With the recent release of the,
lets be honest, disappointing Monsters University,
I thought it was a good time to bring you my Six of the Best… Pixar Features.
Disney Pixar has been my favourite film studio for about five or six years,
since it suddenly dawned on me that all of the great animation I was seeing was
from the same imaginative studio. I’ll make it clear right now that this list
has one major fault and that is that of fourteen feature films to date, I’ve
only seen twelve. The ones I’m missing are Monsters.
Inc and Cars 2. I fully expect
from what I’ve read that one of those films would be in this list. I’m also
pretty sure that one of them would be absent. So, just to clarify, I except
that this list is perhaps not a true reflection of the studio’s output but I’ve
seen the other films at least once and in some cases several times.
For a change, this list won’t
just be a list of six but I’ll order them. My favourite film will be at number
one (as ordering is traditionally written). So without further ado, here are my
personal Six of the Best… Pixar Features.
6. A Bug’s Life (1998). Pixar’s
second feature film is set in one of their wonderfully imagined worlds. We see
the world from the point of you of insects and it’s loosely based on Aesop’s
fable The Ant and the Grasshopper as
well as taking themes from Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. The film should not be confused with DreamWorks Antz, released just a month before. A Bug’s Life tells an interesting tale
of a wannabe inventor, living in a colony battling oppressive grasshoppers. The
animation looks ever so slightly dated now when compared to the studio’s
continuing high standards but it was a bold and exciting second feature from a
company still finding its feet.
5. Up (2009). Up is a very funny film about a grumpy
old man in search of paradise and lost love. Its opening montage caused grown
men to break down and cry in the cinema and was about as dramatic as the studio
had been up to that point. From the pretty depressing opening, the audience is
treated to a magical flying sequence and a lot of laughs from a talking dog and
chubby Boy Scout. A great friendship emerges at the centre of the film and
there’s plenty of action and drama to keep things moving along. The squirrel
line still makes me chuckle to this day.
4. Toy Story 3 (2010). Toy Story 3 rounds off one of the
greatest trilogies in the history of cinema in emphatic style. It follows on
from Up’s drama and sadness,
mirroring the toy’s feeling of being outgrown with the adult audience’s fears
of themselves being outgrown and left behind by their children. To me it’s one
of the most beautiful cinematic parallels I’ve seen. Despite the drama though,
the movie continues the franchise’s quest for great humour with the ‘Spanish
Buzz’ sequence being a particular highlight. The film came about as close as
any Pixar film to date to snaring a long overdue Best Picture Oscar.
3. Finding Nemo (2003). For a
long time my favourite Pixar movie, Finding
Nemo caught me at a time when I’d moved through my childish love of these
films and past my stupid teenage distain for anything considered ‘for
children’. Released when I was about seventeen, I was finally able to
appreciate the movie as an adult rather than writing it off as childish. It
helped me to see the film on two levels for the first time, still being able to
laugh at the silly humour as well as notice and appreciate the drama that might
have gone over my head a few years before. Nemo
is one of Pixar’s most beautiful films to date and also has a fantastic story
to match the visuals. The tale of a lost child and the lengths a parent will go
to recover them is endearing and very emotional. Despite this, it still packs
the humour of the best the studio can offer.
2. Toy Story (1995). The place
where it all began. I re-watched Toy
Story fairly recently and was pleasantly surprised by how well the
animation stands up after nearly two decades. This movie burst onto the scene,
ushering in a new standard for animated films and creating an industry worth
billions. Not only was Toy Story the
first, it’s still one of the best. Its world building and character design has
barely been matched and the story is timeless. Appealing to people of all ages,
it’s a truly universal film, something that can be enjoyed by anyone, anytime.
It not only spawned the digital animation revolution but also became the first
part of a trilogy which ranks alongside the greatest in history.
1. Wall-E (2008). Not only is
this my favourite Pixar film but it’s probably in my top ten films of all time.
I adore Wall-E. Its strong but subtle
message of environmentalism and gentle satire on the state of western obesity
can pass almost unnoticed but they manage to remain with you. The design of the
central character is wonderful, taking inspiration from two of my all time
favourite film makers, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Wall-E’s co-star EVE
is also impeccably designed, looking like something from an Apple designer’s
dream. The plot is enjoyable, very funny and features adult themes but it can
be enjoyed by children all the same. It doesn’t talk down to its younger
viewers and allows them to appreciate the themes as much as their parents. The
film features Pixar’s most beautiful romance (Up’s beginning aside) and it’s also one of the best looking films
the studio has produced. The space sequences are just stunning.
How does your list compare?
It's a great list. Agree with most of them. My list would look like this:
ReplyDelete1. Toy Story
2. Wall-E
3. Toy Story 3
3. Monsters Inc.
4. Finding Nemo
5. The Incredibles
6. Up
Personally I thought Toy Story 2 was the weakest of the trilogy but it's still great. The thing about Pixar is there are so many great films that it's tough to pin point your favourite.
DeleteDefinitely, Toy Story 2 is weakest, but still amazing
DeleteToy Story 3
ReplyDeleteUp
Wall-E
Toy Story
A Bug’s Life
Finding Nemo
Everytime I see TS3, I get goose bumps in the final scene when the toys-holding hands inside the burner.
Ravi
www.flimbulb.blogspot.com
Up
ReplyDeleteToy Story 3
The Incredibles
Wall-E
Toy Story
Finding Nemo
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