The 2020s have not been easy for Disney’s Pixar. Box office flops like Lightyear and Elio have diminished the financial reputation of a once box office bulletproof label. Meanwhile, acclaimed Pixar titles like Soul and Turning Red got dumped to Disney+, forever changing the general public’s perception of how urgent it is to see original Pixar films on the big screen. Despite all this turmoil, it hasn’t been all bad for the beloved animation studio. Not only was Inside Out 2 a massive box office phenomenon, but all eight of the studio’s 2020s titles have received varying degrees of positive critical reviews.
Ranking all eight of Pixar’s 2020s movies from worst to best highlights what a tumultuous era it has been for the studio. However, the creative high points of the decade so far reflect that the artists at Pixar Animation Studios can still deliver superb cinema worthy of the company’s greatest achievements.
8) Lightyear
Making a movie about the motion picture that inspired the original Buzz Lightyear toy from Toy Story always sounded like a bad idea. In execution, Lightyear was far from dismal, but it was still nowhere near good enough to justify its inexplicable existence. The strangest part of the production was its strangely morose tone. Though seemingly rooted in mid-90s blockbusters, Lightyear lacked fun or energy. Strange callbacks to the original Toy Story films (namely Zurg’s “I am your father” gag from Toy Story 2) only accentuate the project’s flaws.
7) Elemental
An early line in Elemental where lead character Ember tells another fire person to “get off your ash” reveals the level of “quality” writing that this Pixar feature is deploying. The writing doesn’t get much better from there, with the jokes and pathos in Elemental failing to really hit. It all looks gorgeous, though, particularly in terms of the textures, and Thomas Newman’s score is nothing short of outstanding.
6) Onward
Onward, filmmaker Dan Scanlon’s second directorial effort following Monsters University, is a largely competent exercise missing an extra spark of ingenuity to push it into more memorable territory. Part of that comes from the animation and production design, which settles for generic, drab suburban locales with only mild fantasy twists. Onward’s world just isn’t very interesting to look at. At least the bursts of poignancy largely succeed and Chris Pratt delivers surprisingly solid work in one of Onward’s lead roles.
5) Luca
It’s commendable that Pixar’s 2021 feature Luca commits to a quieter, smaller-scale aesthetic all about Vespa racing and friendship woes rather than grand action sequences. The production is clearly emulating the more relaxed vibes of vintage Studio Ghibli works, right down to the name of its central town being a homage to Porco Rosso. Unfortunately, Luca is still too frantic and loud to live up to its observational and tranquil aspirations. The obligations of mainstream American family animation drag it away from its better, more intimate qualities.
4) Inside Out 2
While even Monsters University took a risk in trying to make a prequel (an often doomed creative endeavor) work, Inside Out 2 is very much a safe redo of the original Inside Out. Luckily, the visual aesthetic of this world and gags centered on personifying internal thought processes have a lot of creative mileage. Inside Out 2 isn’t very memorable or audacious, but it’s a pleasant return to an amiable world. It doesn’t hurt that new voice actors like Maya Hawke and Ayo Edebiri are a riot in their respective characters.
3) Elio
Elio’s story suffers from severe overcrowding, particularly in its Earthbound segments (which also suffer from unimaginative human character designs). Other elements like Rob Simonsen’s score also underwhelm. Even with these defects, there’s still quite a bit of fun to be had with Elio, particularly whenever it embraces cosmic weirdness and even unexpected detours into body horror comedy. Its grand sentimental finale is also shockingly effective despite not upending expectations. Best of all, Elio’s cast includes the incredibly endearing space worm Glordon, arguably the best character introduced in all of Pixar’s 2020 movies.
2) Soul
Pete Docter’s fourth directorial effort, Soul, is a profoundly moving exercise that’s also one of the most visually astonishing titles in the Pixar canon. The captivatingly lived-in corners of New York City contrasted with the heightened realms in The Great Before provide a wide array of dazzling images. Plus, its story of a man learning what makes life actually worth living is realized with beautifully rendered, sometimes dialogue-free sequences that immensely touch the heart. Throwing in a cute cat and a killer Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross score is just a cherry on top.
1) Turning Red
Turning Red doesn’t feel like anything else in the Pixar filmography, and that’s what makes it such an essential and outstanding feature from the studio in the 2020s. This is an expansion of what a Pixar movie can look and feel like rather than just a rehash of what the studio did before. Director Domee Shi imbues the feature with a radically stylized visual scheme (rather than adhering to Pixar’s usual style of contrasting heightened characters with realistic backgrounds) and a propulsive, hyperactive pace mimicking puberty’s chaotic unpredictability. A hysterical flight of fancy, Turning Red is an inspired feature and handily Pixar’s creative peak in the 2020s.
Turning Red and most of these movies are streaming on Disney+, Elio is now playing in theaters everywhere.
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