Pixar hasn’t just reinvented animation for the 21st century, they’ve expanded it forward to a space and time where the adult/child line is blurred and the creativity on display is astonishingly rendered. You forget you’re watching a film primarily aimed at kids. You feel like a child again, full of innocence, full of joy, discovering a new world that previously seemed so out of reach. Over the past 25 years, Pixar has given us so much more than 15 timeless movies; they’ve brought us the ability to succumb to a universe full of magic and stories that hit the truest notes possible. It’s hard to imagine a cinematic landscape without Pixar, and the significance they represent cannot be underestimated. Their effect on regular, live-action movies is self-evident. They’ve pushed boundaries and forced other filmmakers to think outside the box. Here’s to another 25 great years.
Read more‘Soul': Pixar's Latest Has Jamie Foxx's Jazz Musician Scrambling to Find Home [Trailer]
At one point in time, specifically from 1995 to 2010, Pixar could do absolutely no wrong, it seemed like they were releasing classic after classic, and seemed unbeatable in the animation game. What else would call a stretch which included "Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “Up!” “Monsters Inc,” and the first three “Toy Story” movies?
Read moreThe 10 Best Pixars - Coinciding with 'Finding Dory' Hitting $1 Billion at the Box Office
Pixar hasn’t just reinvented animation for the 21st century, they’ve expanded it forward to a space and time where the adult/child line is blurred and the creativity on display is astonishingly rendered. You forget you’re watching a film primarily aimed for kids. You feel like a child again, full of innocence, full of joy, discovering a new world that previously seemed so out of reach. Over the past 20 years, Pixar has given us so much more than 15 timeless movies; they’ve brought us the ability to succumb to a universe full of magic and stories that hit the truest notes possible. It’s hard to imagine a cinematic landscape without Pixar, and the significance they represent cannot be underestimated. Their effect on regular, live-action movies is self-evident. They’ve pushed boundaries and forced other filmmakers to think beyond the box. Here’s to another 20 great years.
1) WALL-E (2008)
Any Pixar list must begin and end with this masterpiece. The first half hour of WALL-E has scarcely any dialogue and plays like a silent Chaplin movie -– that is if he had ever decided to make a post-apocalyptic movie about a lonely garbage-chewing bot who falls in love with an A.I. named Eve. The second half is more conventional but nevertheless visionary. The future that director Andrew Stanton concocts is that of a torn up world, ravaged by an environmental crisis, where the planet’s citizens have been evacuated to live aboard a space cruiser, with only one last possible chance to rebuild.
Any Pixar list must begin and end with this masterpiece. The first half hour of WALL-E has scarcely any dialogue and plays like a silent Chaplin movie -– that is if he had ever decided to make a post-apocalyptic movie about a lonely garbage-chewing bot who falls in love with an A.I. named Eve. The second half is more conventional but nevertheless visionary. The future that director Andrew Stanton concocts is that of a torn up world, ravaged by an environmental crisis, where the planet’s citizens have been evacuated to live aboard a space cruiser, with only one last possible chance to rebuild.
2) Up (2009)
I don’t know many people who can come out of this film’s first 10 minutes with a dry eye. In 10 hopelessly romantic and surreal minutes, Pixar gave us the quintessential anatomy of life, love, and death in a simple but heartbreaking montage that might just be the crowning achievement of the studio. Although the rest of the film can’t reach the peak of that montage (and really, which can?), the rest of the film is incredibly great and visually vivid, bursting out with colors. It’s an allegorical film about aging without regret but with dignity.
I don’t know many people who can come out of this film’s first 10 minutes with a dry eye. In 10 hopelessly romantic and surreal minutes, Pixar gave us the quintessential anatomy of life, love, and death in a simple but heartbreaking montage that might just be the crowning achievement of the studio. Although the rest of the film can’t reach the peak of that montage (and really, which can?), the rest of the film is incredibly great and visually vivid, bursting out with colors. It’s an allegorical film about aging without regret but with dignity.
