Pixar‘s first 10 feature films are some of the greatest achievements in animation history, but which of their early masterpieces is the best? Though the company was founded much earlier, Pixar entered the public consciousness with the release of 1995’s Toy Story. The first fully CGI animated film broke new ground and changed Hollywood’s approach to animation forever.
Amazingly, Pixar would follow that triumph with a string of films that improved the CGI technology, and sharpened the studio’s stories to a fine point. Besides championing a new animation medium, Pixar is perhaps best known for their unique approach to storytelling that emphasizes rich and complex emotions and unorthodox characters.
Rarely has a studio delivered 10 films in a decade that are all of a consistent quality. While some of Pixar’s first movies are better than others, there are no rotten apples. However, Pixar’s greatest achievements soar so high that they make their lesser works seem inferior by comparison. Regardless, all the movies made a profound impact on popular culture.
10
A Bug’s Life (1998)
Flik smiles at the camera in A Bug’s Life
Following a movie like Toy Story was an unenviable task, and A Bug’s Life was a noticeable step back. An inventor ant must set out on a daring quest to recruit other bugs to help save his colony from invading grasshoppers. Though it was made with Pixar’s keen eye for emotional depth, there was a coldness to A Bug’s Life.
The film tells a compelling story about bravery and identity, but not as concisely as its immediate predecessor. It’s still one of the best animated films of the 1990s, but A Bug’s Life is without a doubt the worst of Pixar’s earliest efforts. This is largely because of the limitations of the CGI, and Pixar’s search for its narrative structure.
9
Cars (2006)
Lightning McQueen smiles as he passes two other cars on the track in Cars
Cars isn’t a bad movie, but it’s the most unusual film in Pixar’s early catalog. A cocky race car finds himself in a small town, and learns to appreciate the simpler things in life. Anthropomorphizing objects is something Pixar does best, but Cars feels most like it was designed to sell toys.
The blockbuster was perhaps the simplest story that Pixar told in its first decade, and Cars was the least like a typical narrative from the studio. However, the movie looked amazing, and illustrated just how far CGI technology had come in 10 years. What it lacked in narrative depth, Cars compensated with an abundance of family-friendly fun and stellar visuals.
8
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Woody sneaks past a sleeping Al in Toy Story 2
Though some opinions are split on Pixar’s first-ever sequel, Toy Story 2 is a worthwhile successor to the original and is a great movie on its own too. When Woody is kidnapped by a toy collector, Buzz and his pals must convince him to come back to his old life. While inferior to the original, Toy Story 2 isn’t unnecessary.
What the sequel does best is expand the world of Toy Story and new characters like Jessie improve the franchise. The film has one of Pixar’s richest narratives, and shows how much the writing has regressed in modern releases. Nevertheless, Toy Story 2 suffers from the sequel curse, and from the fact that it was released alongside Pixar’s best works.
7
Up (2009)
Carl, Dug, and Russell eat ice cream while sitting on the curb in Up.
As with every other movie from Pixar’s first 10 releases, Up is a triumph that showcases the excellence of the studio’s storytelling prowess. Following the death of his wife, an old man uses balloons to fly his house to South America on the adventure they had always planned together. The film opens with the saddest five minutes in cinema history.
Unfortunately, it never lives up to its brilliant opening, and the rest feels somewhat lackluster by comparison. That’s not to say Up is poorly written, and it actually features an exciting adventure plot that pays tribute to the stories of classic Hollywood. Up is lifted by its best moments, but its peaks make the rest of the movie look bad.
6
Ratatouille (2007)
Remy holds a spoon while looking out over Paris in Ratatouille
It’s unusual to describe a film that won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars as underrated, but Ratatouille is perhaps the least appreciated of Pixar’s earliest gems. A Parisian rat with dreams of being a chef, teams with a hapless cook to shock the culinary world. The movie’s message of finding art in simplicity represents Pixar’s richest idea to date.
Mixing humor and heart in equal measure, Ratatouille is a deft exercise in narrative clarity without having to sacrifice any of its depth. There’s clear appreciation for the culinary arts in every frame, which makes Remy’s quest all the more compelling. The film was far from unsuccessful back in 2007, but it’s finally getting recognition as one of Pixar’s best.
5
The Incredibles (2004)
The Parr family hugs while in costume in The Incredibles
Released at the height of the early Aughts superhero movie boom, The Incredibles is arguably the greatest film of its kind from that era. Years after superheroes were forced to go underground, the aging Mr. Incredible and his family must come out of hiding to save the world. Instead of eschewing superhero tropes, The Incredibles embraces them creatively.
The film is really about the importance of family, but it caches its simple lessons in a legitimately exciting superhero story. The worldbuilding of The Incredibles rivals anything from mainstream comic books, and it also happens to be hilarious too. It’s narrative wanders a bit, but it’s still one of the all-time great animated films of the 2000s.
4
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Sully looks surprised while peaking through a closet door in Monsters Inc
Entering the new millennium, Pixar delivered their cleverest film up to that point with Monsters, Inc. In a world populated by monsters, Mike and Sully must get a human child back to her world before they are caught. Every inch of the film is populated by complex worldbuilding, but Monsters, Inc. never feels alien or inaccessible.
Continuing Pixar’s stretch of perfectly-written films, the 2001 gem is a hilarious action/adventure story with a genuinely heartfelt message. On top of that, the production design makes the world of Monstropolis feel real and lived-in, which further serves the narrative. Pixar’s early days are defined by boundless imagination, and Monsters, Inc. is the clearest example.
3
Finding Nemo (2003)
Marlin and Nemo smiling and slapping fins in Finding Nemo.
With Pixar established as the leading name in animated movies, the studio lived up to that moniker with Finding Nemo. A precocious clown fish is kidnapped by humans, and his father teams up with a forgetful blue tang to find him. It is the first film in Pixar’s canon where the narrative is seen through the eyes of a child.
Made in the Disney mold, Finding Nemo is a distinctly family-friendly adventure complete with a lot of moral lessons for youngsters and their parents too. Pixar’s imaginative visual style makes the ocean setting feel real but heightened, and the characters are flawless. If it wasn’t for a few other Pixar gems, Finding Nemo could easily be the studio’s best work.
2
Toy Story (1995)
Woody talking on a microphone while in a tinkertoy container in Toy Story
On importance alone, Toy Story deserves to be among the classic animated films, but it’s also a great movie too. Andy’s favorite toy, Woody, finds his popularity threatened by a new Buzz Lightyear action figure, and his jealousy causes trouble in the household. While blazing the trail for feature-length CGI animation, Toy Story also tells a perfect story.
Woody is a unique hero for a children’s film because he’s flawed, and through his flaws the audience can learn lesson. What’s most amazing about Toy Story is how fully formed it is, despite being the first of its kind. There are almost no growing pains, and the film is just as charming now as it was three decades ago.
1
Wall-E (2008)
A man in a hoverchair tries to give a drink to Wall-e in Wall-E
After more than a decade as a feature film studio, Pixar delivered their magnum opus with 2008’s Wall-E. The plot concerns a trash-collecting robot left behind on Earth who discovers a plant and goes on a whirlwind outer space adventure. The bulk of the film features no dialogue, so Wall-E relies exclusively on visual storytelling.
Despite such an obvious limitation, the film runs the gamut of emotions while also delivering a powerful message about agency and protecting the environment. Wall-E isn’t just Pixar’s best film, but one of the greatest movies ever made in any medium. What’s more, the film gets increasingly prescient with each passing year.