I’ve said for years now that Pixar is not only the best animation studio in the business… they are flat out the best movie studio in the business. This little graphic that Jarred sent to me this morning sort of puts it into perspective:
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Is this supposed to surprise me?
I LOVE Pixar and am so proud of them for making such great movies for so damn long. I wish more studios would use Pixar as examples of how to consistently make good films.
I wish them many more years of amazing creativity and success.
As for why they’ve started putting out a movie every year, someone had to help make up for all the non Pixar crap movies Disney puts out these days. ;P
For those comparing Warner Bros. to Pixar… Honestly the comparison does not make much sense. Warner Bros. is better compared to Disney than Pixar. Pixar, which is a subsidairy of Disney, handles the majority if not all of Disney’s computer animations; however, at the same time, though, Disney makes cartoons, movies, and all these other mediums just as Warner Bros. does as a whole.
I thought for a second to say that Pixar has only made a few movies but then I realized they hit big EVERY SINGLE TIME. Still, even though they have not let me down yet (still unsure about Cars, only one I haven’t seen) it is possible that they go down the drain. I think Universal has churned out some of the best, second to only Pixar. I’m in total agreement with John that this is the single BEST film studio out there and I’ve seen enough movies to have the balls to say that it’s almost a simple FACT.
Yes, Pixar is one of the most financially successful studio with overwhelming positive reviews from critics and the general public alike but it only proves that Pixar is really really good at making Pixar-type movies. To say its the “best movie studio” is like saying Michael Jordan is the greatest athletic in the world. Pixar only produce CG animated films and within this medium, the genre that they mainly focused on is family friendly comedies. Every Pixar films is similar interms of art direction, the general tone and accessibility to all target groups. I can’t even say Pixar has the right to claim the best animation studio title since they never push the medium of animation outside the comedy genre. Likewise, Michael Jordan is truly a legend in the sport of Basketball but in Baseball, that is a different story. Unless Pixar steps outside their comfort zone and prove they can make variety of movies with variety of genre, then maybe I’ll reconsider my opinion.
If you ask me to decide which studio between Pixar or Warner Bros that I can only watch movies from, I would go with Warner Bros because even althrough not all films on their line-up are excellent, I would atleast have some variety.
“Yes, Pixar is one of the most financially successful studio with overwhelming positive reviews from critics and the general public alike but it only proves that Pixar is really really good at making Pixar-type movies.”
Whereas Warner Bros has proven that it’s not consistently good at hitting home runs with any single type of movie you care to name. Some great films, but some huge stinkers.
Further, and most importantly, Warner Bros does take part in the production of it’s movies in the same way Pixar does. The directors, animators, art directors, costume designers, etc, etc who work on these films ARE Pixar. Not so with other studios. Warner Bros simply takes financial responsibilty and markets the film.
THAT is the difference.
**Typo** This is what I meant to sayon the last part….(wheres the edit option when you need it)
If you ask me to decide which studio between Pixar or Warner Bros that I can only watch movies from, I would go with Warner Bros. While not all of Warner Bros’ films on their line-up are excellent, I would atleast have some variety.
Just came from seeing Up… AMAZING… wow, need to see that again. The best thing about Pixar movies is you see children, old people, teenagers, young adults, everybody enjoying the movie!
Will another Pixar film reach the heights of Nemo? (speaking money wise, since it’s the highest grossing film) Up looks like it can catch up with The Incredibles!
Pixar Effing ROCKS
Well haven’t you noticed Pixar has never produced a bad movie? All of their movies have been great, where as say Dreamworks has maybe 1 or 2 good movies.
Nemo made ridiculous amounts of money even compared to the other PIXAR flicks. UP’s already passed the 100mil mark so I’m sure it could make upwards of 300-500mil.
To me, all that graphic puts into perspective is that Pixar films are somewhat appealing to a very wide demographic. Personally, that has nothing to do with the greatness of a movie studio, in my opinion.
Also, I think Rotten Tomatoes is not a very good system. Unless, you just want to know what movie is widely liked, even if it’s only marginally liked. Remember, a 5.5 out of 10 is a “fresh” rating……. I don’t like 5.5 out of 10 movies.
I thought that any film that is appealing across a very wide demographic is the very definition of a great movie.
No movie appeals to everyone, but this studio consistently does it again and again with the most success.
Rodney,
I don’t think that is the definition at all. Under your definition, you would say that a movie that you absolutely HATE and think is a complete mess is a “great” movie, just because a wide demographic finds it appealing, even if it’s just slightly appealing??? You could survey everone in the world, each and every person could say that a movie is “okay” or even “pretty good”, but none say it is “great”. That would make it appealing to every demographic, but, in my opinion, and apparently to everyone else who took the survey, it is NOT a “great” film.
