Movie Review: Balto

Movie Review: Balto                                                                                                                   12-1-16

Before there was a DreamWorks, there was a small animation studio in London called Amblimation, founded in 1989. They made three features: An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, and Balto.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, released in 1991, was a sequel to Don Bluth's An American Tail back in '86 (but Bluth doesn't return this time), and was about Fievel and his family moving to the Wild West and meeting his hero Wilie Burp, a dog sheriff who's a parody of Wyatt Earp. While it may not live up to the original, it's definitely better than Bluth's feature at the time, the notorious and ridiculous Rock-a-Doodle. Also, Fievel Goes West had to compete against Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the box-office.

We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, released in 1993, was about a quartet of dinosaurs who get sent forward through time to the 1990s to go to the New York Museum of Natural History. While the film had superb character animation and impressive vocal talents, We're Back! bombed at the box-office: It had to compete against The Nightmare before Christmas, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Schindler's List. I'll give We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story a more detailed review next month in January.

Balto, which premiered in 1995, did better at the box-office, but had to compete against the first Toy Story. The film takes place in Nome, Alaska in 1925, and is about a husky mutt named Balto (Kevin Bacon), who is ridiculed by the other dogs because he's part wolf. His only friends are a female husky named Jenna (Bridget Fonda), a Russian goose named Boris (Bob Hoskins), and two polar bear cubs named Luck and Muck (Phil Collins). When an epidemic fatally effects many children in Alaska, including Jenna's owner Rosie, a bobsled team of huskies goes on a journey to receive the medicine that will cure the disease. However, the dogs get lost, and now it's up to Balto to go on an epic journey to retrieve the medicine and save Nome.

Now what do I think of Balto? Well, it may not be as good as Toy Story, but it's more enjoyable than Disney's feature that year, Pocahontas. Like Pocahontas, Balto is loosely based on a real-life event. However, Balto is much less fantasy-based than Pocahontas, and is a bit more mature. But Balto also has some historical inaccuracies, though these are more minor.

Another thing to appreciate about Balto is the animation. In fact, I think the character animation is more lively than in Pocahontas, despite the latter involving the great Glen Keane. Like how The Little Mermaid had millions of bubbles, Balto probably has thousands of snowflakes.
However, there is one thing that I find strikingly familiar: there's a scene in which Balto fights a grizzley bear, and it's very similar to the bear climax in The Fox and the Hound!

If I were to nitpick at one thing, I think they should've done better work on Steele, the antagonist of the film. He's a bit of a cross between Gaston in Beauty and the Beast and Georgette, the poodle voiced by Bette Midler, from Oliver and Company.

Overall, Balto is an enjoyable treat for the whole family, and is definitely better than Pocahontas.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

What I Think About Disney's Frozen

Note: What I'm going to say next doesn't count as a movie review.
Up to this point, I have reviewed/talked about every single movie in the Disney Animated Canon except for Frozen. Some of you might be asking what I think of the movie. Well, today, I will talk about my thoughts on Frozen, and if it deserved to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Let's go back to the year 2013, which is considered by many animation fans, myself included, the worst year for animated features.

 

First, in February, there was Escape From Planet Earth, which is Planet 51 in reverse with character designs we have all seen before.

 

In March, there was DreamWorks' The Croods. It's best described as a cross between Disney•Pixar's Brave and Don Bluth's The Land before Time. I'll talk about it later.

In May, there was Blue Sky Studios' Epic. It's not a horrible film, but it's very cliched. In fact, one critic described it as s cross between The Dark Crystal, Fergully: The Last Rainforest, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, and The Secret of NIMH.

In June, there was Pixar's 14th animated feature, Monsters University. It got mixed reviews, but it earned over 700 million dollars at the box-office. However, by this point, some people, myself included, felt like Pixar lost their magic touch. It wouldn't be until 2015, the year Inside Out premiered, got glowing reviews, and gave Pixar their spark back. My opinion on MU was stated back in this post.

http://asateriale.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-thoughts-on-latest-finding-dory.html

There were two animated features released in July of 2013. The first was Despicable Me 2, from Illumination Entertainment, which earned over 970 million dollars worldwide at the box-office.

