Tier List

Pixar Movies Ranked: The Complete Tier List (2026)

All 28 Pixar feature films ranked from S-tier to D-tier, from Toy Story to Inside Out 2. Then build your own Pixar tier list with head-to-head comparisons.

The Complete Pixar Tier List

Three decades, twenty-eight films, more tears than any animation studio has earned. Pixar's catalog is the most consistently great filmography in modern Hollywood, which makes ranking it unusually hard. Below is a complete S/A/B/C/D tier list of every Pixar feature, from Toy Story in 1995 to the present. Build your own definitive Pixar ranking in Shortlist.

Toy Story

(1995)

The film that started it all. Still flawless thirty years later.

Toy Story 3

(2010)

The incinerator scene. The ending. A genuine masterpiece about letting go.

WALL-E

(2008)

Forty silent minutes that say more than most films do in two hours.

Up

(2009)

The first ten minutes. Everyone has cried at least twice.

Ratatouille

(2007)

Brad Bird's warmest film. The Anton Ego review monologue is cinema.

Inside Out

(2015)

The most ambitious idea Pixar ever attempted, and it worked perfectly.

The Incredibles

(2004)

The best superhero movie ever made. Yes, really.

Finding Nemo

(2003)

A dad's odyssey across the ocean. Visually stunning, emotionally massive.

Monsters, Inc.

(2001)

The door chase scene is a masterclass in animation.

Coco

(2017)

A dazzling visual feast. "Remember Me" lands every time.

Toy Story 2

(1999)

When the sequel was as good as the original. Jessie's song is devastating.

Soul

(2020)

A jazz-fueled meditation on purpose. Beautifully scored by Reznor and Ross.

Inside Out 2

(2024)

Anxiety as a character. Smart, funny, surprisingly moving.

A Bug's Life

(1998)

Charming and underrated. Hopper is a great villain.

Brave

(2012)

Stunning Scottish landscapes. Not Pixar's deepest, but a solid hero's journey.

Toy Story 4

(2019)

Didn't need to exist. Forky and the ending mostly justify it.

Monsters University

(2013)

A fun college movie. Less essential than the original.

Finding Dory

(2016)

Charming sequel. Hank the septopus is the breakout star.

Luca

(2021)

A small, gentle Italian summer. Lovely and underrated.

Turning Red

(2022)

Specific, hilarious, and emotionally honest. Very online.

Onward

(2020)

Released right as theaters closed. A solid sibling story.

Cars

(2006)

Slower than most Pixar but the merchandise empire was real.

The Good Dinosaur

(2015)

Beautiful environments, thin story. The forgotten Pixar.

Elemental

(2023)

Visually inventive, narratively ordinary. Slow burn at the box office.

Lightyear

(2022)

A sci-fi spinoff that confused everyone. Decent on its own merits.

Cars 2

(2011)

The first real Pixar misstep. A spy movie nobody asked for.

Cars 3

(2017)

Course-corrected from Cars 2 but still the weakest mainline Pixar.

Incredibles 2

(2018)

Fans waited fourteen years for this. A bigger budget didn't equal a bigger story.

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Pixar Movies in Order

Pixar releases films in chronological order: there's no "watch order" debate, just the calendar. The studio's creative arc is roughly: Toy Story through Toy Story 3 (1995-2010) is the golden age; Cars 2 (2011) marks the start of an experimental decade; Inside Out (2015) and Coco (2017) prove the studio still has its peak gear; Inside Out 2 (2024) signals a comeback.

How to Build Your Own Pixar Tier List

Twenty-eight films is too many to hold in your head. Star ratings collapse: every Pixar film ends up a 4. The fastest way to a real ranking is head-to-head comparisons in Shortlist:

Create a Pixar list in the app. Add every Pixar film, or filter to just the ones you've seen.
Compare two at a time: Shortlist shows matchups like "WALL-E vs. Inside Out." Pick the winner.
After 25-35 comparisons, your full Pixar tier list builds itself. Most lists end up with Toy Story 3, WALL-E, or Up at #1.
Share your ranking: every list gets a share link. Send it to the family group chat.

The same head-to-head method works for any franchise or genre. See our movie tier list guide for the full approach.

The Best and Worst Pixar Movies: The Consensus

Pixar's catalog has unusual agreement among critics, fans, and Rotten Tomatoes, even when individual rankings differ.

Consensus best: Toy Story 3, WALL-E, or Up. The trio that defined Pixar's late-2000s peak.
Most acclaimed by critics: Inside Out. 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The most ambitious film the studio has made.
Most underrated: Ratatouille. Frequently overlooked in "best Pixar" lists, often a top-three pick when fans actually rewatch.
Most divisive: Cars. Either a comfort classic or the studio's weakest era starter.
Consensus worst: Cars 2. The clearest dip in quality the studio ever took.

Should You Include Pixar Sequels in Your Ranking?

Pixar's sequels are an interesting tier list problem. Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 are both arguably better than the original. Cars 2 drags down a franchise. Incredibles 2 can't match the original. Inside Out 2 almost does. A complete Pixar ranking includes all of them, including the Cars trilogy, which most fans would rather forget.

What About Pixar Shorts and Disney+ Specials?

Pixar's shorts catalog (Bao, Lava, the SparkShorts program) and Disney+ originals (Soul, Luca, Turning Red) are technically separate from the theatrical features list. We've included the Disney+ titles because they're full feature films, the shorts are a different ranking entirely. You can build that one in Shortlist too.

Pixar Tier List FAQ

How many Pixar movies are there?

As of early 2026, Pixar has released 28 feature-length films, starting with Toy Story in 1995. That count includes the three Disney+ original features (Soul, Luca, Turning Red) but excludes shorts and the SparkShorts program.

What's the best Pixar movie of all time?

The most common picks are Toy Story 3 (2010), WALL-E (2008), and Up (2009), the "late-2000s Pixar peak." Critics often add Ratatouille and Inside Out to the same tier. Your specific #1 usually depends on which one you saw at the most emotionally vulnerable age.

What's the worst Pixar movie?

Cars 2 is the consensus pick, the only Pixar film with a "rotten" Rotten Tomatoes score. Cars 3 and The Good Dinosaur typically round out the bottom three.

What order should I watch Pixar movies in?

Release order is the only order that matters. Pixar films aren't set in a shared universe (with the exception of the connected Toy Story sequels and a fan theory about the "Pixar Theory"). Watch in release order, or skip directly to the tier you trust most.

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