Pixar Movies Ranked: All 26 Films From Best to Worst
Twenty-nine years and counting since a cowboy doll and a space ranger changed animation forever, and Pixar's still the studio everyone else measures themselves against. This list covers 26 of its feature films, from the shorts-turned-features like Toy Story of Terror to the latest originals like Elemental.
We leaned on what fans and critics keep saying across reviews, forums, and endless "which Pixar movie made you cry" threads, then made our own calls where the arguments never settle (looking at you, Cars sequels). Disagree with the order? Good. That's the fun part. Rank it yourself and see where it breaks from ours.
The list
- 1
The Incredibles - 2
Toy Story - 3
WALL-E - 4
Up - 5
Ratatouille - 6
Toy Story 3 - 7
Finding Nemo - 8
Monsters, Inc. - 9
Coco - 10
Toy Story 2 - 11
Inside Out - 12
Soul - 13
A Bug's Life - 14
Toy Story 4 - 15
Monsters University - 16
Incredibles 2 - 17
Brave - 18
Turning Red - 19
Luca - 20
Finding Dory - 21
Onward - 22
Cars - 23
Elemental - 24
The Good Dinosaur - 25
Cars 3 - 26
Lightyear
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#1 to #10
1 The Incredibles
Brad Bird took the superhero genre and made a family drama out of it years before Marvel figured out how to do either well. Edna Mode alone is worth the rewatch, but it's Mr. Incredible squeezing into a car he can barely fit in that sells the whole midlife-crisis premise.
About The Incredibles
A 2004 superhero film directed by Brad Bird about a family of retired superheroes forced back into action. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2004
- Director
- Brad Bird
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
2 Toy Story
The one that started it all still holds up scene for scene. Woody and Buzz's rivalry-turned-friendship set the template for basically every Pixar movie that followed, and "You've got a friend in me" hits different once you know what this movie meant for the industry.
About Toy Story
Released in 1995, this was the first fully computer-animated feature film ever made, directed by John Lasseter. It follows Woody and Buzz Lightyear as they learn to share the affection of their kid, Andy.
- Released
- 1995
- Director
- John Lasseter
3 WALL-E
A nearly silent first act about a trash-compacting robot in love shouldn't work as mainstream entertainment, but it does, and it's gorgeous. The environmental message can feel heavy-handed on a rewatch, though nobody's arguing with those first 40 minutes.
About WALL-E
Released in 2008, this film follows a lonely trash-compacting robot on an abandoned Earth who falls for a sleek probe named EVE. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2008
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
4. Up
That opening montage wrecks people who've seen it a dozen times, and everything after Carl ties balloons to his house has to live up to Ellie's memory. Dug the dog and "squirrel!" turned this into a meme generator too, which is its own kind of achievement.
About Up
A 2009 film directed by Pete Docter about an elderly widower who ties thousands of balloons to his house to fly to South America, accompanied by a young stowaway scout. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2009
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
5. Ratatouille
A rat who wants to cook in a Paris kitchen sounds like a hard sell, but the food animation is so good you can practically smell it. Remy and Linguini's partnership, plus that Anton Ego flashback scene, make this one of Pixar's most purely satisfying stories.
About Ratatouille
A 2007 film about a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris and partners with a young kitchen worker to cook. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2007
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
6. Toy Story 3
Sending the gang to daycare hell and then to the incinerator is a bold move for a kids' movie, and the ending genuinely made a generation of college freshmen cry in theaters. Lotso the bear is one of Pixar's best villains precisely because his backstory makes sense.
About Toy Story 3
The 2010 sequel sends the toys to Sunnyside Daycare after Andy leaves for college. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2010
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
7. Finding Nemo
Dory alone made this rewatchable forever, but the father-son separation story underneath the jellyfish and sharks gives it real weight. "Just keep swimming" became a genuine life motto for a lot of people, not just a catchphrase.
About Finding Nemo
Released in 2003, this follows a clownfish named Marlin searching the ocean for his missing son Nemo, aided by the forgetful Dory. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2003
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
8. Monsters, Inc.
Sully and Mike's door-factory world is one of Pixar's best pieces of world-building, full stop. Boo running around the factory floor giggling at monsters flips the entire premise of "scary" on its head, and it never gets old.
About Monsters, Inc.
A 2001 film set in a world where monsters generate power by scaring children, until a human toddler named Boo sneaks into their world. Directed by Pete Docter.
- Released
- 2001
- Director
- Pete Docter
9. Coco
The Land of the Dead sequences are stunning, and "Remember Me" earns every tear it pulls out of you by the final reunion scene. This is Pixar at its most culturally specific and its most universal at the same time, which is a hard needle to thread.