How can you, one day, say that peoples opinion of whether a film is great or not is completely subjective, then another day, act as if a graphic is some sort of indication that a film studio is, truly the greatest? The same rules should apply, shouldn’t they?
Again Matt, you try to dream up stuff that isnt there.
If a movie was only “slightly appealing” then there would be a small audience willing to go see it. A wide demographic finding a movie appealing is a success. You know how hard it is to please everyone? If I dislike a movie but it has a great success I would admit that the movie has a broader appeal than just me. Twilight is a perfect example. LOTS of people who comment on this site seem to have some seething hate for that film, but you cannot argue with the vast amount of success the film has experienced. Was it a great film? Not at all. But did it appeal to a broad audience outside of the tween girly market everyone thinks are the only ones to like it? Sure it did. That is a great achievement.
Your opinion on a film and its achievements are two different things. Broad appeal is a rare trait, and in that aspect it is a great thing. Just because I can recognize the achievement of a great film doesn’t mean you have to like it. Just that a lot of people clearly did.
Critics give a pass to animated films. Everyone knows that. So a RT rating means nothing in this case.
The on-going orgasm for Pixar some folks have is becoming embarrassing, though. There is no apparent capacity for critical thought. The absurdity of the “Up” narrative escapes the devoted. The missed opportunities of “The Incredibles” escapes the devoted. The high gloss of “Cars,” the convolution of “A Bug’s Life,” the clunky second and third acts of “WALL-E,” etc.
“Ratatouille” and “Finding Nemo,” in my opinion, are the only Pixar films that deserve the level of hyperbole suffered by the entire portfolio. They are genuine masterpieces. The rest is either above average or a nice try, nothing more. But because the studio has never produced a completely worthless film, it is the second coming each and every time out. A shame.
I think a little more thought going into why these films (and in some cases, don’t) work would be a lot better than pressing the “perfect” button every time.
My two cents.
since u dissed every pixar movie so far what do u think of the toy story movies. theyre my favorites
“Critics give a pass to animated films” – Absolutely not true.
If that were true, that would mean that every animated film would be certified fresh which clearly is not the case. Take for example:
– Shark Tale – 34%
– Shrek the Third – 41%
– Doogal – 6%
– Arthur and the Invisibles – 20%
– Eight Crazy Nights – 13%
And the list goes on…
The last Pixar film I absolutely loved was The Incredibles. (And I’m disappointed that Brad Bird is reportedly involved in a live action film for some years to come, so no sequel any time soon.) Didn’t care for Cars or Ratatouille; just not that compelling to me. Wall-E was touching and visually a knock-out, but not top-rank Pixar for me. Haven’t see Up yet, but looking forward to it. I’m wondering if doing two films a year would doom Pixar to mediocrity?
The one thing that I dislike about this is, it makes me terribly nervous I will have to witness the fall, or at least the misstep of Pixar one day. You could argue Cars was that, but I think it was at worst a slight stumble. Of course I hope it never happens, but doesn’t it always?
An amazing organization, with great management that truly treats their employees like family. An absolutely stellar, one of kind company. They products they churn out are the best evidence of this. They truly deserve the success they are currently enjoying. Good on em!
The point is, Pixar makes movies that are both huge money-makers AND great films. Usually you get one or the other. Pixar manages to do both every time. That is what makes them great.
So they make a lot of money because they know how to get audiences in. Beside the point. I say that as a massive Pixar supporter, but the idea that box office equals quality is silly.
No one said box office equals quality.
It’s box office PLUS a 94% AVERAGE. High quality PLUS box office success
True that! Look at X3 and Spiderman 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. All did really well in the Box Office, and if you ask almost anyone, they’ll say those movies SUCK!
I could do that if I wanted to, but I don’t, so I won’t.
they do the best films for kids that are not made for kids.
Monster’s inc. was probably my favorite.
there is no doubt they are great but its ridiculous to compare them to studios who have slates of anywhere from 10-20 films a year when since 1995 pixar have released 9 films.
Their quality would dip if they had a 15 a year slate.
Absolutely an erroneous assumption.
Pixar is all about quality, NOT QUANTITY. That’s their whole gig.
Comparing them to other studios is fair enough, and a good way to compare the results of Pixar’s approach vs that of other studios who frankly could learn a thing or two from Pixar.
Those other studios make a choice to churn out mediocre film after mediocre film…Pixar makes a different choice, period.
So? The top nine Dreamworks CGI movies have earned $5,037,711,700. An average of $559,745,744.44 per film.
And what is their average rating?
But Pixar makes better films. Kung Fu Panda was surprisingly good, especially for Dreamworks animation
But Dreamworks Animations does nothing but fart jokes and stupid humor. I cant stand them.
