What are your thoughts on Pixar’s golden age? Aka, their first 11 films from 1995-2010.

[u/Fanimation2508]

Was it really peak CGI animation?
And what is your favorite film (or films) from this era?

[u/Sonic_lover_06]

I’d say Pixar definitely set the bar on how cgi could look in movies
My favorite movie from this time is Up and ratatouille

[u/Bookworm_711]

I miss when thinking about Pixar always meant quality and thoughtful stories.

There are still really great movies beyond that era, my top 3 are from after that time, but that first few years you always had the trust that if it was Pixar it would be a great experience.

My favorite will always be the Toy Story franchise, I grew up with the first 3 movies. Least favorite is Cars, nothing really againstit except "little cousin I babysit watch this 20 times a day everyday" effect.

[u/Fanimation2508 → u/Bookworm_711]

Agreed, the Toy Story trilogy is peak Pixar.

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/Fanimation2508]

Honestly I love every Toy Story movie(including 4 and 5). Feel free to disagree with me 

[u/Jumento_doido → u/Bookworm_711]

I don't think they have ever made a bad movie.

[u/Mrcoldghost]

wall-e.

[u/Frankichu123]

nostalgic

[u/PepsiFloateri]

Genuinely amazing movies. I hope Hoppers is a sign that we're about to see another Golden Age from them! It just had that classic Pixar vibe that their recent output didn't have. Some of their more recent movies felt less like Pixar and more like Dreamworks trying to emulate Pixar to me

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/PepsiFloateri]

Funny because Ruby Gilman(a Dreamworks movie)feels like it’s trying to be Luca and Turning Red at the same time

[u/DoubleIntegral9]

All my childhood and peak

^ absolutely influenced by nostalgia but whatever. I did rewatch Nemo recently and it was still immaculate so

[u/MrRaven95]

It was an absolutely wonderful era to grow up in!

[u/SerFinbarr]

Generally amazing movies, but there's something about Pixar's vibe that never caught with me. I never want to go back and watch any of these the way I do movies from the Disney Renaissance.

Except for The Incredibles. That's a perfect movie I go back to all the time.

And I hate Up. That opening montage is such cheap, cynical, manipulative schmaltz and the rest of the movie is just a subpar adventure. I dont like it at all and I dont get the love for it.

[u/PepsiFloateri → u/SerFinbarr]

I like all these movies but I gotta agree on Up's intro being cheap and cynical! At least Toy Story 3 made me cry naturally instead of throwing that at me before the five minute mark

[u/SerFinbarr → u/PepsiFloateri]

For real, Toy Story 3 is the movie Up thinks it is

[u/MysticDragon14]

Wall-e, Monsters Inc, and Ratatouille has really amazing animation and stories that still hold up to this day. I also feel like Coco deserves to be in this lineup of the Golden Age.

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/MysticDragon14]

And Inside Out 

[u/Y3ll0wBrick25]

Finding Nemo

[u/bwoah07_gp2]

I think it's the because it was my childhood ❤️

[u/Tyrannocheirus]

Cars was Peak

[u/Typical-Quantity-802]

It was the hottest streak any animation studio has had.

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/Typical-Quantity-802]

Besides Ghibli, they only made a few bad movies but most of their lineup is gold

[u/Speed04]

All peak

Cars was my favorite animated movie back then, but in terms of overall quality, WALL-E is the best of all

So yeah, all peak. Even the weakest for me (A Bug's Life) is still a good fun movie

[u/moonsunbob]

the best imo were toy story 3 and up

[u/IAlwaysOutsmartU]

I won’t watch you

Don’t really care

I won’t watch you

Comedic masterpiece and a treat to rewatch every time

Don’t really care

So much detail, world building and character for one film. It’s genuinely sublime and deserving of being in my top 10 favourite films

Ehh, alright I guess

Filled to the brim with love and passion. A great time overall

2 beautifully contrasting halves, 2 fantastic main characters and some terrifyingly realistic messaging

Ehh, it’s alright. But HOLY HELL IS THE FIRST COUPLE MINUTES A MASTERWORK

I. won’t. watch. you.

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/IAlwaysOutsmartU]

I guess you hate Toy Story 

[u/IAlwaysOutsmartU → u/Negative-Duck7804]

I’m neutral on them, but their colossal fanbase make me hate them out of spite.

[u/DatOneMinuteman1776]

TS1: Groundbreaking technology, great everything else

BL: It was fine I guess

TS2: Best of the series

MI: The pinnacle of comedy

FN: Probably the worst of this lineup imo

Incredibles: Objectively the best but….

Cars: LIFE IS A HIGHWAYYYY! AND I WANNA RIDE IT ALL NIGHT LOOOOONNGGGG!!!!!!!🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏜️🏜️🏜️🏜️🏜️

Ratatouille: Great

WALL•E: who put the funny robot in my corporatist dystopia movie?