About Coco
A 2017 film set during Mexico's Dia de los Muertos, following a boy named Miguel who travels to the Land of the Dead to uncover his family's history. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2017
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
10. Toy Story 2
Somehow better than the original for a lot of fans, thanks to Jessie's backstory song wrecking people who thought they were watching a kids' movie about toy collectors. The Al's Toy Barn stuff also expanded this world in ways the sequels kept building on.
About Toy Story 2
A 1999 sequel that finds Woody kidnapped by a toy collector planning to sell him to a museum in Japan. Introduced Jessie the cowgirl, whose backstory song remains a fan favorite.
- Released
- 1999
#11 to #25
11. Inside Out
Turning emotions into characters could've been a gimmick, but Sadness quietly becoming the hero of the story is one of Pixar's smartest structural choices. Bing Bong's ending still gets brought up in "scenes that destroyed me" conversations years later.
About Inside Out
Directed by Pete Docter and released in 2015, this film personifies the emotions inside the head of a young girl named Riley adjusting to a difficult move. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2015
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
12. Soul
A jazz pianist falling into a manhole and ending up in a cosmic waiting room before birth is about as ambitious as Pixar premises get. The Great Before sequences look like nothing else the studio's made, and the message about just living, not chasing a "purpose," landed with a lot of adults during a rough year to release it.
About Soul
Directed by Pete Docter and released in 2020, this film follows a jazz musician whose soul ends up separated from his body and travels to a cosmic realm before birth. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2020
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
13. A Bug's Life
Overshadowed by Toy Story and, weirdly, by DreamWorks' Antz coming out around the same time, but the ant colony vs. grasshoppers setup holds up fine. Kevin Spacey's Hopper is a genuinely menacing villain even if the movie around him gets less credit than it deserves.
About A Bug's Life
Pixar's second feature film, released in 1998, about an ant colony threatened by a gang of grasshoppers led by Hopper. Loosely inspired by Aesop's fable of the ant and the grasshopper.
- Released
- 1998
14. Toy Story 4
Forky alone justifies this one existing, a spork with googly eyes having an identity crisis is peak Pixar logic. The ending is divisive among longtime fans who wanted a cleaner sendoff, but Woody's arc closes out with real emotional honesty.
About Toy Story 4
Released in 2019, this follow-up introduces Forky, a homemade spork-toy grappling with his own existence, and sends Woody on a road trip that changes his role in Bonnie's life.
- Released
- 2019
15. Monsters University
A prequel nobody demanded turned out better than it had any right to be. Watching Mike Wazowski fail his way through scare school before finding out what he's actually good at gives this some surprising heart under the frat-comedy setup.
About Monsters University
A 2013 prequel to Monsters, Inc. set during Mike and Sulley's college years, showing how the two rivals became best friends.
- Released
- 2013
16. Incredibles 2
Elastigirl finally gets the spotlight while Bob handles Jack-Jack's chaotic new powers at home, and the baby-versus-raccoon fight is one of the funniest sequences Pixar's ever animated. It doesn't reach the heights of the original, but few sequels this belated manage to feel this necessary.
About Incredibles 2
Released in 2018, this sequel picks up immediately after the first film, with Elastigirl taking on a new superhero mission while Mr. Incredible manages the kids at home.
- Released
- 2018
17. Brave
Merida's a great character stuck in a plot that swerves into a witch's curse and a bear transformation that some fans still find tonally jarring. Gorgeous Scottish scenery and a strong mother-daughter core keep it firmly in the middle of the pack rather than the bottom.
About Brave
Released in 2012, this film follows Merida, a Scottish princess who defies tradition and accidentally curses her mother after seeking a witch's help. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Released
- 2012
- Award
- Oscar, Best Animated Feature
18. Turning Red
A 13-year-old turning into a giant red panda when she gets emotional is a genius metaphor for puberty, and the boy-band obsession subplot nails 2000s tween culture perfectly. Some viewers found Mei's family drama a little intense for the target age group, but the specificity is what makes it work.
About Turning Red
Released in 2022, this film follows a 13-year-old girl in Toronto who transforms into a giant red panda whenever she experiences strong emotions.
- Released
- 2022
19. Luca
A sweet, low-stakes summer story about sea monsters passing as kids on the Italian coast, this one got a smaller theatrical push than most Pixar films and still built a real following. It's slighter than the studio's big swings, but the friendship at its center is genuinely charming.
About Luca
A 2021 film set on the Italian Riviera about two sea monsters who disguise themselves as humans for a summer of adventure on land.
- Released
- 2021
20. Finding Dory
Dory carrying her own movie works better than skeptics expected, especially once Hank the octopus shows up and steals every scene he's in. It leans harder into slapstick than the original, which some fans miss, but the short-term memory stuff still lands emotionally.
About Finding Dory
A 2016 sequel to Finding Nemo that follows Dory as she searches for her long-lost parents, with help from Marlin, Nemo, and an octopus named Hank.