The only good thing out of Dreamworks Animations is Shrek 1 and Shi Lung the villain from kung fu panda
I cried in 3 of Pixars movies, not that crying makes that movie good but at least they had that much depth…
And Pixar doesnt make kids movies, they just make movies. They dont have a genre.
My best friend has a Pixar blog website like this one just about Pixar and hes insane about Pixar, he could explain this perfectly. Hes always talkling about it
“Pixar doesnt make movies for any one group of people, their movies are aimed at all audiences”
He sounds just like that^^^ lololol
And before you laugh at me- fuck you, those scenes were sad! lol
Ghost was sadder though….
And that manhug in Shaw shank redemption….
Btw are those numbers adjusted for inflation?
How the flip did Finding Nemo gross THAT much?? It was good but holy crap
Turtles, man.
TURTLES.
John, those are indeed amazing statistics and do in fact prove that Pixar is indeed a major film studio and a HUGE contender.
But…..
Warner Bros. has been pretty much the leader in entertainment, for a long time. The statistics are great but Pixar’s top 10, vs. Warner’s top 10, would you believe Pixar beat Warner in the top 10 films grossed by Warner? Impressive indeed. Pixar drills out some great ones, but I still think Wanrer is the kinf of entertainment now, not in the BO
Hey Aaron,
You can’t just do TOP 10 with TOP 10. Take the average of all their movies.
Critically and boxoffice, nothing touches Pixar.
Aaron,
Also, the list of Pixar movies is ALL of their movies not just the top 10. So basically EVERY movie is a stellar hit, unlike WB. But that’s not entirely fair, since WB does put out many types of movies. Still it’s not a top 10 versus top 10 comparison like you mentioned.
Am I the only one who just hated Ratatouille?
yes… yes you are. ;)
na i got a friend at my school who hates it to
I liked it but I don’t consider it to be a masterpiece (aside from the animation) that some people consider it to be.
Maybe HATE is too strong a word, but after hearing all the glowing reviews, I was really underwhelmed by it. The animation was beautiful, the end speech by the food critic was amazing, but the rest of th emovie didn’t live up those wonderful elements. It was meh to me.
I’ve hated every Pixar since Cars so no. (and when I say hate I mean walked out of the theater because I did not enjoy it at all)
I tryed my best to avoid Ratatouille because it looked lame to me and little kiddy. We even rented it and I refused to watch it.
But then I watched it by myself when everyone else was gone and I was surprised that it was actualy good.
Then I did the same thing with Wall-E except I was absolutely blown away with Wall-E. The first like 30 minutes were Amazingly Good!
I didn’t hate Ratatouille, but it is my least favorite Pixar movie.
I’m glad to see Finding Nemo being the highest grossing of the group. It’s my favorite. Even after Wall-E & Up, I still think Finding Nemo is the benchmark of Pixar quality.
I think A Bug’s Life & Cars are better than most people give them credit for.
Well they don’t churn out movies every year like other studios do. Just saying! They also just focus on one genre.
It’s a very impressive resume though!
They do put out a film every year now and have since 2007.
You say they only do one genre… what genre is that?
actually its been every year since 2006- cars
krazie835 is referring to animation as that “one genre”
Well, that’s just been since 2007, not sine they’ve made Toy Story.
What other genre could it be? Animated comedic films, however that is a vague description of their films, but the genre they make films in is specifically comedy.
Not knocking them, they do amazing work, but since they don’t produce movies like other studio’s their work wont suffer as much. Disney began making several animated movies a year and their work began to suffer. I remember you brought this up one time John, that there was a time roughly about 15 years I think that Disney couldn’t make a bad animated movie even if they tried.
That’s Pixar right now in my opinion, they can’t make a bad movie even if they tried.
I think the fact that they only do one movie a year, and how it always turns out to be a hit both commercially and critically speaks for itself.
Best studio on the biz.
Animation isn’t a “genre”, it’s a medium. And I don’t think you can just call their films “comedies”. Nothing wrong with it if you do though.
I kind of agree with Krazie835, when it comes to the genre bit at least. I would say that Pixar films are in the comedy genre. They aren’t consisting of only comedy, they have heartwarming or somewhat sad moments, but the comedy to heart ratio is very similar to the ratio of, say, a Judd Apatow film, and I would consider Apatow films comedies.
i disagree that they’ve done only comedies because ratatouille an cars wasnt so funny
movie that caters to children? hmm not really a genre, plus I think I’ve met someone from every age demographic that loves these movies. But I get what Krazie is saying. maybe they should make an R rated courtroom drama, then we’ll see how well they do…
Bet they’d knock it outta the park.
This is true John, movies like The Incredibles was MUCH more then just a comedy. The same can be said for Wall-E, and Up.
Quite the résumé!