s
loyalty and sweetness is what causes Eve to like him. The fact that this is
between two not especially humanoid robots makes it all the better. On top of
this, WALL-E raises concerns that are entirely new to Pixar in its worries
about the environmental damage done to the earth by human activity, and the
dangers of consumerism. The only criticisms of the film I can think of are fairly
insignificant in comparison but consist of the fact that the antagonist, the
ship’s autopilot, is perhaps a little weak (although does have an intriguing
motivation as it is not motivated by maleficence but rather simply by a
misplaced duty) and that the humour in the film is not as funny as in, say, The
Incredibles. However, both of these points do not take away from the film’s
brilliance as they fit its style- that of a romance (unusual for a Pixar film), as a romance does not require either the same humour or fleshed out antagonist as a simple adventure film. I will say that these negatives perhaps limit the enjoyment for
children, which is of course a large part of Pixar’s target audience. However,
that does not reduce the quality of the film in a more objective sense,
although I admit that it is a flaw. Overall though, WALL-E combines a touching romance with serious environmental and corporate
themes making it not only Pixar's most original, but also its best.
Ratings: Entertainment: 10 Technical: 5 Intelligence: 5= 20/20 *****
My final Top 10:
10) Cars- 11 **
9) Finding Nemo- 14 ***
8) Ratatouille- 15 ****
7) Toy Story 3- 16 ****
6) Monsters Inc- 16 ****
5) Up- 17 ****
4) Toy Story- 18 *****
3) Toy Story 2- 19 *****
2) The Incredibles- 19 *****
1) WALL-E- 20 *****
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