No other film studio other than Pixar can brag that they've never once made a bad film. The animation studio has created several loved characters across the years, and it's unfair that only one of their films has had the privelege of getting a sequel. That is until next year when Cars 2 comes out, and then we may indeed see an end to the studio's flawless track record. Of all their films, Cars is least deserving of a continuation.
Toy Story put the studio on the map, and made it known that they were off to a great start. Did anybody think that their success would last this long? Probably not, and Pixar was never without its flaws. One of the studio's least great films, A Bugs Life didn't really have quite the same heart as later films, and it did drag quite a bit through most of its running time. The entire film was more or less a set up for the final 20 minutes, but they did have some entertaining moments intersperced throughout.
After that, the studio returned to their first set of characters, and set out to make a second Toy Story film with a 60-minute run time, intended for staight-to-DVD release. Fortunately when Disney saw how impressive the animation on the film was, they expanded upon the film and gave it a theatrical date. Between that decision and the film's release, the film was completely rewritten and remade because they felt that the film wasn't up to the quality they wanted. It was a potentially dangerous decision, but the film turned out for the better because of it. As a matter of fact, it turned out to be the rare gem of a sequel that is better than the original. 
The team then went on to make a few more heart-driven adventure films that pushed the boundaries for the studio. Monsters Inc. was one of the most high concept films at the time, and its odd premise didn't weigh it down. It proved to be the first film the studio made to be actually revolutionary. Two years later Finding Nemo came out, and that film was one of the studio's brilliant technical acheivements as well as emotional achievements. Is it difficult to make a film set mostly in the ocean with an overbearing father and a scatterbrain with short-term memory loss (who are both fish) seem realistic. Probably, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at this film.
In 2004, the studio took a crack at making a compelling story using human characters. Make that superhuman, and thus comes The Incredibles, which against all odds became the best action film of that (critically, but not financially. Spiderman 2 still brought in more in the box-office). Each of their films contains a dysfunctional family of sorts, but this was an actual family with everyday problems. The film also took a step into darker territory, actually showing the skeleton of a dead superhero in one shot. That image was frightening as hell to the adults in the crowd as well as the children.
I'm not even going to talk about Cars, because it was really one of their worst films ever. It wasn't bad, but it's not a film I'd ever see again because it's unnecessarily long. Pixar's next film, Ratatouille was also long, but it had a lot more to it than Cars. It had the emotional journeys of several characters, a few nice chase sequences, but it was one of those animated films that didn't feel the need to make it an action film. It had an interesting and realistic plot to it, and that's all a good film needs.
After they pulled off a film about a rat in a kitchen, they went on to make one about robots who fall in love on a post-apocalyptic earth. Hard sell for a kids movie already? Add in the fact that the first half of the film exists without conventional dialogue. Given that, it's a wonder this film made as much as it did. WALL-E had an original sci fi premise, and one of the studio's most thought out and rounded characters at the lead. That little garbling of his name would soon be used by people around the globe.
The greatest thing about Pixar is that they're not trying to top themselves. They're just trying to keep up with the times and give films that are necessary for their release. This year, Up became the first CG animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and part of that may be because of the expansion to ten nominations. I chock it up to the film delivering emotionally more than any other Pixar film. It carried us on the emotional journey of the character, and we felt what the character was feeling at every point of the film. It made the action that much more intense and real. I remember being worried in the theatre that they'd actually kill off the main protagonist in the end. What other kind of childrens film can trick an audience into thinking that.
Tomorrow, Pixar will no doubt make history again with Toy Story 3, which I'll be leaving soon to go to the midnight release. We're always worried about how good Pixar will do with their next film, and we shouldn't be. They've proven time and again that they know exactly how to make an amazing movie, because they remember what most people have forgotten. The characters and story come first, and everything else comes second. They don't bite off more than they can chew. They release one film a year, and each year it is an event movie to be eagerly awaited. Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about Cars 2. If they've learned from their mistakes, they won't screw it up.Ranking the Pixar films: 10. Cars
9. A Bugs Life
8. Monsters Inc.
7. Toy Story 2
6. Ratatouille
5. Finding Nemo
4. The Incredibles
3. WALL-E
2. Toy Story
1. Up
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