3) Toy Story 3 (2010)
What more can be said about “Toy Story 3″? It was supposed to be the last hurrah. A sequel was just announced recently, but it will be very hard to top this achievement. Tackling adult themes, the movie was the darkest, most vicious of the series, with a villain who could scare you more than any live-action baddie. The stakes were dead real, tackling the loss of innocence and the promotion – or is that a demotion? – to adulthood. Near the end of the movie’s wrenching climax, as our heroes are about to get cooked alive in an oven, you can’t help but think the inevitable could actually happen. Never have I feared for the lives of animated characters more than in this movie.
What more can be said about “Toy Story 3″? It was supposed to be the last hurrah. A sequel was just announced recently, but it will be very hard to top this achievement. Tackling adult themes, the movie was the darkest, most vicious of the series, with a villain who could scare you more than any live-action baddie. The stakes were dead real, tackling the loss of innocence and the promotion – or is that a demotion? – to adulthood. Near the end of the movie’s wrenching climax, as our heroes are about to get cooked alive in an oven, you can’t help but think the inevitable could actually happen. Never have I feared for the lives of animated characters more than in this movie.
4) Ratatouille (2007)
A Parisian rat named Remy just wants to become a chef. This could have gone wrong on so many levels, but it didn’t. “Ratatouille” is highly enjoyable, recounting some of the Disney gems from the golden age of animation. When Remy starts cooking up a storm in the Parisian kitchen he has crashed, the moves are like ballet, effortlessly propelling his miniature body all around the kitchen and unequivocally expressing his unadorned passion for cooking. This again shows just how influenced by Chaplin the great animators at Pixar really are.
A Parisian rat named Remy just wants to become a chef. This could have gone wrong on so many levels, but it didn’t. “Ratatouille” is highly enjoyable, recounting some of the Disney gems from the golden age of animation. When Remy starts cooking up a storm in the Parisian kitchen he has crashed, the moves are like ballet, effortlessly propelling his miniature body all around the kitchen and unequivocally expressing his unadorned passion for cooking. This again shows just how influenced by Chaplin the great animators at Pixar really are.
5) Inside Out (2015)
“Inside Out” is the brainiest, most trippy movie Pixar has made so far. Coming out of the theater, a buddy of mine, who is coincidentally a psychologist, told me the movie should be mandatory viewing for all psych students. How does Pixar come up with such ambitiously ingenious ideas? I’m guessing this is the movie most have not yet seen from my list, so I won’t say much, but just let your brain have a little workout with this golden nugget of a movie.
“Inside Out” is the brainiest, most trippy movie Pixar has made so far. Coming out of the theater, a buddy of mine, who is coincidentally a psychologist, told me the movie should be mandatory viewing for all psych students. How does Pixar come up with such ambitiously ingenious ideas? I’m guessing this is the movie most have not yet seen from my list, so I won’t say much, but just let your brain have a little workout with this golden nugget of a movie.
6) The Incredibles (2004)
While we get relentlessly pummeled by countless superhero movies every single year, it is a breath of fresh air to see the genre work so triumphantly well. Brad Bird has proven his worth in the past, most notably with the criminally underrated animated movie “The Iron Giant”. Bird gives us another visual treat by tackling the superhero genre and coming out with a classic that can stand alongside “The Dark Knight” and “Spider-Man 2″. The action scenes are breathtakingly staged, with Bird’s incredible eye for detail and pacing coming in handy. Unlike many superhero movies, this is one of the rare cases where a sequel would be welcome and well-deserved.
While we get relentlessly pummeled by countless superhero movies every single year, it is a breath of fresh air to see the genre work so triumphantly well. Brad Bird has proven his worth in the past, most notably with the criminally underrated animated movie “The Iron Giant”. Bird gives us another visual treat by tackling the superhero genre and coming out with a classic that can stand alongside “The Dark Knight” and “Spider-Man 2″. The action scenes are breathtakingly staged, with Bird’s incredible eye for detail and pacing coming in handy. Unlike many superhero movies, this is one of the rare cases where a sequel would be welcome and well-deserved.
