Rank and File: Pixar Movies - Part 7

Fifteen movies is no small feat. When we started the Pixar ranking project on the last day of June, I thought getting two busy people to sync their schedules would mean that we'd wrap up around Halloween. But here we are, not even two months later, and we're done! This has been an amazing experience. So many of my expectations have been upended, and it's gobsmacking how these films have shifted in my estimation. Maybe I'm looking at them through a different lens because I'm challenging the reputations that had calcified in my head. Maybe things changed because I watched all fifteen in rapid succession, making them easier to compare and contrast. In any event, we've got our final rankings, and they were agonizing; some really tough choices had to be made. I'll put the results at the end of this post, but first, let's wrap up the final trio!

Brave (2012)

The entertainment industry has (rightly) taken heat for not featuring enough female protagonists, and Brave is an excellent step in the right direction. Its two main characters are a mother and daughter who don't see eye-to-eye on much of anything, and though Merida is a princess, the movie is much more about forging a loving bond with your family than any romantic intrigue. I really liked this movie when it was released, and it's only gotten better with age. I still think the stitching between the two main story components is a little rough, but on an emotional level, this is one of Pixar's best.

The short in front of it is "La Luna", which is about a grandfather and his son teaching the third generation the family business, which in this case, is climbing up to the moon and sweeping stardust. It suffers a bit in comparison to other shorts on a story level, but visually, it's incredibly beautiful, earning it a decent placement on the ranking.

Current Feature Rankings:

#1: Finding Nemo (2003)
#2: Ratatouille (2007)
#3: Toy Story 3 (2010)
#4: Brave (2012)
#5: The Incredibles (2004)
#6: Toy Story 2 (1999)
#7: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
#8: Toy Story (1995)
#9: Up (2009)
#10: WALL-E (2008)
#11: A Bug's Life (1998)
#12: Cars (2006)
#13: Cars 2 (2011)

Current Short Rankings:

#1: Day & Night (paired with Toy Story 3)
#2: Presto (paired with WALL-E)
#3: One Man Band (paired with Cars)
#4: Geri's Game (paired with A Bug's Life)
#5: Lifted (paired with Ratatouille)
#6: La Luna (paired with Brave)
#7: Partly Cloudy (paired with Up)
#8: Hawaiian Vacation (paired with Cars 2)
#9: Boundin' (paired with The Incredibles)
#10: For the Birds (paired with Monsters, Inc.)
#11: Knick Knack (paired with Finding Nemo)
#12: Luxo Jr. (paired with Toy Story 2)
#13: Tin Toy (paired with Toy Story)

Monsters University (2013)

This movie was one of the two (along with Cars 2) that I had not seen before this project. Even when it comes to a company as generally trustworthy as Pixar, I'm always a little suspicious that sequels won't stack up to their predecessors. I'm not sure why I continue to think that, as every successive Toy Story has gotten better and better, but that nagging impulse is still there. This time, that impulse was confirmed, because while Monsters University is a funny, beautiful, charming movie, it doesn't come close to reaching the heights that Monsters, Inc. did.

In this movie, Mike and Sully are enrolled at the titular university, hoping to excel in the scaring program. They don't get along at first, and neither of them does well with their studies, the former because he's not intimidating, and the latter because he's coasting on his family name. They find themselves involved in the geekiest fraternity, but pull the group together to prove to the other students and the supercilious dean (Helen Mirren) that they've got what it takes to terrify human children. Compared to any other movie company's product, this would soar, but when stacked up against the majority of the Pixar lineup, Monsters University just can't compete.

That also goes for the short, The Blue Umbrella. It's a simple little love story about two umbrellas who meet during a rainstorm, are briefly separated, but assisted by other inanimate objects in the city, manage to be reunited, along with their attendant humans. Its animation is top-notch, though, giving it a bump over some of the earlier shorts.

Current Feature Rankings:

#1: Finding Nemo (2003)
#2: Ratatouille (2007)
#3: Toy Story 3 (2010)
#4: Brave (2012)
#5: The Incredibles (2004)
#6: Toy Story 2 (1999)
#7: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
#8: Toy Story (1995)
#9: Up (2009)
#10: WALL-E (2008)
#11: Monsters University (2013)
#12: A Bug's Life (1998)
#13: Cars (2006)
#14: Cars 2 (2011)

Current Short Rankings:

#1: Day & Night (paired with Toy Story 3)
#2: Presto (paired with WALL-E)
#3: One Man Band (paired with Cars)
#4: Geri's Game (paired with A Bug's Life)
#5: Lifted (paired with Ratatouille)
#6: La Luna (paired with Brave)
#7: The Blue Umbrella (paired with Monsters University)
#8: Partly Cloudy (paired with Up)
#9: Hawaiian Vacation (paired with Cars 2)
#10: Boundin' (paired with The Incredibles)
#11: For the Birds (paired with Monsters, Inc.)
#12: Knick Knack (paired with Finding Nemo)
#13: Luxo Jr. (paired with Toy Story 2)
#14: Tin Toy (paired with Toy Story)

Inside Out (2015)

And finally, we come to the Pixar movie that's so new, it's still in theaters. Inside Out is about the personified emotions inside an eleven-year-old girl's head, and how she deals with a tough move to a new city. I'm really glad I got to see this movie again, because the circumstances of the first viewing were less-than-ideal. This time around, I was able to really enjoy the nuances and caught more Easter eggs in the background. It didn't improve enough to change a letter grade or anything, but without the weight of expectation and annoying audience members around me, Inside Out got a chance to show off its stuff at last.

That stuff is still awfully talky and expository, though. The cast's performances as Riley's emotions are absolutely stellar, and I still really love the message that it's okay (and even necessary) to be sad sometimes. That said, the movie could stand to be tightened, and could have used more showing instead of telling. It's still a solid recommend, and gives me every indication that Pixar remains the standard by which all other animation companies should aspire.

