The Most Underrated Pixar Movies, Ranked

In JustWatch’s recent chat with Fanning around the release of Predator: Badlands, the actress proclaimed her undying love for Monsters University, an often forgotten “prequel sequel” to the studio’s 2001 classic Monsters, Inc.. The film was given a pretty tough dressing-down upon release, but, in its defence, having come out after a spell of A+ hits for the studio, it was always going to look a little ‘mid’ by comparison.

As the title suggests, this is the one where Mike and Sully go to college—with the former easing into a life of frat parties and fun as the latter buries his head in the books. (Believe it or not, the two eventually become unlikely friends.) 

What can we say? Even without the Fanning stamp of approval, it’s a pretty fun watch. 

Much of the same could be said for Cars 2, a movie that was given the impossible job of having to live up to the studio’s golden era. I still wouldn’t argue that Cars 2 is anywhere close to the same level, but there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had in its globe-hopping Grand Prix shenanigans. 

For one, this is a movie that features a smug Italian race car voiced by John Turturro (The Big Lebowski) and a James Bond-style car (hilariously dubbed Finn McMissile) that’s voiced by the great Michael Caine (The Dark Knight). What’s not to like?

Whenever Pixar has gone fully high concept—think toys that come to life when nobody’s looking, emotions that are also protagonists—it’s usually worked out beautifully. I think the reason that Soul didn’t resonate with audiences in the same way was that the inner logic wasn’t quite tight enough—certainly when compared to something like Inside Out.

That said, comparing basically anything to that movie is usually a losing game. Indeed, Soul, like plenty of other animated movies, just isn’t on that level, but it’s certainly not short on excitement or laughs. There is also a nod to a Powell and Pressburger classic in there and—thanks to Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste—it has a score that more than lives up to the movie’s title. 

If Onward has a central flaw, it’s probably that it’s a little too bro-coded. If you’re willing to look past that—specifically the two slightly distracting MCU figures at its centre (the ones named Pratt and Holland)—it’s actually quite a charming and moving story about fathers and sons. 

Directed by Dan Scanlan, Onward takes place in a fantasy version of suburbia where two young elven brothers try to reconnect with their deceased dad. Octavia Spencer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Ali Wong round out a delightful voice cast.

Given the total perfection of the original Toy Story trilogy, any subsequent release in the franchise was always going to feel a little underwhelming and bolted on. Thankfully, Pixar managed not to fumble the ball with Toy Story 4—a perfectly entertaining and occasionally quite touching standalone story.

The MVP is, of course, Tony Hale’s Forky, a properly funky addition to the team, but Cristina Hendrix’s dead-eyed Gabby Gabby (a Toy Story antagonist to rank alongside Lots-o’-Huggin’-Bear and The Prospector) is just as good. Oh, and it would be rude not to mention Keanu Reeves’ Duke Caboom—now there’s a character that could do with its own spin-off. 

Brenda Chapman’s Brave represented a few important firsts in the studio’s history. Released in 2012, it was their first original story since Up. More significantly, it was the first Pixar movie written and directed by a female filmmaker and also, most alarmingly, the first to fully centre on a female protagonist.

For all those reasons and more, the studio’s Celtic-coded rejigging of the Disney princess blueprint is more than worth a rewatch—especially for fans of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise or other similarly culturally rooted animations, like Wolfwalkers. It obviously left a footprint, but it still feels to me like one of the studio’s underappreciated gems.

Despite taking in a gargantuan $1.25 billion at the international box office and holding an impressive 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, there’s still something about Brad Bird’s long-awaited sequel to his own 2004 classic that feels a little undervalued.

Maybe it’s something to do with the slightly undercooked antagonist—a mind-controlling figure (reminiscent of Dano’s Riddler from Batman or the Entity in the latest Mission: Impossible) that simply can’t lay a hand on Syndrome. It’s probably more a simple case of generally living in the shadow of its predecessor. Regardless, don’t let any of that get in the way of how enjoyable a movie The Incredibles 2 is—I, for one, will be happily seated for Number Three. 

The closest of close runners-up for most underrated Pixar movie is 2022’s Turning Red, a wonderfully inventive coming-of-age story from Domee Shi—the director and writer behind the gorgeous Oscar-winning short animation, Bao, from 2018.

The key reason for this one’s slightly diminished reputation, I think, was Disney’s decision to release it directly to streaming—a COVID-era safety measure that robbed Shi of a well-deserved theatrical launch pad. Not to worry, the movie remains a singular addition to the Pixar canon and a wonderful piece of work in its own right—the kind of movie that fans of anime and Studio Ghibli (not to mention viewers who appreciate a little ‘00s nostalgia) will feel right at home in. 

As Audrey Nuna might be happy to hear, the award for most underrated Pixar movie simply has to go to A Bug’s Life. This was the second feature that the studio ever released, but for one reason or another, it just hasn’t gotten the same kind of love as other early classics like Toy Story and Monsters, Inc.

Released in 1998, A Bug’s Life also had to go feeler-to-feeler against DreamWorks’ Antz—a remarkably similar-looking movie—at the box office, but in the end, it easily won that showdown. Despite its underrated status, it has certainly maintained its position as the superior movie of the two. If you haven’t seen it in a while, there’s really no time like the present.