7) Finding Nemo (2003)
I can think of three times in cinematic history where an actor or actress deserved to get nominated for a voice performance: Robin Williams as the Genie in “Aladdin”, Jeremy Irons as Scar in “The Lion King”, and of course Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in Pixar’s “Finding Nemo”. The work DeGeneres does here is nothing short of brilliant. She uses a playful innocence to counterbalance Albert Brooks’ sombre, more serious tone as Nemo’s father. The lighter optimism of Dory shines through and perfectly complements the astonishing visuals of the coral reef in all its glory.
I can think of three times in cinematic history where an actor or actress deserved to get nominated for a voice performance: Robin Williams as the Genie in “Aladdin”, Jeremy Irons as Scar in “The Lion King”, and of course Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in Pixar’s “Finding Nemo”. The work DeGeneres does here is nothing short of brilliant. She uses a playful innocence to counterbalance Albert Brooks’ sombre, more serious tone as Nemo’s father. The lighter optimism of Dory shines through and perfectly complements the astonishing visuals of the coral reef in all its glory.
8) Toy Story 2 (1999)
9) Toy Story (1995)
It all started here. The first time I saw “Toy Story” I could scarcely imagine how groundbreaking and important it would become for animation. This movie literally changed the game and practically got rid of all hand drawn animation in Hollywood, which of course is a real shame, because hand drawn is still one of the most beautiful and creative ways to make a movie – just look at any Hayao Miyazaki movie if you don’t believe me. Now almost every single animated movie is CGI and we’ve relied so heavily on it because of how monstrous a success Pixar had with “Toy Story”. The facial expressions, the movements, and the effortless flow that carry characters about was unprecedented. It was goodbye to the classical and welcome to the new age.
We had no right to expect a sequel that would be better than the original, but that’s exactly what “Toy Story 2″ accomplished. This time around we had a better story, improved animation, and an exhilarating sense of adventure. If the original was riding high off of its landmark CGI, this sequel was trying to perfect the glitches that held the story back a little the first time around. With Indiana Jones styled action, “Toy Story 2″ proved there was still room to expand in the Pixar canon, and that these guys were dead serious about blowing us away.
10) Monsters Inc. (2000)
There hasn’t been a cuter, more adorable Pixar creation than Boo. The little girl who called Sully “Kitty” just about made the movie for me. The attention to detail given to Boo was simply amazing, encompassing the smallest, most precious details a baby girl can have. Every time she spoke you couldn’t help but just want to hug the screen. Kudos must be given to directors Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich and David Silverman who let this kid run loose and cause chaos at Monsters Inc. Billy Crystal and John Goodman’s voice work and chemistry here is tremendous.
There hasn’t been a cuter, more adorable Pixar creation than Boo. The little girl who called Sully “Kitty” just about made the movie for me. The attention to detail given to Boo was simply amazing, encompassing the smallest, most precious details a baby girl can have. Every time she spoke you couldn’t help but just want to hug the screen. Kudos must be given to directors Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich and David Silverman who let this kid run loose and cause chaos at Monsters Inc. Billy Crystal and John Goodman’s voice work and chemistry here is tremendous.
Pixar's newest treat
Sure, it might not be as good as past Pixar fare and sure, it follows a more traditional narrative structure and yes, it just didn't meet critical expectations BUT don't -and I repeat- DON'T discount Pixar's "Brave" as nothing but filler in the same category as "Cars 2" or "A Bug's Life". The film is too good to be shunned off and relegated to that low-leveled category. Let me explain why. Expectations can really kill the way you view a film. Before "Brave" even came out, the thought of another Pixar film coming to theatres gave critics and movie buffs a reason to smile in what would likely be another dull summer loaded with movie escapism and not too much food for thought. I mean, this is the same company that gave us some of the great animated films of the last decade and single handily brought us into -my opinion of course- the golden age of animation. Just look at the treasure trove of brilliant films this company has released since 1999; Toy Story 2", "Monsters Inc.", "Finding Nemo", "The Incredibles", "Ratatouille", "WALL-E", "Up" and "Toy Story 3". An impressive list that is practically impossible to match by anyone else, safe maybe Hayao Miyazaki's brilliant filmography of the past three decades or Disney's brilliant run of films from 1989-1994.
