It’s been two weeks
and Monsters University is still holding
strong a top the box office, crossing over the 170 million dollar mark this
past weekend. I’ll be going more in depth with Monsters University in the next What
We Learned at The Movies. For this article I’ll just say that I enjoyed it very,
VERY much. It’s a great way to revisit the characters of Monsters Inc and in no way is it a typical rehash sequel/prequel. It’s
an original story with a lot to share. And it in no way should be compared to
the first film because they are very different. Monsters University sadly suffers from Pixar’s previous success. They’ve
raised the bar so high that it will be hard to reach that level again, but more
on that later.
Pixar Animation
Studios is in the middle of one of the most remarkable runs in all of film
history. Monsters University opened
at number 1, and it’s the 14th consecutive Pixar film to do so. That’s
a record matched by no other studio in history. Has every Pixar film been
amazing, wonderful, ground-breaking? No (*cough Cars 2 cough*) but so many of their films HAVE been amazing,
wonderful and ground-breaking, which is the basis for this article. Today I’m
counting the top moments in Pixar history, and this actually turned out to be very
personal. As I started to compile it I realized that these moments meant a lot
to me and all have a common theme. The only criteria of this list is that it
has to be a moment from a Pixar feature film that stuck with me (I did no prior
research to these moments they all came straight from memory and, yes, there
will be a top 5 moments Part 2 at some point in the future because there are so
many that I love that are not represented here today). And now, Nerd 5 presents
the top 5 moments in Pixar History.
Due to the fact that we are diving into specific moments of
films, if you’ve not seen the film that I’m talking about, be warned there will
be spoilers. Also, if you haven’t seen these films there IS something wrong
with you.
5.
Wall E and EVE’s First Date
Wall E in an amazing
achievement of a film, it’s funny, heartfelt, and it’s relevant. After seeing
the film for the first time I said to the group of people I was with, “Andrew
Stanton has created this generation’s version of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax” (not the terrible,
completely-miss-the-point film that came out last year, but the amazing book from
the 70’s). I love Wall E. There are
so many amazing moments throughout this film that narrowing it down to one was
very difficult. But for me the moment of Wall
E that stands out above the rest is Wall E and EVE’s First Date. When the
storm comes and they’re forced into Wall E’s home, it’s a wonderful balance of
funny and heartfelt. It starts with Wall E showing EVE all of the treasures
he’s collected on earth, then moves onto EVE’s introduction to Hello Dolly (a perfect choice of obscure
yet well-known musical, and hilarious that it’s the one piece of entertainment to
survive the apocalypse), and then onto the final moment where EVE turns on the
lighter and Wall E start to fall in love with her. It’s a perfectly balanced
and a beautiful scene.
4.
Toy Story 3’s Incinerator
A moment 15 years in
the making. It’s rare for me gush about a sequel, let alone the third film in a
series, but the single best moment in the entire Toy Story saga comes near the end of Toy Story 3. The third Toy
Story film is an example of a great third act - it’s a film that just keeps
getting better as it goes. I enjoy Toy
Story 3 far more than Toy Story 2 and I think part of that is the time
it took for us to get to the story in the third film. There are even a few
beats that are similar between the films that work better in the third than
second film. That being said, I’m sitting in the theater in 2010 watching Toy Story 3 and was completely lost in
the film. I was a kid again, just as invested in these characters’ journey home
as I was in 1995 when Woody and Buzz were trying to get onto the moving truck.
I loved seeing these characters, who I grew up with, deal with growing up. And
then a great escape scene begins as our main toys escape from Sunnyside Day
Care and make a break for Andy’s House. Our heroes end up fighting their way
out of a garbage dump (in a scene highly reminiscent of the climax of The Brave Little Toaster-a film that
Pixar Executive Producer John Lasseter was slated to direct at one point) and Woody,
Buzz, and all their friends end up sliding toward a giant incinerator. I was
hooked, gone, completely convinced that these characters were going to die.
With tears streaming down my face and my mind cursing Pixar for doing this to
me, I watched helplessly as our characters in this KIDS FILM start to hold
hands and accept death, accept that their future will great as long they’re
together, before the deus ex machina of “the claw” saved all of our heroes.
It’s just wonderful, and it’s moments like these that make Pixar amazing and
ground-breaking in children’s entertainment.
3.
Sully Says Goodbye to Boo
Monsters Inc
is one of the most criminally under-rated films of all time. The emotional
heart and soul of the film is the story James P. Sullivan (Sully for short) and
Boo (a little girl no more than 3 years old) who walks through her closet and
turns the monster world completely upside down. The story of Sully and Boo is
about Sully learning to care for and protect another person, Sully becomes
Boo’s surrogate father over the course of their adventure home, and after the
day is saved, the villains are defeated, and we’re so very close to our happy
ending, there’s a giant “oh” moment when the audience and Sully realize at the
same time that Boo has to go home. From the moment her door is put in place and
she runs in giggling and playing with her new friend Sully, you’re crushed
because you know what Sully has to do. The line “Kitty has to go” has such
simple brilliance and it gets me every time. Then when Boo realizes that
“Kitty” (the name she calls Sully) is gone, it’s beautiful filmmaking that I
can’t describe well enough. The perfect end to a wonderful story.
2.
Nemo’s Initiation
Finding Nemo
is my personal, all-time favorite Pixar film (It’s Jeff’s Number four in case anyone is curious. He orders them Wall-E, Up, The Incredibles, THEN Finding Nemo) and one of my top 10
all-time favorite films. It’s one of the few films that I’m willing to call
perfect. How can I pick just one moment? I had to go with my gut, and the first
thing that pops into my head when thinking of Nemo is “shark bait oh ah ha!” So it must be that scene. Most of
the film is spent with Marlin and Dori searching for Nemo (thus the title) but
the sub story of Nemo being trapped in the dentist’s fish tank is pure gold.
All of the characters in the fish tank are caring, fully thought out, and
hilarious; these characters are perfect examples of what supporting characters
should be. Nemo himself has a great journey in learning to overcome his little
fin and become a more independent fish. The scene in which all of the other
tank fish initiate Nemo into their group of friends works on a lot of levels.
Great comedy coming from strong character moments and a scene that serves as
more than just comic relief, it furthers every character within the scene while
focusing on the journey of the main character. It’s a great example of a small
scene becoming so much more, and so insanely memorable that I can only give it
a giant SHARK BAIT OH AH HA!!!
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