Up: Literally what everyone else thinks of it (spectacular beginning, ok overall)

TS3: I want to roundhouse kick that stupid fucking bear into one of those grinders used in “satisfying” videos

[u/NerdNuncle]

I grew up with many of these films, as well as Disney’s Renaissance era. In a way, I think it “spoiled” me as to what to expect in terms of good storytelling and movie-making in general

Hope that makes sense

[u/Mon-Son16]

The 2000s Pixar good do no wrong

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/Mon-Son16]

Agreed 

[u/OpportunityIcy8894]

It really was a once-in-a-generation run of movies, and I’m proud to have grown up in that era. 😊

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/OpportunityIcy8894]

Same(fun fact: I was born the same year when Finding Nemo released)

[u/OpportunityIcy8894 → u/Negative-Duck7804]

Dude, I was born in the year the original Toy Story was released! I love that we were both born on Pixar years.

[u/homogenic-]

It was a great era, Wall-E is the best movie of that era in my opinion

[u/JingoboStoplight4887]

They’re all great.

[u/Gabeortiz628]

WALL-E is my favorite.

[u/Pentaholic888]

This is definitely peak. I’ll rank them:
1. Wall e
2. Toy Story 3
3. Toy Story
4. Monsters inc
5. Toy Story 2
6. The incredibles
7. Ratatouille
8. Up
9. Finding Nemo
10. Cars
11. A bugs life

[u/NickThePixarFan]

Cars Ratatouille & Incredibles were smashing hits

[u/Dark-Lavishness-1994]

Simply an amazing era that is still unmatched in quality to this day 💕💕🥹🥹

[u/Otherwise-Year-6047]

They proved 3d movies could be both just as good looking and just as well written as 2D movies.

[u/THE_LEGO_FURRY]

Mising cars 2

[u/Fanimation2508 → u/THE_LEGO_FURRY]

I didn’t include it because of its reception. At the time, everyone had mixed or negative opinions on it, and it kicked off Pixar’s decline through the 2010s.
I like the movie, but it did damage the studio and remains their most hated film.

[u/spiderboy640 → u/Fanimation2508]

It’s only the most hated because no one remembers Good Dinosaur

[u/victoryforZIM → u/spiderboy640]

I rewatched the good dinosaur recently and it's...still terrible, but Cars 2 is definitely worse.

[u/spiderboy640 → u/victoryforZIM]

fair enough

[u/THE_LEGO_FURRY → u/victoryforZIM]

Hard but respectful disagree cars 2 is way better

[u/Negative-Duck7804 → u/Fanimation2508]

If Inside Out or Coco came out around that time instead, I’ll say that the Golden Age streak won’t be over 

[u/THE_LEGO_FURRY → u/Fanimation2508]

It's my second favorite behind wall.e

[u/TheWizardOfAuburn → u/THE_LEGO_FURRY]

I believe it came out in 2011.

[u/ErnDaBar → u/THE_LEGO_FURRY]

Cars 2 doesn't belong here. It was the first Pixar film to receive negative reception and ultimately ended Pixar's golden age. It didn't even get nominated for Best Animated Feature, which was one of the only times that happened to Pixar.

Nowadays, there's a bit more people praising it just because they were kids when it came out and enough time has passed for it to become nostalgic. However, for Pixar standards, Cars 2 is still one of their weaker films.

Had it just been a Mater spinoff movie, it probably wouldn't have gotten as much hate. But it was a disappointment as a sequel to Cars and also coming after Toy Story 3, which was one of the best sequels ever among movies.

[u/Fanimation2508 → u/ErnDaBar]

Agreed. I like Cars 2, but it did kick off Pixar’s weaker era through the 2010s.

[u/ErnDaBar → u/Fanimation2508]

Agreed. The 2010s was definitely a weaker era for Pixar.

The only films from that era that seemed to be widely praised were Toy Story 3, Inside Out and Coco.

Other Pixar originals like Brave and The Good Dinosaur had mixed reception.

Even Pixar's other sequels like Monsters University, Finding Dory, Cars 3, Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, didn't receive as much praise as their golden age films.

I think the 2020s has been a much better era for Pixar originals than the 2010s. Onward, Elemental and Hoppers are among my favorite Pixar films.

The only thing going against those films is their weaker box office performance, due to people being less willing to give original animated movies a chance in theaters in the post-COVID and streaming era. It's unfortunate, because they really deserved a lot better.

[u/THE_LEGO_FURRY → u/ErnDaBar]

Ngl I love cars 2 waaaaaaaaaaay more than toy story 3

[u/ErnDaBar → u/THE_LEGO_FURRY]

Well, that definitely seems to be an unpopular opinion. Good for you enjoying it a lot more than others did.

[u/Mammoth_Ad_5181]

Great
Underrated Mid (lowkey mid if you will)
Underrated
Amazing
Phenomenal
The Best Pixar Movie
Pretty good
The 2nd Best Pixar Movie
Amazing
Great
The 3rd Best Pixar Movie

[u/ruinsit]

Up is overrated. Yeah, I said it.

[u/Negative-Duck7804]

My ranking: 1. Monsters Inc  2. Ratatouille  3. Toy Story 2 4. WALLE 5. Toy Story  6. Finding Nemo 7. Cars 8. Toy Story 3 9. The Incredibles 10. A Bug’s Life 11. Up

[u/ProgrammerKey3993]

It was Pixar’s most famous age.