In"Brave" what we have is Pixar's best animation to date. Its eye popping colors bring about dazzling visuals that would make any true film buff water in the mouth. The animation is so well drawn out and compared to earlier Pixar films, "Brave" blows them out of the water in terms of sheer technical achievements -Time's Richard Corliss has echoed my sentiments in saying it is "the most ravishing and complex pixar movie to date". However its narrative is safer, bringing about memories of some of Disney's so called "princess stories" yet infusing it with post 21st century material. This is Pixar's first film featuring a female heroine and not just any heroine; a redhead that has a killer talent for bow and arrow. Merida is her name and she is a headstrong free spirit that wants to "change her fate" (of being betrothed against her will) at nearly any cost. Merida will not be held back. The story comes with twists and turns that I didn't see coming, outstanding visuals and wait until you see Merida's three younger brothers, redheaded baby triplets that just want to cause chaos everytime they're on screen.
This film doesn't have the dark, underlying adult themes of "Up" but it sure is a great time at the movies. Its scenes go from wacky, to dramatic to downright scary. Will it win the Best Animated Feature Oscar? It's too hard to tell but something tells me we shouldn't discount its chances. I mean, after all a "good" rather than "great" Pixar movie is still better than 99% of animated movies released in any given year. This is just a case of high expectations not being met. "Brave" isn't a film that vies for greatness - instead it is a lovely film that is intentionally Pixar's first foray into the "Fairytale" genre. However, It doesn't necessarily follow the rules of the genre; Merida would rather use her bow and arrow than chase boys or find her prince charming. The movie isn't about being in love or living happily ever after. It is more about one girl's quest to find self-fulfillment and identity in a world empowered by men. Don't listen to the naysayers or those who's expectations were too high to reach, let yourself get swept up into "Brave" and its magnificent colors.
When looking at the Best Animated Feature of 2012, one cannot discount Tim Burton's imaginative "Frankenweenie" which has enough critics backing it up and will likely get a well-deserved nomination. Burton's Gothic treat is his animated follow-up to "The Corpse Bride", which still is his ONLY Oscar nomination to date. Yes, it's very hard to believe especially with a filmography that includes "Ed Wood", "Sweeney Todd" and "Edward Scissorhands". "Frankenweenie" is Burton being Burton (You could see that as a good thing or a bad thing). Based on his 1984 short about a young boy named victor that loses his dog, Sparky, and uses the power of science to resurrect it "Frankenweenie" is a labor of love for Burton through and through. Shot in beautiful Black and White and laced with enough dark Gothic humor to satisfy his many legions of fans, the film will likely garner Burton a well deserved second nomination and maybe -just maybe- his first ever win. Other contenders this year include well received fare such as "Paranorman", "Pirates: Bands Of Misfits" and the recently released "Wreck It Ralph".
http://www.awardsdaily.com/
Weak animation
It's kind of hard to make great animation. You got to not only craft some handsome looking stuff but you also have to put some heart into the story and have us -the audience- suspend our disbelief while watching what is essentially drawn out characters. However I have stated over and over again the pat few years that we live currently in the golden age of animation. Classic after classic gets released on a yearly basis. Astonishing art that will surely last a life time. Lately we've however been in a rut. 2011 was the first year in which I couldn't even find one animated film that I thought was exceptional. Many found lot to like in Rango, a tripped out ode to spaghetti-westerns with a main character in the form of a chameleon-cowboy voiced by Johnny Depp. Got that? many did, I didn't. Rango was -in these eyes- too self involved to work out on screen yet it was one of three animated films that got a "best animated film" nom for the Oscars. Pixar also struck out for the first time in their short 16 year history with Cars 2, a devastatingly dull sequel to a good, solid 2006 treat.
The other nominees? Kung Fu Panda 2? A follow-up to a decent 2008 movie that wasn't necessarily deserving to get made into a sequel. Puss In Boots? A movie based on a character introduced in the Shrek series? mixed reviews greeted it and I didn't even bother to watch it based on .. well just based on the fact that there was much more promising stuff to watch. Rounding out the nominees is Chico and Rita + A Cat In Paris, the academy's justifiable attempt to support hand drawn animation but these two films aren't the ones to rally behind a practically lost art form. Tin Tin -reviewed HERE- justifiably failed to get a nomination and proved once again that animated quality was quasi dead in 2011. Further proof had the prestigious New York Film Critic Circle erase the Best Animated Film category from their ballot based on a weak playing field.
