I love Pixar, as do many others, and this should be a fairly easy list to compile, despite Pixar having produced only 14 films, they are mostly excellent, and even if they haven't produced a really good film since 2010's Toy Story 3, up to that point all their films were excellent, and there is a wide variety of films to choose from, in addition to their narrative successes, Pixar's films are also visually stunning, use a subtle blend of photo-realism and quirky distinctive character animation.
Pixars first film featuring entirely
humanoid characters, The Incredibles are a group of superheroes, who
attempt to live covert, undercover lives, hiding their powers. The
Incredibles is a fantastic example of why animation is so important, as
this film could just as easily be a live action film, the film walks a
fine line between a parody and an homage to superhero films and comic
book adaptations, the fact that it is an animated film makes that all
the more clear, and gives it a fun twist. The Incredibles features some
of the most well rounded and imaginative Pixar characters ever, creative
and subtle, these characters have sets of well defined powers, and are
an almost iconic crime fighting group.
The opening hour of this film is a testament to
the beauty of Pixar's character animation, despite being
anthropomorphic, the characters do not communicate with human voices,
but instead with gestures, subtle facial changes and sounds. The two
characters of the film, despite not being able to speak, are really well
rounded and subtle, and despite not containing any speech during its
first hour, it is gripping and subtle, and it is the best silent film
work since the thirties. The rest of the film is a testament to our
future if we do not change our ways, a future where we are fat,
emotionless, and when we will have to leave earth because of our
reliance on consumerism and commercialism. WALL-E is beautiful, poetic
and nostalgic.
The first Pixar film to be nominated for best picture at the oscars and only the second animated film ever to be nominated. Up is a film about life, a film about never giving up on life, and never stopping the adventure of life, beautifully animated and heartwarming, the opening sequence alone, showing Carl and Ellie falling in love and growing up makes it worthy for this list, the film is winsome, fun and emotional, visually beautiful and thrilling, Up is truly a classic film.
Setting an animated film entirely underwater is tough, Disney have done it only once with The Little Mermaid, and particularly doing it in a photorealistic way is virtually impossible. With Finding Nemo, Pixar succeeded with this whimsical treasure, a visual delight featuring a fully realized underwater world, of colourful creative characters. This film also features some fine voice work, Albert Brooks plays Marlin, Nemo's father, and Ellen DeGeneres plays Dory, a regal blue tang with short term memory loss, her performance is hilarious and distinctive, and was partially improvised. Finding Nemo features a stunning, expansive ocean as a backdrop for its complex subtle characters.
In my mind this is the best Pixar film, and one of the best films of all time, food is incredibly difficult to animate, and to make it look appetizing, and rats are hard to make look cute, however amazingly this film successfully does both, the film is a foodie's delight, featuring inventive and elegant dishes, and the fact that the two main characters never speak to each other, yet have an intimate connection is impressive. Ratatouille is an odd children's film, from the outside it seems difficult to market or merchandise, as neither rats nor food are particularly appealing to children, however the film succeeds despite all these obstacles, and Ratatouille is witty and charming.
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