- Released
- 2016
21. Onward
Two elf brothers on a quest to spend one more day with their dead father is a great hook buried under a fairly generic fantasy-quest plot. The final scene earns its emotion, but a lot of the middle stretch feels like Pixar on autopilot.
About Onward
A 2020 fantasy film about two elf brothers who use magic to bring their late father back for one day. Set in a suburban world of fantasy creatures.
- Released
- 2020
22. Cars
Lightning McQueen's redemption arc in sleepy Radiator Springs is fine, comfortable, easy to put on for kids, but it's also the movie most often cited as proof Pixar could make something merely good instead of great. The Route 66 nostalgia is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.
About Cars
Released in 2006, this racing-themed film follows hotshot rookie Lightning McQueen stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs on Route 66.
- Released
- 2006
23. Elemental
Fire and Water falling for each other in a city built for neither of them is a solid metaphor for immigrant families and interracial relationships, and the world-building around Element City is genuinely inventive. It got a slow start at the box office before growing into a word-of-mouth hit, which says something about how it undersold itself in marketing.
About Elemental
Released in 2023, this film is set in a city where fire, water, earth, and air residents live together, and follows a romance between a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow water guy.
- Released
- 2023
24. The Good Dinosaur
Gorgeous, borderline photorealistic landscapes wrapped around a fairly thin boy-and-his-dinosaur story that never quite earns its emotional beats the way other Pixar films do. It's the one people forget exists until someone brings up how good the river rapids look.
About The Good Dinosaur
Released in 2015, this film imagines a world where dinosaurs never went extinct, following a young Apatosaurus named Arlo who befriends a human boy.
- Released
- 2015
25. Cars 3
A better movie than Cars 2 by a wide margin, leaning into Lightning McQueen aging out of his prime instead of pure gags and gadgets. It's still stuck being a Cars movie, which caps how much credit it gets even when it's trying something more reflective.
About Cars 3
Released in 2017, this third installment follows an aging Lightning McQueen facing a new generation of faster racers and confronting retirement.
- Released
- 2017
#26 to #26
26. Lightyear
The in-universe explanation for why a kid would want a Buzz Lightyear toy turned out to be a fairly standard space adventure that didn't connect with audiences the way Pixar hoped. It's not bad, exactly, just oddly disconnected from the toy-box charm that made Buzz work in the first place.
About Lightyear
A 2022 film presented as the in-universe movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy, following the "real" Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear on a sci-fi mission.
- Released
- 2022
How we ranked them
We weighed critical reception, how these movies have aged with audiences, cultural impact, and where fans and critics land in the endless online debates. Emotional gut-punch factor counts for a lot at Pixar, so do rewatchability and originality. Sequels and spinoffs are judged both on their own merits and against the films they follow.
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is the best Pixar movie of all time?
By consensus among fans and critics, The Incredibles and Toy Story sit at the top, with WALL-E and Up close behind. It really comes down to whether you value emotional storytelling or sheer originality more.
What is the worst Pixar movie?
Lightyear and The Good Dinosaur tend to land at the bottom of most fan rankings, both for underperforming at the box office and for feeling like lesser efforts compared to the studio's usual standard.
Are the Cars movies the weakest Pixar franchise?
Among most critics and fans, yes. Cars and its sequels are generally seen as Pixar's most merchandise-driven, kid-focused franchise, solid entertainment but rarely mentioned alongside the studio's most acclaimed work.
Is Toy Story 2 or Toy Story 3 better?
This is one of the most debated Pixar questions and opinions are genuinely split. Toy Story 2 often gets the nod for Jessie's backstory, while Toy Story 3 wins people over with its incinerator scene and emotional finale.
What order should I watch the Pixar movies in?
Release order is generally recommended since it lets you see the studio's animation and storytelling evolve, though franchise fans often watch each series (Toy Story, Cars, Monsters, Incredibles, Finding Nemo) together before moving to standalone films.
More rankings
Image credits
- The IncrediblesCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Toy StoryCover: Wikipedia · Source
- WALL-ECover: Wikipedia · Source
- UpCover: Wikipedia · Source
- RatatouilleCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Toy Story 3Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Finding NemoCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Monsters, Inc.Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- CocoCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Toy Story 2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Inside OutCover: Wikipedia · Source
- SoulCover: Wikipedia · Source
- A Bug's LifeCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Toy Story 4Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Monsters UniversityCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Incredibles 2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- BraveCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Turning RedCover: Wikipedia · Source
- LucaCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Finding DoryCover: Wikipedia · Source
- OnwardCover: Wikipedia · Source
- CarsCover: Wikipedia · Source
- ElementalCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The Good DinosaurCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Cars 3Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- LightyearCover: Wikipedia · Source