Pixar Month - Pixar Films I Missed

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're almost at the end of Pixar Month, and I couldn't quite get to every single Pixar film that has been made. Mostly because even though I like a few of these movies, I don't like them enough to give them their own reviews at this time. Also, I procrastinate, whoop-dee-doo. So, without further ado, here are my quick thoughts on the Pixar Films I Missed.

         Now, let's get this out of the way, I did not see either Monsters University or The Good Dinosaur. For one, I thought they both looked incredibly stupid, and on top of that, why would I want to see Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc in their college years in what's basically Pixar's version of Animal House? So, aside from those, let's dig into some Pixar films I did see.

         Starting off with the Cars Trilogy. Okay, the first and third films of this series are okay, but the second one was just straight up stupid. The first Cars focuses on hotshot rookie racecar Lightning Mcqueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, who ends up in a small town on Route 66, helps out the entire town, and eventually learns from a retired racer named Doc Hudson, voiced by Paul Newman, that racing isn't just about winning. For some reason, the sequel, Cars 2, shifts focus to Mater, a tow truck and best friend of Lightning Mcqueen, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. While Mcqueen enters into a big, globetrotting race, Mater ends up in the world of espionage, working with a group of spy cars, one of them voiced by Michael Caine. And the last film of the trilogy, Cars 3, sees Mcqueen as the older veteran, who is pushed to the limit in an attempt to win against newcomers like Jackson Storm, voiced by Armie Hammer. With help from a new car named Cruz Ramirez, voiced by Cristela Alonzo, and Doc Hudson's old friend Smokey, voiced by Chris Cooper, Lightning learns to adapt to the new generation of racers. Overall, not a bad trilogy, but not among Pixar's best. Cars is fine, there are definitely better Pixar films out there.

           One example of a Pixar film that is better than Cars is Ratatouille. Brad Bird returns to helm another Pixar film, in which Remy, voiced by Patton Oswalt, befriends a human named Linguini, who is the son of renowned chef Gusteau, who sadly passed away after getting a bad review. Remy helps Linguini, whose own cooking skills are terrible, and the critic from before, Anton Ego, ends up liking the dish prepared for him by Remy and Linguini, along with a chef named Colette. With the film"s French setting, and a voice cast that includes the likes of Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Brad Garrett, Peter O'Toole, and Janeane Garofalo, Ratatouille is a great Pixar film from a great filmmaker. 

     On the heels of Ratatouille came Wall-E. Set some time after humans have left the Earth, we meet a trash cleaning robot named Wall-E, who meets and falls in love with a sleek, scout robot named Eve. Eve is programmed to find any signs of vegetation on Earth and report back to the humans, who are now living on a cosmic cruise ship. Another one of those completely overblown by people who have seen it, Wall-E is a cute movie, with incredible animation, but not among my favorites from Pixar. I give them credit, it was risky, telling a story where the first half has little to no human dialogue, but once the humans showed up, my brain checked out. 

          Right on the heels of Wall-E came Pixar's 2009 film Up. Okay, I'll admit it, I got a little teary eyed at the opening montage of Carl and Ellie, too. *Awww* Shut up! Anyway, the story about an old man, wanting to see the place he and his wife dreamed of seeing is cool, but seeing his entire house lifted from its supports by hundreds of thousands of balloons is pretty cool. And admittedly, my favorite character is the talking dog Dug. Another one blown out of proportion by everyone that's seen it, but definitely a great Pixar film. 

        In 2012, Pixar released Brave. A film that focuses on a royal family in the Scottish Highlands, where the princess, Merida, does not wish to marry, much to the detriment of her mother. But, after a spell is cast that turns the queen into a bear, Merida must go on a journey to reverse the spell. Okay, now this is an example of a great Pixar film. Not only that, but Merida became so popular that she is now an official Disney Princess, the first Pixar character to be so. 

        2015 saw the release of Inside Out. Another excellent Pixar film, this movie focuses on a kid named Riley, or rather the emotions rattling around inside her head. As Riley's family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, her emotions start to go crazy, with Joy trying to keep everyone together. Joy, herself, also learns that Sadness is just as important to Riley as the others. With a main voice cast consisting of Amy Poehler, Bill Harder, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, and Mindy Making as the emotions Joy, Fear, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust, this movie is definitely one for the inner child in all of us. And yeah, I got a little teary eyed at this one too. *Awww* Shut up!

       Finally, we get to Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo. The movie focuses on Dory, who got separated from her parents years ago due to short term memory, and is now remembering them. So, Dory, Marlin, and Nemo go on a journey to reunite Dory with her parents, who are at an oceanic wildlife center in Morro Bay, California. A good film, but not as good as the first one, Finding Dory has some new characters along with a few familiar favorites. 

        Well, that'll wrap things up for today. Oh, right, I almost forgot about Onward. I'm not going to be including that one because I already reviewed it last year, so if you want my thoughts on it, check out my review of it from last April. Tomorrow, we conclude Pixar Month with my review of their latest film, Soul.