I wish I could say the same for the short, Lava. It's the tale of a lonely volcano who finds love when another volcano...just kind of stands up from the water she's been living under. It's all set to a song and ukelele tune, and while it has some beautiful animation, its story pales in comparison to what other Pixar shorts have been able to achieve.

Current Feature Rankings:

#1: Finding Nemo (2003)
#2: Ratatouille (2007)
#3: Toy Story 3 (2010)
#4: Brave (2012)
#5: The Incredibles (2004)
#6: Toy Story 2 (1999)
#7: Inside Out (2015)
#8: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
#9: Toy Story (1995)
#10: Up (2009)
#11: WALL-E (2008)
#12: Monsters University (2013)
#13: A Bug's Life (1998)
#14: Cars (2006)
#15: Cars 2 (2011)

Current Short Rankings:

#1: Day & Night (paired with Toy Story 3)
#2: Presto (paired with WALL-E)
#3: One Man Band (paired with Cars)
#4: Geri's Game (paired with A Bug's Life)
#5: Lifted (paired with Ratatouille)
#6: La Luna (paired with Brave)
#7: The Blue Umbrella (paired with Monsters University)
#8: Partly Cloudy (paired with Up)
#9: Hawaiian Vacation (paired with Cars 2)
#10: Boundin' (paired with The Incredibles)
#11: For the Birds (paired with Monsters, Inc.)
#12: Lava (paired with Inside Out)
#13: Knick Knack (paired with Finding Nemo)
#14: Luxo Jr. (paired with Toy Story 2)
#15: Tin Toy (paired with Toy Story)

The Mulligan

In general, Tiffany and I agreed we had to rank each movie as we watched it, and once it was inserted into the list, it couldn't move. But we built a special rule into the project: The Mulligan. Once all the movies were watched, and we were looking at our final lists, we allowed ourselves to make a single change. One movie could move up or down the list as many spots as we saw fit. But just that single change was allowed - no big reshuffle. Tiffany used the opportunity to move Ratatouille two spots up her list (and didn't shift any of the shorts). Now, it's my turn, and looking at the middle of my list has my emotions in an uproar. I could make an argument for the movies ranked from spots #6-#9 to be in pretty much any order. I placed Inside Out after watching it last night, but after letting it sink in for several hours, I think its powerful pull on my heartstrings allowed it to rise a little higher on the list than it deserves. So my Mulligan is going to be a minor one: Switcharoo with Monsters, Inc. The shorts ranking looks fine, though.

So, it's settled! We now have a definitive ranking of the Pixar movies! I suppose I can give you Tiffany's final list, too, though it doesn't look like we differed much (except on the shorts). This project has been so much fun, and I can't stress enough that there isn't a single bad movie in the bunch. Even the one ranked last would get a pretty solid B- on a grading scale. Perhaps my next Rank and File project will have a wider spectrum of quality, though I'm certainly not going to complain about a ranking project in which every single entry can be recommended with an open heart.

Final Feature Rankings:

#1: Finding Nemo (2003)
#2: Ratatouille (2007)
#3: Toy Story 3 (2010)
#4: Brave (2012)
#5: The Incredibles (2004)
#6: Toy Story 2 (1999)
#7: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
#8: Inside Out (2015)
#9: Toy Story (1995)
#10: Up (2009)
#11: WALL-E (2008)
#12: Monsters University (2013)
#13: A Bug's Life (1998)
#14: Cars (2006)
#15: Cars 2 (2011)

Final Short Rankings:

#1: Day & Night (paired with Toy Story 3)
#2: Presto (paired with WALL-E)
#3: One Man Band (paired with Cars)
#4: Geri's Game (paired with A Bug's Life)
#5: Lifted (paired with Ratatouille)
#6: La Luna (paired with Brave)
#7: The Blue Umbrella (paired with Monsters University)
#8: Partly Cloudy (paired with Up)
#9: Hawaiian Vacation (paired with Cars 2)
#10: Boundin' (paired with The Incredibles)
#11: For the Birds (paired with Monsters, Inc.)
#12: Lava (paired with Inside Out)
#13: Knick Knack (paired with Finding Nemo)
#14: Luxo Jr. (paired with Toy Story 2)
#15: Tin Toy (paired with Toy Story)

Tiffany's Final Feature Rankings:

#1: Finding Nemo (2003)
#2: The Incredibles (2004)
#3: Toy Story 3 (2010)
#4: Ratatouille (2007)
#5: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
#6: Brave (2012)
#7: Up (2009)
#8: Toy Story (1995)
#9: Toy Story 2 (1999)
#10: Inside Out (2015)
#11: WALL-E (2008)
#12: A Bug's Life (1998)
#13: Monsters University (2013)
#14: Cars (2006)
#15: Cars 2 (2011)

Tiffany's Final Short Rankings:

#1: Day & Night (paired with Toy Story 3)
#2: Presto (paired with WALL-E)
#3: For the Birds (paired with Monsters, Inc.)
#4: One Man Band (paired with Cars)
#5: La Luna (paired with Brave)
#6: The Blue Umbrella (paired with Monsters University)
#7: Hawaiian Vacation (paired with Cars 2)
#8: Luxo Jr. (paired with Toy Story 2)
#9: Lifted (paired with Ratatouille)
#10: Geri's Game (paired with A Bug's Life)
#11: Knick Knack (paired with Finding Nemo)
#12: Partly Cloudy (paired with Up)
#13: Boundin' (paired with The Incredibles)
#14: Tin Toy (paired with Toy Story)
#15: Lava (paired with Inside Out)