Welcome to Part 2: Pixar!
Pixar's first Princess, Merida lives up to the title of the movie. She's a girl who knows her mind, knows what she wants, and is unfortunately tied to tradition. Her solo adventure, riding her (gorgeously rendered) horse while shooting arrows, is the stuff of legend. I also hold dear movies about mothers and daughters (having daughters and, well, being a daughter). Here, we have a mother and daughter duo who are so busy disagreeing that it takes a catastrophe for them to realize how much they actually not only love each other, but LIKE each other.
This family loves NASCAR. Our older daughter has loved it practically since birth. This is why we knew that this would be the perfect First Theatre movie for her. There are some great lessons about true teamwork, selflessness, and keeping one's word. The attention to detail (the "marbles"!) is wonderful. You get to really know and love the residents of Radiator Springs, and there are also some fun voice cameos.
THIS is the sequel that Cars fans needed and wanted! It carried on the heart of the first one, only now with the former cocky rookie becoming the wise mentor, but not without some serious speed bumps. This one gives something to long-time NASCAR fans, touching upon the history of the sport, with voice cameos both from the storied past and the current field.
Mental health is a big, important topic these days. This movie covers the topic with sensitivity, authenticity, warmth and humor. The personifications of the emotions of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear fit perfectly, and the clever ways they come up with certain mental issues - the confusion between facts and opinions, dreams, "earworms", etc. - are nothing short of brilliant.
Little Riley is growing up, hitting puberty, and her emotions are growing with her; however, it is not smooth sailing! Joining the original 5 are Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment (and, to a lesser, hilarious extent, Nostalgia). Once again, the topic of mental health is handled delicately, but realistically.
This one covers a number of pretty heavy subjects: death, coma, lost dreams, ambition, finding your place in the world, to name a few. Some of the humor was lost on me, but the music more than made up for it. I love jazz, and the soundtrack is phenomenal.
Toy Story 3 is my favorite of the Toy Story franchise (although as of this writing I have not yet seen 5). Part of the reason is that I first saw it the day my husband came home from the hospital after almost dying. The movie is very emotional to begin with! However, those emotions are earned. If you were a child when the first one came out, then it'll hit you where you live; if you were an adult, it'll fill you with nostalgia (and possibly make you look at your own children differently).
This one ranks among the very top of my favorites. This is another complicated mother/daughter relationship movie, but this one hits deeper and harder for me. All I'll say about that is...I wish I could have watched it with my mother back in the day. The fun anime-reminiscent stylings, the infectious joy of the girls' friendships, an unforgettable boy band, all join together for a fun-filled, girl-power (but boys should see it too) movie.
This one is also among my very top. The opening alone makes a great, emotional movie with only the strains of the score "Married Life" playing. The rest of the movie is a fun and exciting adventure. Dreams fulfilled and dreams deferred, what makes a family, and dangerous obsession are some of the themes, all accompanied by an old man, a young boy, a colorful bird, and a "talking" dog.
...and speaking of minimal dialog, this movie conveys thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ideas with as little dialog as possible. However, among the sci-fi, the space travel, the robots, and the futuristic dystopia is nestled a sweet love story between two beings who have little in common but learn to see beyond those, and learn to work together for the common good. This one also has my all-time favorite line from any Pixar movie: "I don't want to survive! I want to live!" (It's also funny that the last 3 listed here all rank within my top 3.)
Honorable mentions: Good Dinosaur, Onward, Toy Story.
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