Naming Pixar's best is no easy feat for this movie fan
But how do you pick a favorite among three Toy Story pictures, a pair of Cars movies, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, A Bug's Life, Wall-E and Up?
It is an awfully hard thing to do when there is that much quality floating around.
Maybe the first place to start is to eliminate some of the picks that aren't in the running.
First one cut is Finding Nemo, a movie that earned huge dollars, but doesn't quite have the same appeal as the rest of the Pixar crowd. Neither does Ratatouille, although I enjoyed that much more than I did Finding Nemo. But not even a movie as good as Ratatouille can't stack up against the formidable competition Pixar has put forth.
Now, I have to admit that I have not seen Cars 2, but from everything I've heard it doesn't rank among the elite of the Pixar family. It's a duster. So too is Toy Story 3, which is the weakest among the Buzz and Woody trilogy.
Fine, so much for the easy part. I have pared off four of the 12 Pixar films. Although Toy Story 2 gets a lot of love from film critics and fans alike, I don't think it quite measures up to the original, so I am axing that one too.
Seven left.
Good night Irene, this is already getting incredibly tough.
I adored A Bug's Life, and Dave Foley is an absolute favorite, but that being said, I'm not sure I could give it the Best of the Best credit over the remaining films, not because it isn't great, but because it isn't great enough. A Bug's Life came out at the same time as the animated Antz, and promptly pounded it into oblivion, and Antz wasn't all that bad either.
Half way.
That leaves us with Cars, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Up, Wall-E and Toy Story, all of which are beloved for so many reasons, all of which elicit plenty of emotions ranging from elation to laughter, laughter to sadness, sadness to compassion.
From that list, we can put together a list of perhaps the most popular characters of the past 15 years. Woody, Mike Wazowski, Wall-E, Mr. Incredible, Mater, Buzz Lightyear, Lightning McQueen... the list goes on and on. How to choose?
I'm going to eliminate Cars, mainly because they are just that... cars. I think it is tougher to connect with the viewer with an inanimate object, and Cars doesn't take viewers on the emotional roller coaster the other five movies do, so it has to go.
Five.
Man, this is tougher than I expected it would be.
As much as I truly adore Wall-E, I fear that he may have to go. Any time a company can put forth a movie with so little actual speaking going on, and have it be such a monumentally successful achievement, it is hard to let go. Wall-E could easily rank No. 1 on my list. I think the reason I let it go here may be kind of a trivial reason, but I am the kind of guy who loves to fire off catchy little phrases from movies, and Wall-E doesn't have them.
Four.
Great, now I feel horrible, like I just had to put my cat to sleep or my son ate my Wayne Gretzky rookie card or something of that ilk.
But doggone it, I'm down to four, and someone has to go next.
Do I forsake the golden comedy duo of Sulley and Mike Wazowski of Monsters, Inc.? Do I put the kibosh on Dug (Squirrel!), put the whammy on The Family Incredibles or nix the originals who started it all?
Wow, I am sorry I ever chose to go down this torturous path in the first place.
OK, sorry Woodman and Buzz, your time has come. I love you all dearly, and Wallace Shawn as the dinosaur is truly one of the greatest voice actors ever, but I can't help thinking that in my mind, the other three remaining films are just ever-so better in some form or fashion.
Three.
Monster's Inc., The Incredibles, Up. Now, what to do?
Sulley and Wazowski take me back to the olden days of great comedy duos like Laurel and Hardy, Martin and Lewis, Bob and Ray... and I do love a good comedy. However, Monsters, Inc. is so much more than that. I defy you not to blink back tears at the end of that movie, in about six different situations.
After debating this one over and over, I have to say I have wavered back and forth several times. Finally, I landed on Monsters, Inc. as the one I have to let go. I love this movie. I love everything about it, from the relationships that evolve, to the gnarly bad guys, to the goofy monsters and nagging girlfriend mode. I love the action, the concept and the way they bring such character to the monsters. I loved the twist. Cutting this one hurts me deeply, because it is a movie I could sit down and watch at the drop of a hat, and enjoy it like it was the first time I saw it.
Sadly, two.
Which means I have to make a choice that is probably easier than the past six I have made, because I actually have an absolute favorite from the Pixar family.
The next to go is The Incredibles, which has beaten out a handful of absolutely golden movie efforts. I pay homage to Brad Bird and The Incredibles for putting such a unique spin on the hero story, and for making it so much fun to go along for the ride. I also can't say enough about how much I admire Jason Lee's bad guy, Syndrome. Every director making an action/super hero movie should be made to watch The Incredibles, just to get a good base on how it is done. And, it is difficult for me to think of anything other than "Honey... where... is... my... super suit?" every time there is peril.
This is without a doubt a fantastic bit of escapism for the whole family, full of action, adventure, wit and even family values, with a family dealing with real life issues.
And so, we have our winner. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... Up!
And I will tell you why now.
The first 10 minutes of that film are pure movie magic.
When Karl and Ellie meet, fall in love and live their lives over the next 70 years, all in the first 10 minutes of celluloid, all without really uttering one word to each other, it is both breathtaking and heartbreaking. My wife bawled her eyes out the first time she saw that movie in the theater, it hits that close to home, and is that powerful.
After that, well, Karl and Russell embark on a journey that includes great humor, utter sincerity and talking dogs, for crying out loud.
It's pretty obvious what the outcome will be, but today, most movies are obvious, and all of Pixar's are.
Up is a truly wonderful moment when a movie can transform you, make you feel good about life, about yourself, about being alive, and Up brings such an emotional cornucopia to the table that it elicits genuine affection for all of the characters involved.
This is right up there with my all-time favorite movies. It stands with The Sting, The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects as the best of the best for me.
Now, I know your list isn't the same, so where do you turn when someone tells you that you can watch only one Pixar film for the rest of your life?