For decades—now over twenty-five years ago—Pixar Animation Studios has been cranking out excellent movie after excellent movie. For nearly three decades, Pixar has given children movies they can genuinely enjoy. Not only are these movies fun for kids, but they deal with topics that children will have to deal with at some point and help them process them in kid-friendly ways.
Pixar movies are notoriously all-around good. The name Pixar has become synonymous with an animated film being at least palatable if not good enough to watch one time, maybe twice. However, these ten Pixar movies improve on every rewatch—not only that, but these Pixar movies are much better to watch when one's an adult than when they are a child.
10 Toy Story (1995)
Pixar’s first feature film, Toy Story, is also one of the best movies the animation studio has ever made. More than that, it is a movie that genuinely transcends age. While children can—and do—undoubtedly enjoy Toy Story, it has humor that only adults can fully appreciate. Toy Story also has a plot that resonates heavily with adults as they grow older.
Sometimes, adults feel that they outgrow who they were or even believe they feel they are. A movie like Toy Story reminds adults that they must adapt to their changing world and change with it. This movie gains more weight and importance every year since its release.
9 Toy Story 2 (1999)
Not to be outdone, Toy Story 2 is arguably even better than its predecessor. This sequel came only a few years after Toy Story, and the movie that was crafted in that time is absolutely excellent. The jokes in this movie, similar to the original film, only become more apparent and funnier as its viewers' age into adults.
Even better, Toy Story 2’s story about the cost of immortality is an absolutely outstanding concept that goes above and beyond what most animated movies have ever done. This film toys with concepts that are still difficult for adults to wrap their minds around.
8 Monsters, Inc. (2001)
At its heart, Monsters, Inc. is a story about facing one’s fears head-on. For a child, this may manifest quite literally as a fear of a monster in the closet. However, as an adult watching Monsters, Inc., viewers realize the fear that the movie is suggesting they confront could be absolutely anything.
The children in the movie confront the monsters in their closets, but the adult monster characters confront very real-world monsters. Characters confront their bosses, peers, and loved ones and stand up for what’s right when they believe in it, no matter the cost. For an adult, Monsters, Inc. is an important discussion on what happens when fear consumes you.
7 Finding Nemo (2003)
There have been few films as good as Finding Nemo. While children may find themselves relating to Nemo throughout the story, the heart of it, adults may believe, truly lies with Marlin and his quest to be reunited with his son. Having lost his wife and all of their other children in a tragic accident, Marlin refuses to take any risks with his son.
As a result, he and Nemo never truly live as they should be. Marlin has to learn how to take risks and truly live to find Nemo and reach his son, closing the emotional and physical distance separating them throughout the film. Adults will probably find themselves even more emotional watching this film now than they did when they were kids.
6 The Incredibles (2004)
A film about a super-family, like The Incredibles, will always appear to different people differently over time. While people who watched this movie as children when it came out initially may have related to the kids, Violet or Dash, the first time, now they watch the movie with fresh eyes.
Anyone could relate to anyone in the film, whether it’s Syndrome’s desire to be more, Bob’s nostalgia for his perceived glorified past, or Helen’s disquiet in a role that may not be entirely meant for her. This movie—and even The Incredibles 2, its 2018 sequel—deal with identity in a lot of profound ways, which adults may find helpful or emotional in watching this film after growing up.
5 Ratatouille (2007)
Few people won’t find themselves affected by Ratatouille. At its heart, this is a movie about what it means — and, sometimes, what it costs — to do what you genuinely love and be who you indeed are. There are many moments that adults watching Ratatouille may enjoy more now than they did when they were children.
However, the scene that stands out above all others is where Anton Ego tastes Remy’s ratatouille and remembers his childhood when his mother gave him ratatouille. Ego then writes in his review something that adults need to hear: “In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto, ‘Anyone can cook.’ But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”
4 WALL-E (2008)
A movie that may be perhaps too dismal, too dark, and too much for kids to take on or even understand, WALL-E is a movie that adults can take to heart. Not only that, but WALL-E is a movie that comments on the environment and its destruction, on the rapid expansion of technology, and even on a possible rebirth of a new futuristic religion.
WALL-E has a lot going on, and for kids, it’s probably too much to grasp on even the hundredth rewatch. However, adults can watch WALL-E and understand everything that’s going on in the film. Hopefully, viewers watching WALL-E as adults can also use their feelings about the film productively to prevent such a future from occurring in the real world.
3 Up (2009)
Up infamously has one of the saddest openings of any of the Pixar movies. This sets the tone for a movie that may be heavy for some kids right from the jump, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This movie deals with grief and loss in really valid and vital ways. Not only that, but Up is a fascinating meditation on what we leave behind as humans when we die.
Adults can watch Up and consider their legacy and how to honor the heritage and memories of those we have lost. Up may be too much for some kids, but for adults, it can be a terrific movie — if not emotionally devastating at the same time.
2 Brave (2012)
Nearly a decade ago, Disney and Pixar released Brave, introducing their newest Disney Princess, Merida. This was Pixar’s first feature film to have a female protagonist, and the movie did not disappoint. Brave deals not only with a princess who wants to do her own thing and be her person, but it also deals a lot with the relationship that Merida has with her mother, Queen Elinor.
The mother-daughter relationship that Merida and Elinor have is the heart of this movie, and this is something that adults reflect on more and more as they grow older and watch this film. While Merida does remind them that they can be anything they want to be, she also reminds the adults of their relationships with their parents.
1 Monsters University (2013)
Many children who grew up watching Monsters, Inc. were teenagers or young adults when Monsters University was released in 2013. As a result, the movie perfectly lined up on their life timeline. Children who watched Monsters, Inc. when they were Boo’s age and afraid of monsters in their closets could, in 2013, watch Monsters University when they were Sulley and Mike’s younger ages in Pixar’s only prequel movie.
This story is a coming-of-age bildungsroman plot more than Monsters, Inc. was, and so the children who once watched the original could watch the prequel Monsters University as adults and feel this growth from child to adult as the characters did.