The other animated feature that month was DreamWorks' Turbo. It's a bit like Disney•Pixar's Cars with snails, and I remember actually enjoying it more than Cars, because I felt like it didn't have as much filler.

In August, there was Disney's Planes, a spinoff of Cars. I'll talk about that movie, along with three others mentioned in this post, in January 2017.

In September, there was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. It's basically Jurassic Park with food animals instead of dinosaurs. Plus, the names for the animals sound like they were copied from Cartoon Network's Chowder, while some of the designs look like they came from Adventure Time.

In November, there was Free Birds, which is basically a cross between Chicken Run and Back to the Future.

In December, there was Walking With Dinosaurs, a hybrid film similar to Disney's Dinosaur (not to be confused with The Good Dinosaur). The animation house behind this film is Australia-based Animal Logic, who also did Happy Feet and Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.

And finally, on November 27th, 2013, Disney released their 53rd animated feature, Frozen, and if you're counting, their seventh CGI film, and we all know seven is a lucky number. Anyway, the story of Frozen is about two royal Scandinavian sisters: Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzell), and Elsa has the power to control ice. On the day of Elsa's coronation, Anna begs Elsa to marry Hans, a prince she just met, but Elsa says no and shoots icicles out of her hands. She runs up to the top of a mountain, builds herself a castle made of ice, and casts an eternal winter on all of Arendelle. Now Anna, with the help of an ice salesman named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and a snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) to find Elsa and bring back summer.

I honestly have mixed opinions on this movie. While the animation is nice, we have already seen fruitful ice and snow simulation in previous computer animated films (Monsters Inc, the Ice Age films, The Polar Express, and Happy Feet, just to name a few).

Also, I honestly find Hans to be a recycled villain. He's a bit of a mix between Lord Farquad from the first Shrek, Prince Humperdink from The Princess Bride, and Scar from The Lion King. Also, they never explain how Elsa got her ice powers, aside from being 'born with them'.
 I also feel Elsa is a bit recycled, too. She reminds me a bit of Raven from Teen Titans (not Teen Titans Go!) and Phoebe Flame from Adventure Time, except she controls ice instead of fire.

Also, while some of the songs are nice, I feel most of them don't move the plot that much. The only songs I feel like truly move the story forward are 'Do You Want To Build A Snowman' and 'For The First Time In Forever'. I also feel like 'Love Is An Open Door' is a bit of a copy of 'A Duo' from An American Tail.

With all this said, Frozen is actually an important movie for Disney, and not just because of its merchandise sales and record-breaking box-office success. Frozen was the first movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Let's take a look back at previous animated Disney movies and see why they didn't get nominated or win the Oscar for Best Animated Film.
 

2001: Atlantis: The Lost Empire. While the character animation is good for its time, I don't think the Oscars people liked it as much compared to the Disney Renaissance films, and that may be why it didn't get nominated. Also, Atlantis had to compete against Shrek, which earned more money at the box-office and much better reviews.

2002: Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet. Both films got nominated, but lost to Spirited Away, which is practically a masterpiece.
 

2003: Brother Bear got nominated, despite negative reviews, but lost to Finding Nemo.

2004: Home on the Range. This film didn't get nominated, but I would rather watch that than Shark Tale, which actually did get nominated.
 

2005: Chicken Little. Didn't get nominated, and that's probably for the best.
 

2007: Meet the Robinsons. I honestly find this film fairly underrated, but I can see why it didn't get nominated. It may have not lived up to the expectations to Ratatouille, Surf's Up, or Persepolis, the nominees that year, but I'd rather watch that than Shrek the Third.
 

2008: Bolt. Disney's first Best Animated Feature nomination since Brother Bear, and definitely showed improvements. However, it was probably no match to WALL-E, the winner that year.
 

2009: The Princess and the Frog. While it was enjoyable for the most part, it was no match to Up or Fantastic Mr. Fox, which also got nominated. Up was the winner that year.
 

2010: Tangled. It's a crime that this film didn't get nominated for Best Animated Feature. This should've been competing against How To Train Your Dragon 1 and Toy Story 3 that year instead of The Illusionist!
 

