The Good Dinosaur (2015)

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

[8] In an alternate reality where dinosaurs didn't go extinct, a young Apatosaurus named Arlo is separated from his family and must find his way home with the hope of a feral human child he dubs "Spot". Along their journey…
Onward (2020)

Onward (2020)

[7] Pixar's Onward takes place in a world of elves, trolls, dragons, and unicorns, but it's also a world where all these creatures have forgotten how to use their magic. So their world is a lot like ours -- centaurs…
Cars (2006)

Cars (2006)

[7] Pixar has an uncanny way of dressing up an old familiar formula and making it seem brand new. Cars is a story about life in the fast lane (literally and figuratively), and the dangers of forgetting to smell the…
Toy Story 3 (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

[8] It's been 11 years since Toy Story 2, and the same amount of time has passed in Buzz and Woody's world. Andy is now heading off to college and the toys' fates are up in the air. Will they…
Inside Out (2015)

Inside Out (2015)

[5] Pixar usually moves me with some genuine human emotion, but Inside Out is a little more sentimental and pandering than many of their other films. The big cry moment is a cheap, low blow, is what I mean to…
WALL-E (2008)

WALL-E (2008)

[9]

My favorite Pixar film features two robots who say little more than each others’ names, but somehow, as if by magic, WALL-E manages to convey more emotion than films that try twice as hard to do so.  There’s a charming purity in the characters of WALL-E and EVE, who to differing degrees struggle against their ‘directives’ to form a bond.  The fact that these two odd ‘bots end up protecting the last sliver of life on Earth — a tiny plant — could have been cloying, but Pixar knows how to handle the material.  When WALL-E finds the fragile vine, he simply collects it in an old shoe and places it on a shelf with other artifacts of a bygone era. 

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story (1995)

[9]

A terrific script and loveable characters send Toy Story soaring. At the heart of the simple storyline are two toys with character arcs as compelling as any of their live-action counterparts. Woody (Tom Hanks) is a pull-string cowboy who’s afraid of being replaced as his owner’s favorite, and Buzz (Tim Allen) is the new, gadget-enhanced astronaut who doesn’t accept the fact that he’s a toy. The Oscar-nominated screenplay (co-written by Joss Whedon) deftly blends character, humor, and action. The climax, where Woody and Buzz chase after a moving truck to rejoin their fellow toys, is a particularly thrilling scene. The voice cast is also a triumph, including Wallace Shawn as a neurotic dinosaur, Don Rickles as a bitter Mr. Potato Head, and Jim Varney as a trusty Slinky Dog. Randy Newman’s score makes the plight of plastic playthings nothing less than epic, and his cozy songwriting fits the nature of the film to a tee. “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is the film’s charming anthem, but it’s Newman’s performance of “I Will Go Sailing No More,” played over Buzz’s realization of his limitations, that works most powerfully.