Today, the phrase, "Disney owns everything" is more relevant than ever, with the massive company growing every day and even coming out with its own streaming site later this year. Back in the Disney Renaissance Era, however, the company had few offshoots, Pixar being the most prominent.
Pixar was founded by Walt Disney in 1986, and since has been the source of many childhood-defining films. Today, it's still taking the world by storm with countless successful animated movies, including a collection of awarding winning shorts.
Pixar has too many classic movies to count, but let's take a look at some of the highest-rated ones according to Rotten Tomatoes.
BRAVE (2012) - 78%
A substantial amount of hype surrounded the theatrical release of Pixar's Brave, as the creators took pride in the movie breaking the mold of so many of its predecessors - aka, Disney/Pixar princess movies where the princesses made less than ideal role models for young audiences.
Brave was certainly a huge commercial success and is still regarded today as a very progressive step for Walt Disney Productions. It's not Pixar's highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes, but it made its mark nonetheless.
WALL-E (2008) - 95%
Wall-E was one of Pixar's first real attempt at a genuine sci-fi picture. It was released in theatres in 2008 and, as one might expect, dominated the box office and the film industry that year. Wall-E would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and most consider it to be an instant classic.
Wall-E won over the hearts of its audiences with a unique, heartwarming robot love story that remains highly praised and talked about to this day.
RATATOUILLE (2007) - 96%
Ratatouille became both a critical and commercial success when it was released in 2007. Like so many Pixar films, it would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and it is still considered to be a timeless classic today.
Featuring the voice talents of Patton Oswalt and Lou Romano, Ratatouille's success was largely due to the authentic quirky charm that made it enjoyable for all audiences.
MONSTERS, INC. (2001) - 96%
Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter began developing the future-classic film in 1996. It would hit theatres in 2001 and garnered a notable amount of fame, especially considering that it was Docter's directorial debut. The film, of course, centers around Sulley and Mike, two monsters who work at a factor that generates scares for humans. The monster world believes that humans are toxic, so when a little is found in the factory, it's up to Sulley and Mike to take her home.
Monsters, Inc. featured an all-star cast of voice actors and would go on to spawn several follow-up films and mini-movies.
THE INCREDIBLES (2004) - 97%
Released in 2004, The Incredibles remains to be one of the most beloved Pixar movies of all time. It was highly successful and had audiences pining for a sequel in no time. Infamously, the sequel to this iconic movie would not hit the big screen for fourteen years, making The Incredibles 2 one of the most anticipated movies of all time.
The Incredibles captivated audiences and kept people talking for years. It's easily one of the most popular, beloved Pixar films of all time.
COCO (2017) - 97%
Coco is one of the most progressive Pixar films, managing to tell a breathtaking story centering around Mexico's Day of the Dead. This nine-figure budget film starred an all-Latino cast, a rarity for Hollywood. Coco first premiered in Mexico at the Morelia International Film Festival and has been a fan-favorite ever since.
Coco iconically was successful at the Academy Awards that year, taking home Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song. The film has received notable praise and its inarguable that it deserves every bit of that. It's one of Pixar's highest-rated films on Rotten Tomatoes, sitting at 97%.
INSIDE OUT (2015) - 98%
Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter created another classic, hugely successful film with Inside Out, which premiered in theatres in 2015. It's a known trend in Disney/Pixar movies that everything that could feasibly be given a personality and cute persona onscreen, would inevitably be subjected to that. In Inside Out's case, emotions were brought to life and given their own personalities and gimmicks.
Inside Out had an all-star cast that featured Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, and Mindy Kaling. It would go on to gross $857.6 million at the box office and is considered a spectacular film about childhood and growing up.
UP (2009) - 98%
Up gained cult status almost immediately upon theatrical release. Having a unique, heartwarming charm about it, the movie was enjoyable and even deeply touching for audiences of varying age ranges. Up premiered in 2009 and starred the voice talents of Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer.
It would go on to win Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards. It was also nominated for Best Picture, making it the second-ever animated film in history to receive such a nomination, the first being Beauty And The Beast.
FINDING NEMO (2003) - 99%
In 2003, Finding Nemo became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, before Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King was released a few months later. Finding Nemo was the second highest-grossing film of 2003, and it's one of Disney/Pixar's most famous animated pictures.
Today, Finding Nemo is considered a classic, and due to its notable success, Finding Dory - a direct sequel/spinoff - was created in 2016 and also saw significant success.
TOY STORY (1995) - 100%
The start of a massively successful, extremely famous franchise and film series, the first-ever Toy Story film was released in theatres in 1995, starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the lovable, iconic duo, Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Toy Story became arguably Pixar's most beloved, notable films, receiving critical and commercial acclaim.
The first and second Toy Story films hold a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. These movies are still raved about today, and the praise is understandable, as they played a pivotal role in defining countless fans' childhoods.