All 8 Pixar Sequels, Ranked

Pixar, as an animation studio, used to resist the idea of pumping out too many sequels. Sure, the studio’s first movie, Toy Story, got a sequel back in the 1990s, but then its entire 2000s run was defined by being sequel-free, with amazing original movies released almost yearly, the best of them including the likes of Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up.

Since 2010, sequels have become more commonplace, though they’re not the only films Pixar have made, given that well-received original movies like Soul and Turning Red have come out more recently. The following aims to highlight how Pixar has sometimes delivered vital sequels, sometimes made disappointing ones, and then has also made a handful that fall somewhere between good and bad. For present purposes, prequels and spin-offs aren’t counted (so the following doesn’t include Monsters University or Lightyear).

8

‘Cars 2’ (2011)

Directed by John Lasseter

So, with Cars 2, there is a level of polish to the animation that might make it technically exempt from being considered one of the worst films in recent memory, but even the visuals lack the same punch as Pixar’s best. Then, when it comes to everything but the animation itself, Cars 2 is an absolute disaster; an agonizing watch that takes what is, at best, a perfectly serviceable family movie (the first Cars) and blows it up, literally and figuratively.

None of the heart or character found in the first movie is here, and it’s instead a weird spy/action movie with talking cars, and a reshuffling of the main cast that puts the annoying comedic sidekick from the first movie in the protagonist chair. Cars 2 is just a miserable, soul-sucking, bland, irredeemable mess. Pixar could literally try to top it in awfulness, Springtime in Hitler-style, and the studio would still probably come up short. Animated movies with this much money behind them don’t get any worse than Cars 2.

7

‘Cars 3’ (2017)

Directed by Brian Fee

Hey, to give Cars 3 some credit, at least it’s not Cars 2, and it does make some kind of attempt to scratch a similar itch to the first movie. Mater is appropriately kicked back into a sidekick role, with the main narrative here returning to focus on Lightning McQueen, and the way that he’s starting to get on in years, which makes him change his outlook on life and question his future as a champion race car.

Still, the execution does leave a ton to be desired, because even if Cars 3 is working with passable ideas, it’s still pretty boring, doesn’t have much by way of humor that older viewers will find funny, and really goes through the motions, save a couple of unexpected smaller moments here and there. It just doesn’t hit the same way that the best Pixar movies do on an emotional level, being entirely outpaced in every conceivable way by Pixar’s other release in 2017: Coco.

6

‘Incredibles 2’ (2018)

Directed by Brad Bird

The Incredibles is hard to fault, serving as both a great family movie and just a flat-out great superhero film simultaneously. A sequel seemed to be something most were keen to see, so long as it could recapture some of the magic of the first. The wait ended up taking almost a decade and a half, and the resulting film, Incredibles 2, was… kind of fine? Disappointing maybe, but watchable?

It’s a blast to be back in the world of the first movie, seeing familiar characters and hearing familiar voices, but the storyline here isn’t as compelling as the one in the first movie, which balanced action, humor, heart, and some genuinely realistic family drama perfectly. Incredibles 2 might have also made an error in not jumping forward in time, pretty much keeping all its characters the same age and thereby not having as many interesting places for them to go emotionally, nor things to do narratively.

5

‘Toy Story 4’ (2019)

Directed by Josh Cooley

While it’s the weakest Toy Story movie to date, Toy Story 4 is also the most financially successful in the series so far, so that’s got to count for something. It was also well-received critically, perhaps being seen in a positive light because there were many ways it could’ve gone wrong; traps that might have been fallen into that were avoided. Still, it was far from a home run. For every pitfall avoided, another was stumbled into.

Toy Story 4 takes the Incredibles 2 route of not jumping forward much in time, and there is a sense of déjà vu created as a result. Other Toy Story sequels found ways to develop the characters more, and continually build an entire world, and the attempts to continue doing such things here just don’t quite hit the same. Still, it does have an admittedly moving ending, and it might also stand out as one of Pixar’s best-looking – and most highly detailed – movies to date.

4

‘Finding Dory’ (2016)

Directed by Andrew Stanton

No, Finding Dory isn’t quite as good as Finding Nemo by any means, but it is much better than some people give it credit for. It’s kind of like Cars 2, if Cars 2 was actually good, because Finding Dory – like that 2011 film – takes the main sidekick from the original movie – the titular Dory – and puts them in the protagonist role, and that approach works here pretty well.

Finding Dory is all about Dory trying to reconnect with her parents, and though this odyssey doesn’t have the simplicity, adventurous spirit, or emotional impact in quite the same way that Finding Nemo had, it’s not too far off. It’s a fun movie, it can be pretty funny at times, and it strikes a good balance between relying on what worked the first time around and mixing in some new/less expected elements, too.

3

‘Inside Out 2’ (2024)

Directed by Kelsey Mann

Though it doesn’t leap forward by as many years as some sequels, Inside Out 2 still benefits from aging Riley up by a couple of years, having her begin experiencing her early and tumultuous teenage years. This is, of course, all viewed by her emotions, with the five main ones from Inside Out returning, and a host of new ones introduced, seeing as life gets more complex as one gets older, and new emotions help deal with such things and all.

As far as non-Toy Story sequels go, Inside Out 2 is the best Pixar has made to date, with there being enough time between it and Inside Out to make a return to the story feel justified. It’s funny, heartfelt, and creative in similar ways to the first, and finds just enough new pathways to branch out to thematically. It might not be as big a gut punch or as novel as the first movie, but it is a more-than-worthy sequel, and there could well be potential for the story to go even further in a third movie at some point.

2

‘Toy Story 3’ (2010)

Directed by Lee Unkrich

Sequels have become common within the Pixar body of work, but threequels? Not so much. Toy Story 3 was the first time a Pixar sequel got a sequel, and until Toy Story 4, it felt like it rounded out the Toy Story trilogy rather perfectly. Toy Story 4 can still be treated as an epilogue, of sorts, because there is so much closure in this third movie, with it ultimately being about a now college-age Andy moving onto the next stage of his life, and giving away the beloved toys he hasn’t played with in years.

Also, Toy Story 3 finds time – among all the humor and heartbreak – to also function as a surprisingly great prison escape movie; maybe the best of the bunch if you’re looking for one that’s family-friendly. It’s extremely moving, beautifully made overall, and the characters – both old and new – all succeed in making a mark. Overall, even compared to Pixar’s non-sequels, Toy Story 3 is top-tier stuff.

1

‘Toy Story 2’ (1999)

Directed by John Lasseter

One of the best movies released in an overall phenomenal year for cinema, Toy Story 2 is a contender for the title of best Pixar movie, and quite comfortably the best sequel the studio has made to date. It’s hopefully not too controversial to say that it’s really just as good as the always pretty much perfect first movie, being positively comparable to the likes of The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back in terms of functioning as an ideal sequel.

The themes that were first explored in Toy Story are deepened here, with new characters being essential to such themes, all the while presenting new conflicts that pre-existing characters grapple with. Toy Story 2 is packed almost non-stop with jokes, but when it wants to get heavy – and even kind of existential – it’s surprisingly devastating, and truly mature for what is, on the surface, a kid’s movie. It’s aged incredibly well, and set potentially too high a bar for Pixar and its sequels, given no follow-up to any pre-existing film that the studio’s made since 1999 has been quite as good.

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