The A.V. Club‘s 11 favorite Pixar movies to stream right now on Disney+
From Toy Story to Turning Red, here are the films from the animation powerhouse that we really, really love
Film Features Pixar
Pixar has become synonymous with two cinematic tropes that rarely intersect elsewhere: dazzling technical prowess and heartstring-tugging emotion. The former has been a studio standard since 1995, when the pre-Disney experimental tech company spent years creating Toy Story, the first fully CGI-animated feature film. But ask pretty much any fan about their favorite Pixar memories, and they’ll likely talk about those scenes that left them crying their eyes out.
In honor of Lightyear, which marks the animation studio’s 26th feature film (read our review here), we’re rounding up the most powerful, magical Pixar titles you can stream now on Disney+, according to the expert voices of The A.V. Club. Read on to discover our favorites, from Toy Story to 2022’s Turning Red. And for more deep dives on these films’ enduring impact, check out our series The Pixar Moment.
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I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with PIXAR. They’ve made some truly wonderful films over the last 25 years but the movie that began it all, Toy Story, was effectively the death nail for traditional feature length animation, with each subsequent release driving it in even further.As a student of animation and one who saw the promise of the new renaissance from films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King et al in the late eighties through the mid 90’s, the swift abandonment of the craft was a huge personal blow, especially when we had some new contenders enter the market at that point with FOX Feature Animation and Dreamworks. One folded after 2 films and the other coasted on Shrek and Michael Bay’s Transformers.
I would certainly argue that TV/Streaming animation has for the most part improved over the years but I still miss seeing a high-production feature length 2D film in theaters. Sure they were labor intensive and took years to make but it’s definitely a lost art form in favor of pretty polygons in the uncanny valley.
I’m not sure if you can truly call it a rapid death. Toy Story came out in 1995. Disney was still making traditionally animated features until 2004 and then went back to it with Princess and the Frog in 2009. Terrible story choices and high costs were the real death knell. Suddenly, CGI was cheaper and relying on the Pixar artists for story was the better option.
Good point but, with the exception of the Princess and the Frog, I’m pretty sure films like Brother Bear, Treasure Planet and Emperor’s New Groove were already in some form of production by the late 90’s. Lilo and Stitch was the only good one among them, imo.I don’t put the blame solely on Disney and PIXAR as the moviegoer was quick to jump into the new and exciting realm of CGI but it still makes me sad that there doesn’t seem to be room for both, especially with as much resources and money at Disney’s disposal right now and also, once again, Disney is the only game in town. The late 80’s and 90’s saw a window for other companies to step in but it was a very small window.Also Spielberg ditching Amblin/Bluth when An American Tail and Land Before Time were two of the most successful non-Disney animated features in the 80’s just baffles me.
I’m normally one to respect other’s opinions, but such careless dismissal of Emperor’s New Groove is blasphemy and I will not have it!
I agree with all the choices, except no Toy Story 3? I would easily swap that out for Turning Red, which for me was thoroughly middle-of-the-pack.And one correction… a lot of people did go to see Toy Story precisely because a computer animated film was such a novelty at the time. That’s the reason I went on opening night… that and the fact that I was virtually alone on a deserted university campus on Thanksgiving weekend. It didn’t hurt that Disney had been a roll recently with hit animation films.
Yeah, I came to say this too. TS2 was pretty good, but 3 really knocked it out of the park. Thank goodness they stopped the series there and didn’t try to cringily churn out one final subpar sequel!
Completely agree with you Hasselt, Turning Red? hmmm…not the top in my book; I’d even throw Moana up before that one.
Here’s a quote about this ‘article’ my the imitable Nathan Rabin “I was curious as to who is writing the AV Club today and found this “new” article that cobbles together blurbs from writers who left in disgust, were fired or quit a decade ago or longer. I’m pretty much the only old-timer not represented. Classy!”
My list1. Brave2. Wall-E3. I dunno , the one with the rat I guess.Fin
Edna Mode would resent your comment about the “cape-wearing crowd.”