However, ending on a positive here's the truly great movies in animation of the past 15 years of cinema. Most of these are ground breakers that have evolved over time into true classics.
1) Spirited Away
2)Wall E
3) Ratatouille
4) Les Triplettes De Belleville
5) The Fantastic Mr. Fox
6) Up
7) Waking Life
8) The Incredibles
9) Finding Nemo
10) Toy Story 2
11) South Park
12) Toy Story 3
13) The Iron Giant
14) Chicken Run
15) Shrek
The 7 great PIXAR movies
1) WALL-E
2) Ratatouille
3) Finding Nemo
4) The Incredibles
5) Toy Story 3
6) Up
7) Toy Story 2
2) Ratatouille
3) Finding Nemo
4) The Incredibles
5) Toy Story 3
6) Up
7) Toy Story 2
A few more movies to prove that this summer movie season is a total disaster
Did we expect The Green Lantern to be any good? I didn't. Yet I still went to a screening hoping for it not to be a total disaster. Sadly it was. You can put it on the long list for worst movie of 2011. Director Martin Campbell -who did a solid job with Bond in Casino Royale- doesn't have much to work on here. Who are we kidding here, the Green Lantern was never one of the more exciting superheroes. The film adaptation proves it. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it an outer space film? is it a monster movie? is it a comedy? is it a drama? What if I answered none of the above .. anyways you get the picture. Add to the fact that I was never a big fan of Ryan Reynolds' -how shall I put this- acting chops and you got a movie recipe made in hell. The character's are hilariously sketched out in an unintended way and the space scenes are ridiculous. It's a great comedy. Seriously though, is there anything worth watching here? maybe the 3D which is better than most of the other 3D I've seen this summer (Cars 2 below) - However, I'd rather look at paint dry than watch this movie again.
I love Pixar so damn much. The classics they've released over the past 10 years are tremendous (Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3) yet there's always been much hate directed towards 2006's Cars which -I'll admit it- did not have the inventiveness of the previously said titles but had a sweet, good natured simplicity to its Americana colors. I loved every second of it when I saw it 5 years ago at a screening room in Alberta's Lux movie theatre. Cars 2 I did not love. It is by far the worst movie in Pixar's short 17 year history. While the original had a sweet, simplicity to it, this one is all flash and turns into a predictable spy caper. The characters are wooden and the marketing for Cars products is all over the map. Not surprising considering Cars has become a billion dollar industry, from lunchboxes to toys Pixar has been milking it ever since the original's release. Another big mistake is concentrating the center of its plot on red-neck talkin Mater, a caricature that ranks amongst Pixar's worst. Here's to better Pixar in 2012 when Brave rolls out amidst great buzz.
Cameron Diaz does wonders with her role in Bad Teacher - a raunchy comedy that delivers in some scenes and drags in others. The film comes out after a slew of "Bad" films have been released over recent years, sadly this doesn't rank in the same bogusly outrageous MVP league as Bad Santa or Bad Lieutenant. At times the film earns its R rating and at others it's just too bland to be anywhere near PG. Yet Diaz nails her role as a slutty teacher that has always looks for the guy with the big paycheck. Low and behold a new teacher shows up -played geekily well by Justin Timberlake- a heir to a french watch company and the perfect target for Diaz's ambitions. From there on in it's hit and miss. When the jokes work they work well, when they don't it's a complete mess. As for what passes as a so called plot, well it's thin. The story is more sketch than actual movie and resorts to sap in its finale. The usually great Jason Segal can't do much for an underwritten role. It's Diaz that's the only one that comes out of this one alive, she's dynamite. I guess in Summer 2011 you just can't win them all.
The Green Lantern (PG-13) ★
Cars 2 (G) ★★
Bad Teacher (R) ★★½