Pixar

Driver 8

Reading a lot of the discussions around the web about Ratatoutille, i've seen how, while Pixar is well respected, the degree to which some of their films are like tends to vary greatly. So, if you nice folk would, rank said movies?

Mine:

1. Toy Story 2
2. Finding Nemo
3. Toy Story
4. The Incredibles
5. A Bug's Life
6. Cars
7. Monsters Inc.

Wacker

Just in case any of you guys are weird enough to follow my posts, you may know that I am ludicrously passionate about Pixar, and that I absolutely hate Dreamworks animation. Here is my ranking of their movies:

1. The Incredibles. Truly brilliant.
2. Toy Story II. This always makes me feel guilty for not playing with my lego any more!.
3. Finding Nemo. The "Swim Down!" moment makes me cry like a girl every time. Seriously.
4.Toy Story.
5. Monsters Inc. Boo is the cutest character ever conceived.
6. A Bugs Life. Just an average enough movie; no real brilliance to it. Nice idea in borrowing the story from the Sevem Samurai though.
7. Cars. A lot was good about this movie. The scenery looked breathtaking, for one thing. I haven't yet managed to put my finger on the central problem with it.

Ratatouille does not look inspiring at all from the trailer, but Brad Bird is the man, so I have some faith. Wall E looks awesome though.

Basq

Whoa whoa whoa... Toy Story at 4, Wacker. You nuts?!

1. Toy Story - saw this for my birthday in the cinema on release. Absolutely adored it and still do to this day. It was witty, exciting, colourful and was so different.
2. The Incredibles - Brad Bird really took the Pixar formula and kicked it up the ass. A balls-out good fun action film with plenty for the kiddies and for the adults.
3. Toy Story 2 - fun sequel, not quite as magical as the original but fun nonetheless.
4. Finding Nemo - i enjoyed this mainly for the supporting characters and moments like: "mine... mine... MINE!" and "Bubbles... oh look at Bubbles... Bubbles.."
5. Monsters Inc - not a bad film but not nearly witty enough for adults in my opinion. It lacked the spark to appeal to me but kids loved it!
6. A Bugs Life - all-in-all a very average film. Very unremarkable in all respects. So much so that i can barely recall a line of it but passed an hour and a half at the time.
7. Cars - loathed it, loathed it.. tiresome and just lazy storytelling. A big dud and i hope Pixar don't stoop to him level again.

Ratoutille i'm not at all pushed about - but pumped for 'WALL-E'

Driver 8

I adore Pixar, and like Wacker (that's my father's nickname..) hate Dreamworks (except Flushed Away!), and i have to say, sadly, Rataoutille from day one has done nothing for me.

Put it this way, if you outlined the premise of any of the existing Pixar movies to someone who'd never heard of them, you'd likely have them very interested. A rat who's a chef? It's not remotely interesting, and while the movie looks like it could be....solid at best, it looks like a rare miss. But hey, Wall-E and Toy Story 3!

johnny_ultimate

basquille wrote:

1. Toy Story - saw this for my birthday in the cinema on release. Absolutely adored it and still do to this day. It was witty, exciting, colourful and was so different.
2. The Incredibles - Brad Bird really took the Pixar formula and kicked it up the ass. A balls-out good fun action film with plenty for the kiddies and for the adults.
3. Toy Story 2 - fun sequel, not quite as magical as the original but fun nonetheless.
4. Finding Nemo - i enjoyed this mainly for the supporting characters and moments like: "mine... mine... MINE!" and "Bubbles... oh look at Bubbles... Bubbles.."
5. Monsters Inc - not a bad film but not nearly witty enough for adults in my opinion. It lacked the spark to appeal to me but kids loved it!
6. A Bugs Life - all-in-all a very average film. Very unremarkable in all respects. So much so that i can barely recall a line of it but passed an hour and a half at the time.
7. Cars - loathed it, loathed it.. tiresome and just lazy storytelling. A big dud and i hope Pixar don't stoop to him level again

What he said but swap Cars (which I was pleasantly surprised by following the relatively negative "ZOMG PIXAR SUX!" backlash) with a Bugs Life (very average).
As for Monsters Inc., I would say it is on a par with all the others - Boo is the most adorable animated character since big old Totoro blessed our screens.
But Pixar our indeed the Ghibli of America. Having grown up with their films from a relatively young age, for me they have proved to be extremely consistent. Vastly superior to Dreamworks anyway (the first Shrek is the only film from them I would consider 'good', and even that is not a patch on 90% of Pixar output).

By the way, favourite short? I thought Boundin' was terrific...

Interesting news here . Will be interesting to see a bit of a departure...

Wacker

johnny_ultimate wrote:

By the way, favourite short? I thought Boundin' was terrific...

