[IMG:L]Since the dawn of the CGI era in animated movies (in 1995), there have seemingly existed two primary schools of animation: Pixar and…the rest. As Pixar’s WALL-E looks to unseat DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda as 2008’s king of animated movies thus far, the Pixar vs. Non-Pixar debate rages on. In an attempt to help settle the score, we compared Pixar’s five best with those of non-Pixar studios, and the verdict is in.
NON-PIXAR
5. Over the Hedge (2006)
Domestic Box Office: $155M
It was a five-way toss-up between Over the Hedge, Madagascar, Robots, Chicken Little and The Polar Express for this fifth spot, and certainly some will disagree, but Hedge just barely came out ahead. Credit its victory not so much to the star-studded vocal cast or the animation, but to a great concept that can be seen as raucous zoo comedy by the little kids and social satire by the big ones. [PAGEBREAK]
4. Ice Age (2002)
Box Office: $176M
Better but less lucrative than its 2006 sequel (the threequel, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, is due in 2009), Ice Age was precisely what we need every now and then from our usually self-serious historical epics: a sense of humor! After all, the words “historical” and “hysterical” don’t have to be mutually exclusive. [PAGEBREAK]
3. Shrek 2 (2004)
Box Office: $436M
Is it really that good or does animated cinema have such a brief history that a sequel makes the cut? Oh no, Shrek 2 is really that good. Before Shrek the Third became a letdown (though not at the box office) and after the first Shrek became the standard by which all non-Pixar animated movies are measured, this sequel carried the torch quite admirably. Of course, it still added freshness all its own to the animation lexicon–namely by spoofing Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible with a green ogre. [PAGEBREAK]
2. Happy Feet (2006)
Box Office: $198M
Far too often in the CGI era, animated movies are about the same thing: talking animals. But Happy Feet, director George Miller’s long-gestating labor of love, made up for that fact with the endless imagination and energy we’re not accustomed to seeing. As a result, kids everywhere left the theaters dancing like mad penguins and even a little more knowledgeable on the subject of ecology–bad and good, respectively, for their parents. [PAGEBREAK]
1. Shrek (2001)
Box Office: $268M
Upon its release, Shrek was truly a landmark achievement in many ways. If you could untransfix yourself from the surrealistic animation long enough, you were able to appreciate the story, the humor for all ages, and the subversion of cheesy fairy tales. But it’s a product of unparalleled creativity, from script to direction and everything in between. A green ogre and his talking donkey quasi-friend?! Nothing has come close to Shrek’s originality ever since–at least nothing from the non-Pixar side… [PAGEBREAK]
PIXAR
5. Toy Story 2 (1999)
Box Office: $246M
“Sequel” is usually synonymous with “disappointment,” but not this time. Toy Story 2 had no trouble replicating the first Toy Story’s greatness–eye-popping animation included–and it fully measures up to the imagination established in the original. It’s incredible to think that while other studios were still in their CGI diapers, Pixar had already successfully birthed a franchise (Toy Story 3 is set for a June 2010 release), not to mention Rotten Tomatoes’ highest rated movie of all time, with Toy Story 2. Speaking of incredible… [PAGEBREAK]
4. The Incredibles (2004)
Box Office: $261M
Writer/director Brad Bird’s first Pixar movie was absolutely–to borrow an obvious word from the title–incredible. The Incredibles was proof positive that animated movies are not just haphazardly thrown together, with little attention paid to plot and story minutiae; no, Bird taught us that those facets were probably more labor-intensive than their live-action counterparts, and that he was clearly not content with simply appealing to the kiddies. All of which might explain why he was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for The Incredibles–and man was that script original! [PAGEBREAK]
3. Ratatouille (2007)
Box Office: $206M
Not only moviegoers fell head-over-heels in love with a culinary rat last summer: Ratatouille was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (as has become the norm for Pixar movies). Such dichotomous success is a testament to the style-AND-substance allure of Pixar flicks. Thus it’s no wonder that the aforementioned genius Brad Bird was the brains behind this operation, once again proving that art can lie within animated movies, too! [PAGEBREAK]
2. Finding Nemo (2003)
Box Office: $340M
You know those Discovery Channel deep-sea-diving specials that shine a camera light on previously unseen water creatures? Well even they are nothing compared to Pixar’s computer-generated fishies! OK, that’s not entirely true, but Finding Nemo was a genuine sight to behold and actually up there with the splendor of real-life underwater dwellers. And yet the story, oddly touching and a great parent-child bonding device, might’ve been Nemo’s biggest asset. How else could a movie earn over $860 million (Pixar’s best) worldwide?! [PAGEBREAK]
1. Toy Story (1995)
Box Office: $192M
It started the CGI revolution (in animation) and broke new ground, sure, but Pixar’s cornerstone creation isn’t beloved for its pioneer status alone–Toy Story also happens to be the studio’s best movie to date. Seemingly no one would dare dream up a script about toys coming to life, because, well, they’re inanimate, and so a movie wouldn’t be feasible. But John Lasseter and Co. boldly wrote that script, and Pixar fleshed it all out, quite literally–and quite breathtakingly. In addition to being witty and sharp and great fun, Toy Story did change the nature of film, rendering nothing impossible and, by making the inanimate come to life, reminding us of the very essence and function of animation. [PAGEBREAK]
THE VERDICT
Based on the movies featured on this list…
Box Office: Pixar ($1.24 billion domestic vs. $1.23 billion domestic)
Critics: Pixar (98 avg. score on Rotten Tomatoes, 91 avg. score on Metacritic vs. 81 avg. score on Rotten Tomatoes, 73 avg. score on Metacritic)
Academy Awards: Pixar (14 nominations, 5 wins vs. 6 nominations, 2 wins)
The numbers don’t lie, but that’s not to say non-Pixar animated movies are of poor quality or not up-to-snuff. It’s just that Pixar goes the extra mile on everything, from concept to animation but mostly in its willingness and readiness to think and operate outside the box. Further evidence: Almost all non-Pixar animated movies (not only the ones on this list) center around talking animals, whereas Pixar is much more keen on bringing to life the inanimate and diversifying its subject matter. In addition, Pixar movies seem to be much less age-specific (for viewers) than their counterparts. All in all, audiences, critics and Academy voters are in agreement on the winner here, even though non-Pixar studios have collectively a bright past and future.
