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Rating Pixar: From Great to Classic
As a Dad who watches his kids during the day I get to watch a lot of kids films and programming. At the top my viewing list are Pixar films. We own them all. What defines Pixar’s greatness is the commitment to character based narratives. Even when the films are as high concept as Monsters who scare kids to provide energy it is all about the motivations, wants and desires of the characters.
With the quality of Pixar films being so high it is virtually impossible to create an list of what is the best. What follows is not a “best of Pixar list”, but rather my ranking of what films I connect with best. By the definition above what that really means is what characters I connect with best.
11. “Cars” – I am sure that it is not a shock to anyone who clicked on this post to find this film on the bottom of the barrel. This film is widely reviled and while I think that it is by far the weakest entry in the Pixar canon it takes more heat than it should. My two main problems with the film are the protagonist and the pacing.
Lightning McQueen is not the easiest protagonist to relate to, he is cocky and arrogant. He is the weakest of all Pixar leads by far.
The film is way too long. I know that John Lassiter, Pixar and Disney Animation’s head man, is a huge car buff. This film was very personal to him. And I think that closeness to the subject matter blinded him to some much needed trimming.
I can say this with some level of expertise as I have probably seen the film well over 100 times. My son James was addicted to it for the first half of 2010, before he discovered “Toy Story”. The film has many reasons to love it, the voice casting is amazing: a Pixar standard. What I love most was hearing Paul Newman voice Doc Hudson. I miss him every time I watch “Cars 2″, all 200 times. He was the soul of the film.
10. “Wall-E” – I have only seen the film once. I remember liking it, but feeling like I should appreciate it more. Perhaps that was due to the fact that I was watching it with a 3 year old. This film deserves the “Upon Further Review” treatment that “Up” received a month ago. This film may move up the list after that viewing. It rates ahead of “Cars” due to potential and Mater fatigue.
9. “Monsters Inc.” – It pains me to put this film so low on the list. As I said Pixar’s overall quality means that someone’s feelings will end up getting hurt. In this case it will be my Mom as she is a Mike Wazowski devotee.
While the film is great I just don’t have the connection to Mike that I do to many of the leads on film’s that rate above it on this list. Still there are so many great characters and moments in the film that it is not easy to have it ranked in the bottom third.
8. “A Bug’s Life” – Highly underrated in my opinion. Most people that I debate the film with admit to not seeing the film since release. Watch it again. I admit that I have this higher because I was among the legions who underrated the film. Watch it again and you will be amazed. It is not the most original tale that the folks have put together but I loved Flik’s journey nonetheless.
7. “Toy Story 3″ – At first I felt the film undermined “Toy Story 2′s” narrative a bit. And that rankled me a bit. After watching the film some 100 plus times with my son James I have come around a bit.
I loved is that Woody comes to the realization that not only does he want to be with his friends, but he wants to do what he was put on this earth to do. Though he loves Andy he was made to played with, and not even his history with Andy should keep him from that.
The opening high budget recreation of the opening from “Toy Story” where we were able to peer into Andy’s mind and see what he saw in his mind’s eye while playing. Amazing scene, I have to imagine it was one that was worth seeing in 3D.
6. “Ratatouille” – Cooking is an art. Anyone who has ever aspired to following their dreams has had obstacles and doubters in their way. Few that I know have faced as many as the lead character in the film Remy: a rat who dreams of pursuing his culinary dreams.
This film should not have worked, a film about a rat who cooks should be a non-starter. Credit Brad Bird for finding the heart of the story through Remy and making this film one of the finest love letters to the culinary arts in film history.
5. “Toy Story” – The film that started it all still works in spite of the technology clearly not being there compared to the studios’ later efforts. It all works because Woody is such a strong character. I love “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, great song. My favorite song in the film is “Strange Things”. It accompanies the first of many amazing montages done in Pixar films and perfectly displays the shift in Woody’s reality in a perfect and economical fashion.
4. “Finding Nemo” – I am a sucker for Albert Brooks. So from the get go I was biased.
I used to feel that his Marlin was over the top overbearing. Since I have become a parent I realize that he is simply slightly overbearing: he is doing what I feel most of us want to do but restrain ourselves. Who can blame Marlin after what he went through?
A father’s quest to save his son while facing his own fears is a powerful story. In Pixar’s hands it plays out on a beautifully realized canvas. As always the supporting characters are gold and all seem to have their own stories either bubbling at the surface, making the lead’s journey all the more rich and nuanced.
3. “Toy Story 2″ – When my son says that he wants to watch “Toy Story” I always try to steer him towards this film. Any thoughts that he “Toy Story” films were about two friends (Buzz and Woody) was smashed with this entry: Woody is the star, Buzz is the sidekick. I have always been partial to the neurotic cowboy.
We all fear being outgrown by the people in our lives. This film tackles that truth of life and knocks it out of the park without even pandering to the smallest fans in the room.
2. “Up” – Once upon a time I underrated this film.
From my “Upon Further Review”:
What a brilliant, beautiful film.
