Best Pixar Movies

Champion racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and rusty tow truck Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) reunite to create the lowest rated of all Pixar films. Only 38% of critics gave the film positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, although there is agreement on the film’s visual merits.

“Cars 3” has significantly higher ratings than its predecessor in the series (its Rotten Tomatoes Freshness rating is 69% compared to 38% for “Cars 2”), yet it still ranks low compared to Pixar’s other features. The movie features many characters from the earlier films and introduces some new ones, like Jackson Storm, who is voiced by Armie Hammer.

“The Good Dinosaur” grossed the smallest amount of all Pixar features at the domestic box office at $123 million. The movie is set in a world where dinosaurs and humans coexist, though some critics found it to be uninspired on the whole.

“Brave” stars Kelly Macdonald as Merida, an obstinate princess and talented archer who must fight to save her kingdom after unleashing a curse. Despite generally positive reviews, some critics, such as The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, felt the movie failed to appeal to all ages as many other Pixar movies have done so well.

“Monsters University” boasts an all star cast consisting of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, and Steve Buscemi. The movie — a prequel to “Monsters Inc.” (2005) — was one of the highest grossing films of 2013.

“Cars” is about a race car upstart named Lightning McQueen, who finds himself detoured in a small town on the way to a championship race. The movie’s varied cast includes Hollywood legend Paul Newman, blue collar comedian Larry the Cable Guy, and Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong fame.

“The Incredibles” — about a family of superheroes attempting to lead mundane lives in suburbia — is a critic favorite, sporting a 97% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences are less enthused, with only 75% reportedly liking it.

“A Bug’s Life” is the second feature film Pixar made, following 1995’s “Toy Story.” “Toy Story” director John Lasseter also co-directed this film, which he described as much further advanced on a technical level than his first movie.

“Finding Dory” is the 2016 sequel to “Finding Nemo,” which also starred Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks. While not as highly rated by audiences as its predecessor — “Dory” has a 7.3/10 IMDb user rating versus “Nemo’s” 8.1/10 — the movie was an overall success, with the Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus describing it as “funny, poignant, and thought-provoking.”

Pixar released “Monsters, Inc.” after covering toys and bugs in the studio’s first three movies. This film, about a company run by monsters that harvest energy from children’s screams, was re-released in 3D 11 years after its initial release.

“Incredibles 2” — released 14 years after its predecessor — performed slightly worse than “The Incredibles” amongst critics, but better amongst audiences. Both films were written and directed by Brad Bird, who also worked on “Ratatouille” and non-Pixar movie “The Iron Giant.”

Pixar scored a major hit with this tale of a father and son fish duo working to reunite after becoming unexpectedly separated. The movie is the second highest grossing Pixar release domestically when adjusted for ticket price inflation, behind only “Incredibles 2.” It currently has a 99% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Ratatouille” accomplishes the difficult task of portraying a food-obsessed rodent in a charming manner. The movie stars Patton Oswalt as Remy, a rat with a heightened sense of smell and taste who takes a deep interest in French cuisine.

The first feature film produced by Pixar, “Toy Story” is the movie that started it all. Boasting stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the voice talent behind the talking toys Woody (a cowboy) and Buzz Lightyear (an astronaut), the movie was a huge hit upon release, becoming the top grossing film of 1995. The movie currently has a perfect freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning every critic gave it a positive review.

Like its predecessor, “Toy Story 2” has a 100% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Thanks to its writing, actors, and animation, the movie is described as the “rare sequel that arguably improves on its predecessor.”

“Up” depicts the tale of a 78-year-old man who, along with an eight-year-old stowaway, floats to South America by tying an abundance of balloons to his house. The movie won two Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. It was also nominated for Best Motion Picture — only the second animated film to achieve this feat, the other film being Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

“Wall-E” is about a garbage collecting robot left to clean up a trashed planet Earth in the future. The movie has very little dialogue yet still manages to be touching and thought provoking. It was among 2008’s highest grossing films and the year’s top grossing G-rated movie.

In “Coco,” music-loving 12-year-old Miguel is transported the Land of the Dead, where he must discover the mysteries of his family’s past. The movie won two Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song.

“Inside Out” features numerous comedic actors such as Amy Poehler and Bill Hader as a young girl’s anthropomorphized emotions, including Joy, Fear, Sadness, and Anger. The movie — which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year in 2016 — is described as “powerfully moving” in Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus.

It’s a testament to the overall quality of Pixar’s work that not only has the Toy Story franchise continued to be successful, but also that each film has been praised by fans and critics alike. The third entry in the series sees the toys delivered to a daycare center from which they must escape. The movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars — the second Pixar movie to receive such an honor — won the award for Best Animated Feature, and became the top grossing film of 2010.