A Retrospective of Pixar (Part 2) · 4:04am Mar 2nd, 2015
Let's continue this retrospective of Pixar with the final seven films in Pixar's current roster.
Ratatouille (2007)
The film is one hell of an entrée (sorry, had to make a food-related joke). You will believe that a rat can cook! This is most definitely one of the many Pixar films that holds the title of being one of my all-time favorite animated movies. Everything about this movie is just a feast for the eyes (okay, stopping the food references now). It's a delectable plethora of animated goodness (damn it!). This movie makes me hungry. Word of advice, never watch this movie alongside Julie and Julia. Your mouth will turn into a waterfall. Anyway, in all seriousness, I love this movie. The setting of Paris looks gorgeous, the characters are likable and memorable, the relationship between Remy and Linguini is a lot of fun, and the film is just an overall uplifting and fun experience. I give Ratatouille a 10/10.
WALL-E (2008)
Why I waited so long to watch this movie, I will never know; but I loved every minute of it! I've heard that there's a fair amount of people out there who only like the first half hour and don't really care for the rest. Granted, the first half hour of this movie is an AMAZING example at how to introduce a story, world, and characters with next to no dialogue. However, I was personally thoroughly entertained from beginning to end. You will believe that a robot can fall in love! I really cared for these characters and wanted to watch them succeed. I also liked how the film examined what would happen to humanity if we just sat back and let technology do everything for us and the main villain was an enjoyable callback to Hal 9000. The animation was also absolutely stunning throughout and the film has an overall perfect balance of heart and comedy. I give WALL-E a 10/10.
Up (2009)
Pixar sure does know how to tug at your heartstrings and a perfect example of that is the opening for Up. The opening montage of this film showing the lives of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen is a truly beautiful piece of animation. With absolutely no dialogue (aside from that bit at the beginning with them as kids) we get to know these two characters as well as thoroughly understand the struggles they go through. So by the time we arrive at present day Carl, we understand why he is the way he is. As is the norm for Pixar, the animation is fantastic throughout. The settings and places the characters visit look incredible. The main characters (I know you're probably tired of hearing me say this over and over again) are incredibly likable and a lot of fun. There's some fun action scenes, good comedy, a lot of heart, and a very fitting and heartwarming ending. I give Up a 10/10 (shocking, I know).
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Pixar's eleventh film that we waited eleven years for. Again, do I really need to explain why this film is awesome? It's. Freakin'. Toy. Story! But, in all seriousness, this film was most definitely worth the wait! I love how instead of playing it safe, this film jumps straight forward to show Andy heading off to college, most of Andy's toys having been sold, and the main cast all but forgotten in a trunk in Andy's room. We get to see the results of Stinky Pete's predictions from the second film. This whole film is an epic (yes, I choose to say that this is epic) ride of comedy, heart, loss, gain, acceptance, growing up, and moving on. It was great seeing all of these wonderful characters together again (and with 2010 animation!) and going up against a great villain. Then, of course, there's the scene where Andy says goodbye to the toys and gives them to Bonnie. I'll admit it, I cried like a baby when I saw that scene in the theater and I still get teary-eyed whenever I watch it. It's just such a beautiful moment showing the end of the toys' time with Andy. A new era has begun and it's time for both Andy and the toys to continue on.
Now, what are my thoughts on the now confirmed and upcoming Toy Story 4? I'll save that for a little bit. For now, I'll say that this film was a satisfying and emotional experience that did not disappoint. I give Toy Story 3 a 10/10.
Cars 2 (2011)
Remember how I said that I definitely know which Pixar film is my absolute favorite and which is my least favorite? Uh...yeah. Guess which one is my least favorite. Like with A Bug's Life, if any of you reading this love this movie I'm not here to change your opinions of it or try to ruin it for you. I'm just stating my opinions (as I am for every movie in this retrospective). In my opinion, Cars 2 is Pixar's worst film to date. It has a few fun moments and I liked seeing the characters again...but this movie is just a mess IMO. While I like Mater as a secondary character, I found him really grating and annoying as the main character. I also feel this movie skipped over WAY too much. I was all for a Cars sequel showing Lightning racing for the Piston Cup. This film starts and BAM! He's already got three. Three! What?! And then they had to go and throw in this bizarre spy plot with a villain whose plan is completely batsh*t stupid and...just...UGH! I was originally all for a Cars sequel but this film was a definite disappointment. And it doesn't help that this has gone on to bring us the thoroughly mediocre Planes movies (again, that's just my opinion). This film does have a few positives. I found it to have some fun moments, I liked seeing some of the characters again, the animation was really good, and I liked seeing different parts of the Cars world. But, in the end, it's just a mess of a sequel that could have, and should have, been a whole lot better. I give Cars 2 a 4/10.