1. “The Incredibles” - I love comic books. And if that were the primary reason for me putting this film on top of the great ones that preceded it I would feel a bit ashamed. While the film does provide a brilliant deconstruction and amazing commentary on the genre it is not even close to why I loved the film most out of the Pixar canon.
“The Incredibles” is all about how not fully embracing who you are affects all aspects of your life. When Bob Parr has to give up his calling of being a superhero and take on a cubicle job at an insurance agency it guts him. He gains weight and worse yet he does not see all the good he has in his life.
The lesson of the film transends being a hero, it is universally human: know, accept and celebrate who you are. In Bob’s and my case it is specifically: when you don’t reach and aim to be all that you are meant to be it is hard for you to be the husband and father that you should be.
All of the above is what makes the film so brilliant…and you can toss in the fact that it is a great superhero tale to boot.
Upon Further Review: “Up”
I really liked “Up” the first time I saw it. I wanted to love it. Maybe it was the fact that my daughter was bored during that first viewing, and made no bones about making my wife and I privy to that fact.
Perhaps it was the hyperbolic love that all critics and writers that I read and trust seemed to lather on the film. That overly effusive praise, combined with an interminable six month marination of that love while I waited for the DVD release, may have caused my expectations to soar too high.
There were moments I loved. The montage scene chronicling Carl and Ellie’ life together was amazing. I loved the look of the film. But for whatever reason, I did not connect with the film in the way I anticipated or hoped the first time around.
This past weekend, as I surfed through the Netflix menus on my Xbox 360, my daughter started to clamor for “Up”. I had repeatedly tried to get her to re-watch the film, I was always rebuffed by a Princess of some sort. I happily clicked on the film and sat there amazed. My kids and I were riveted, mesmerized by the beauty of “Up” throughout the whole running time.
“Up” is a very deep and adult film at its core. It is a love story, and not your typically shallow one. This is about the kind of love that does not get celebrated enough on film: mature, deep and real love. Carl Fredricksen is defined by his love for Ellie. And when he loses her, he loses a bit of himself.
It hits on why I am such a devotee of Pixar. The film is all about the journey of Carl Fredricksen to find himself again and how the love of his wife helps him along the way. Characters, not plots, are king at Pixar. There is no better example in their catalog than “Up”.
There are many characters, Dug, Kevin and Russell, who helped pull my kids away away from falling out of focus with the film. None of those characters feel like they are there expressly there for that purpose; they all had their own desires and goals, and they felt like fully realized characters.
I am a bit ashamed that I even had to write this piece; how could I not have fallen in love with this film at first glance? Thankfully like Carl Fredricksen I was given another chance.
Highly Recommended
Thoughts on “Avatar”
It is not really fair me to review James Cameron’s “Avatar”. I watched it in four parts over the course of three days via HBO on Demand. I saw it on the small screen, and this film was clearly meant to be watched on the silver screen. And is saw it in two dimensions when again, it was conceived in 3-D.
I also watched the film almost a full year after release. So even though I avoided spoilers I was hit by the hyperbole on both sides of the fence regarding the film. I thought it wouldn’t impact me. But even a year later I found myself reflecting on some of the criticism and praise while watching the film. And that is too bad; I feel like “Avatar” deserved better.
That is not to say that I get the people who thought it was robbed of the “Best Picture” Oscar. It wasn’t. I would’ve went went with “Up”, District 9″ or the incredibly underrated “A Serious Man” before going with the box office behemoth.
“Avatar: did not have a unique or original story. What does these days? You could point to any of the three films I listed above and all three of those tackled well worn themes.
Cameron did a great job of creating a world. That is no easy task. Pandora lives and breathes even when viewed in 2D on a screen 1/100th the intended viewing canvas.
The visuals were amazing. As I said before I would watch shots and think, “oh man, if only I had seen this in 3-D. That says something as I have been toeing the line on the format. I think it is overused and overexposed. I punted on paying the extra for “Toy Story 3″ and “Tangled”. I would gladly pay to see Avatar as it was intended should they re-release it.
The detractors who bashed Sam Worthington’s performance as Jake Sully, I don’t get it. I thought that he played a broken man extremely well. Being a twin myself I found his sullen, monotone delivery early to be dead on. The man was taking over a role from the person in this world that he was most like. I don’t think there is anyway to understand if you are not a twin, which may sound pretentious, but I don’ think it is any less true. He nailed it.
His digital performance? I was impressed as well. Again I like the guy. I think he did a great job in his role of Marcus in “Terminator:Salvation” and he showed some different stripes here, especially during his time as a Na’vi.
As for the criticism that the story is too anti-War, anti-corporation and Pro-Hippie, love the earth? So what? It obviously hit a nerve with people who went to see it again and again. I can see where if you were a Beck disciple it would get to you. There is plenty of media out there for you.
The film worked for me. I enjoyed it and hope to see it someday as it was intended: on the big screen in 3D.
I don’t see where a logical sequel comes from. I know you could have the corporation fight back and try to take Pandora back. And then the second sequel could be Jake Sully trying to save earth and make it more Pandoraish…but it just feels inorganic, a money grab and totally counter to what the film stands for.
In fact it feels like the RDA Corporation from the film would do.
Highly Recommended