Interesting news here . Will be interesting to see a bit of a departure...

One Man Band. No contest!

Mitch Connor

Wacker wrote:

One Man Band. No contest!

No no no!

Their first proper one; with the snowman in the snow globe is the best. Comic genius, and a great bit of music to go with it.

BlitzKrieg

I must be weird.

My fav pixar would be


Monsters Inc
The incredibles
Finding Nemo
Toy Story
Toy story 2
Bugs life
Cars

-Yes I found Cars to be very disapointing, and feel that it was outdone last year by 3 of the other animated films released (happy feet, Over the Hedge and Monster House are all better films)
-I am actually psyched for Ratatouile, I think it looks to have great characterisation, its directed by brad bird (who hasnt let me down yet) and if you watch the nine minute preview on apple you would agree with me that the plot has that pixar charm (the ghost of a world famous chef is your spiritual guide?)

Of their shorts...i'd be torn between for the birds and boundin.

Burning Eclipse

My favourite is Monsters Inc. I can't count the number of times I've seen it. I have teddy bears of Mike and Sully, yet to find Boo in a shop. I always have tears in my eyes at the very end too. Don't judge me, that's all perfectly normal for a 24 y.o. male.

I can't put them in an order after that. Haven't seen Cars so I can't pass judgement. Incredibles is exceptional and really shows up the likes of Dreamworks for being the load of sh*t that they are. I'm a blatant fanboy when it comes to computer animation. Nobody touches Pixar, that is fact!

Like most people I started off on Toy Story and have been hooked ever since.

pwd

1. Finding Nemo.
2. The Incredibles
3. A Bug's Life
4. Monsters Inc.
5. Toy Story
6. Toy Story 2

Haven't seen cars

The top two are brilliant. The rest are good but not as good as them

Slutmonkey57b

1: Monsters Inc - Crystal and Goodman make that movie.
2: The Incredibles
3: Toy Story 1+2
4: Cars
5: Bug's Life
6: Finding Nemo

What you say? Cars above Nemo? The only characters in Nemo I enjoyed were Ellen degeneres' witless wonder and Dennis Leary's scheming. Everything else was a big "meh" on all counts. The voice acting in Cars is far better and leds the cars much more character.

CrazyTalk

1. The Incredibles
2. Monsters Inc
3. Finding Nemo
4. Toy Story
5. Cars
6. Toy Story 2
7. A Bugs Life

I think Incredibles just does it for me, both visually and storyline wise, although Ive watched it too many times for my own good at this point.

I feel like Im going to get a thrashing for putting Cars above TS 2, but it just felt like an uneeded sequal to me.

Mark Hamill

1. Finding Nemo - It had the most heart
2. The Incredibles - I love super heroes
3. Monsters Inc - Boo!
4. Toy Story - Great Idea
5. Toy Story 2 - Kind of a copy of the first
6. A Bugs Life - wasn't bad
7. Cars - Horribly bad, kept waiting for it to be funny.

Cars is the worst: terrible storyline, Owen Wilsons voice, no heart, Owen Wilsons voice, wasn't funny, and it had Owen Wilsons voice.

Boundin' was a great animated short, but my favourite has to be Nik-Nak, cause its the funniest.

Running Bing

most of these animated movies are absurdly over rated imo. Toy Story was an absolute classic and I hear the incredibles is decent but I havent seen it. the rest are pretty looking but quite average.

I dont get what the big fascination with these types of movies is, I think adults feel they are in some way trendy if they like a kids film....like with the Harry Potter books:rolleyes: . I know Shrek was dreamworks but I watched it one day and just thought the whole thing was very "meh" and everybody raves about it.



Am I alone in thinking it's time to see some classic 2D animation?

Karl Hungus

Babybing wrote:

most of these animated movies are absurdly over rated imo. Toy Story was an absolute classic and I hear the incredibles is decent but I havent seen it. the rest are pretty looking but quite average.

I dont get what the big fascination with these types of movies is, I think adults feel they are in some way trendy if they like a kids film....like with the Harry Potter books:rolleyes: . I know Shrek was dreamworks but I watched it one day and just thought the whole thing was very "meh" and everybody raves about it.



Am I alone in thinking it's time to see some classic 2D animation?

I do kinda agree with you, a lot of those films are fairly over-rated. I think if you want to see quality animated films, you can't beat Studio Ghibli, they're miles ahead of anything else out there. Plus, it's all 2D.

Running Bing

Karl Hungus wrote:

I do kinda agree with you, a lot of those films are fairly over-rated. I think if you want to see quality animated films, you can't beat Studio Ghibli, they're miles ahead of anything else out there. Plus, it's all 2D.