Brave (2012)
Now that I've finally seen this film, I can safely say that, in my opinion, it's nowhere close to being as bad as a lot of people say it is. From what I've noticed, a lot of the big complaints about Brave focus on what is wasn't instead of what it was. Hmm...why does that sound familiar? *cough*Equestria Games*cough* Anyway, people went into this film expecting an epic fantasy adventure; but that's not what this movie is. Brave is about a mother and a daughter learning to understand each other and bond as a result. Personally, I really like this movie. I like the setting, I like the characters, I like the animation, and I really liked the relationship between Merida and her mother. I personally think this film wouldn't have received as much backlash as it did if it had been marketed properly. The marketing for this movie is completely misleading. The trailers were edited in a way to make this movie look like a fantasy epic. That was Pixar's biggest mistake with this film: it's marketing. Now, would a fantasy epic in Scotland have been better? Perhaps. But I think the film still turned out pretty good in the end. Yeah, it's a Disney Princess story at its core but it's a good Disney Princess story IMO. And while the title of Brave does actually fit with the the dilemmas of the two main characters (Merida becoming brave enough to accept tradition and deal with problems in a diplomatic, civilized manner and Elinor becoming brave enough to fight in order to protect those she loves), I think this film should have probably kept its original title of The Bear and the Bow. That would have probably been more fitting. Overall, I think this is a pretty good film. Nothing groundbreaking but certainly nothing close to being absolute garbage (as I've heard some people call it). I give Brave an 8/10.
Monsters University (2013)
This is a film that I love more and more each time I re-watch it. I loved returning to the monster world and seeing how Mike and Sulley met. I especially loved seeing a younger and nicer Randall "Randy" Boggs and really enjoyed his friendship with Mike (for the time it lasted). The animation was great (as always), the characters were likable, and the overall message of the movie is a very powerful one: sometimes you won't achieve your dreams but that doesn't mean you should give up and put what you've learned to waste. Another reason this film resonated with me so much was because it was released during the summer between my senior year of high school and my first year of college. Does the film have a few cliches? Yes. Is it a bit predictable at times? Yes. But I still find it to be an incredibly fun and entertaining film with a lot of heart. Overall, I give Monsters University an 8.5/10.
I know it must have been redundant seeing me give 10/10's to so many of the films but that's just how much I personally love these movies. Anyway, that concludes my retrospective of Pixar's current roster of films but my Pixar retrospective isn't done yet. Tomorrow, I'm going to finish this retrospective with a glance at the future as I take a look at Pixar's future projects! As always, I'm interested to hear what the rest of you have to say. Do you agree with my opinions? Disagree with them? See you all tomorrow!
My scores:
Ratatouille - 9.7/10
WALL-E - 9.8/10
Up - 9.7/10
Toy Story 3 - 10/10 (in my top five films of all time)
Cars - 7.9/10 (I think this kind of fun adventure movie was exactly what we needed after four successive emotional roller coasters)
Brave - 9.1/10
Monsters University - 8.7/10 (gets an extra point for dealing with the night shift issue I brought up last time)
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I can see what you mean. The film still isn't my cup of tea but I'm happy that you could enjoy it more.
Never seen WALL-E, but I believe my sister did a project while she was in college about it. I think she liked it.
Wait, do Planes and Planes: Fire and Rescue not count for this retrospective?
Have you ever heard of the Pixar Theory, where all the Pixar are films are all part of the same continuity?
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The Planes movies are made by Disney but Pixar isn't involved with them. And, yes, I have heard the Pixar Theory before and it's very interesting. But this video did a good job at pointing out the flaws with it.
2842685 Oh, I didn't know Planes wasn't a Pixar movie.
I kind of liked the Pixar Theory because of my own crossover sensibilities. But perhaps it doesn't quite hold up.