Couldnt agree more. Different league all together to the Pixar/Dreamworks stuff. Fantastic films.

ixoy

I disagree Babybing - I think Pixar's output is generally excellent and I've only found "Cars" and "A Bug's Life" to be in anyway approaching mediocrity. The rest all have, to generally large degrees, great moments of emotion and humour. They also have effective characterisation that both young and old can empathise with.
"The Incredibles" is quite possibly my favourite - it manages to express a world that's got the ideology (to some extent) of Moore's "The Watchmen" and also the humour that's Pixar's trademark - nothing crude ever, nor relying too much on the "fart" humour of so many others but more from genuinely enjoyable characters. Much the same can be said of their other strong titles like "Toy Story", "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters Inc." Their worlds are also very well realised, with a lot of effort put into them.

Studi Ghibli brings something else. I don't think it can match Pixar in terms of warming the heart or humour but it can often surpass it in terms of wonder and originality. I think Miyazaki's work is superb as well, particularly "Princess Monoke", but it can easily co-exist alongside Pixar and offer a different thing for a different audience.

As to saying adults only like it to be trendy - you could say that other adults only like Studio Ghibli to be "alternative". Both statements are complete crap and many, like myself, can enjoy both studio's excellent creative output.

Slutmonkey57b

I'm suprised to see so many people describing Nemo as having "heart" - I found it to be a big unimaginative schmaltzfest the whole way through. I could care less what happened to Nemo TBH.

Lirange

I enjoyed them all except for A Bug's Life.

1. Toy Story.
My vote for best animated feature of all time ... don't snigger it has to be in the conversation at least!

2. Monsters Inc.
Look out! We have a Code 23-19! Step aside! 23-19!
Buscemi as Randall. My favourite villain in Pixar.

3. The Incredibles
Not a single dull patch in this film.

4. Toy Story 2.
Not up to the level of the original but what is? Still a good ride and the music was better.

5. Cars
Loved Paul Newman as Doc Hudson.

6. Finding Nemo
Fish tank scenes in the Dentist's office were the best.

7. A Bug's Life
Fairly crap offering. Soundtrack wasn't bad though.

johnny_ultimate

Japanse and American animation are two different beasts. As an anime fan, I would agree that Studio Ghibli, Satoshi Kon et al. do produce the finest animated films around. But the style is utterly different to Pixar output. What Pixar offers is the best in the traditional American style of animation - more straightfoward narratives, more humour, usually more lighthearted. I have long grown out of traditionally narrated Disney films, but everytime a new Pixar film comes out - or even when I rewatch the classics again - I am entertained, amused and often moved. Comparisons with Ghibli are unfair - two completely different styles. There is a place for both. As Ixoy said, disregarding Pixar does border on just trying to be 'trendy' / alternative. If you just don't like them, fair enough, but I doubt there are many who have grown up with Pixar from a young age - like myself - who won't always watch their latest output.

Karl Hungus

Hmm... I didn't want to start a Pixar Vs Ghibli debate, it was really just a recommendation to Babybing rather than anything else.

Dman001

Why do ye not like Dreamworks? They brought us Shrek.

Basq

Dman001 wrote:

Why do ye not like Dreamworks? They brought us Shrek.

Anything else worthwhile that didn't spawn 2 mediocre sequels?

The Denouncer

I love Pixar but I must say I think A Bug's Life is superb! I love it. Watched it countless times and can't understand the hammering it's getting here. Looks amazing in 2.35:1, has great characters, music, sound and voice work. Story is borrowed from Seven Samurai but its not the first, and won't be the last to do that.. I saw Antz around the same time and that has dated badly against A Bug's life..in fact its one of my fav animations ever, along with The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, and Ice Age..can't wait for Ratatouille.

Mitch Connor

basquille wrote:

Anything else worthwhile that didn't spawn 2 mediocre sequels?

and will spawn another 2.

Wacker

Dman001 wrote:

Why do ye not like Dreamworks? They brought us Shrek.

Cheap, lame gags, over and over. Pixar are out there making brilliant films that are really pushing the boundaries of how animated movies are viewed, challenging the perception that these films need to be funny in order to be good. The Incredibles was not a funny movie at all (except for the "NO CAPES!" secene) , and it was sheer brilliance, because it had cool action, visuals and characters.
Then, people go and see a Dreamworks (or any other 3D animation sudio movie for that matter) animated movie, and get a fart-gag and lame joke fest, and perceptions are rooted to the spot. It is infuriating.

Dodge

I'll let those more qualified (or more interested) rate the animation. Interms of me enjoying the movies I'd only re-watch both Toy Story 1+2 and The Incredibles. The rest were so so.

Oh and Shrek was a hugely inventive comedy. Don't let the sequels diminish its quality