2011: Winnie the Pooh. Didn't get nominated, and only earned 33 million dollars at the box-office. Perhaps the G-Rating scared older viewers, but single-digit kids will love it. Also, it was only barely an hour long.
 

2012: Wreck-it Ralph. Got nominated, but lost to Brave. Thankfully, Wreck-it Ralph won both the Annie Award and Kids' Choice Award for Best Animated Feature. 

Now that we covered Disney's side, let's look at the four other animated features that got nominated in 2013 for Best Animated Feature.

The Croods

 

When I first saw The Croods in theaters nearly four years ago, I did not like it because I found Grug, Nicholas Cage's character in the film, to be quite unlikable. He didn't want his family to leave the cave because 'it was dangerous'. The only times the family would go outside was when they needed to go hunting for food. Whenever his oldest child Eep wanted to journey outside, Grug would tell a story about a character who died for going outside. Of course gigantic dangerous animals will be lurking around every corner, but humans need to evolve courage, bravery, trust, and intelligence! In fact, because of the fact that Grug kept mentioning death, I wanted him, at one point, to be killed off. Another thing that bugs me is that directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco made an awkward choice of using made-up animals instead of doing research on real Stone Age animals. I'm sorry if I'm sounding too harsh, but the flora and fauna look like they belong in the Pokemon world. Even Ice Age 1 used extensive research on extinct animals! I know that there are people out there who love this movie, but I'm not too keen of it.

Despicable Me 2

While I personally think Illumination is a bit of a Pixar wannabe, I actually enjoyed Despicable Me 2 more than MU, because it gives more respect to the original. Also, my dad loves the Despicable Me films.

Ernest and Celestine

I already talked about this charming French animated film back in April, part of my Top 50 Best Traditional Animated Films countdown.

http://asateriale.blogspot.com/2016/04/top-50-best-traditional-animated-movies_47.html

The Wind Rises

This is probably the only film that could've served as a real threat to Frozen at the Oscars, and was the final film from Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. Also, The Wind Rises got glowing reviews in the US, but not in Japan, it's home country. I find that a bit weird.

So, did Frozen deserve to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature? Considering it was a tough year for animated features, and Disney never won this Oscar before, then yes, I do think it deserved the Oscar that year.

Top 30 Greatest CGI Movies of All Time: Honorable Mentions

Like I promised, here are 5 honorable mentions I wanted to point out, 3 of which premiered after November 2014.
The Peanuts Movie (2015)
 
Based on the beloved comic strips by Charles Schulz, The Peanuts Movie, Blue Sky's tenth animated feature, is about a young boy named Charlie Brown. He has all the bad luck a kid would never want, like getting a kite stuck up a tree and getting a football pulled away right before he kicks it. When Charlie falls in love with a new student named Heather, he tries to impress her through entering the talent show and writing a book report on War & Peace. However, because he is Charlie Brown, nothing goes his way. The story may sound depressing, but the movie itself is very sweet and stays true to the original comic strips without being too modern. In fact, if Sparky (a nickname for Charles Schulz) was still alive, he would be proud of this movie.
Inside Out (2015)
 
After Monsters University, many Pixar fans, myself included, felt that the mighty animation studio lost their magic touch. Then, on June 19th, 2015, Pixar's 15th animated feature, Inside Out, premiered in theaters and got glowing reviews. Directed by Pete Doctor, who also directed Monsters Inc and Up, Inside Out tells the story of what goes inside the head of an 11-year-old girl named Riley Anderson. Riley's emotions, Joy (Amy Pohler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Anger (Lewis Black), help Riley out through her lifetime. When her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, California, Riley spirals into depression and cries in front of her new classmates. Things get worse when Joy and Sadness get sucked into the labyrinth of long-term memory, and without Joy, Riley can't be happy. Inside Out is Pixar's most original movie since Up and their best since Toy Story 3. Inside Out is considered Pixar's comeback and rightfully won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Zootopia (2016)

Disney's 55th animated feature, Zootopia, takes place in a world inhabited by mammals. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), a rabbit, wants to be a police officer, despite all the other officers being elephants, rhinos, hippos, wildcats, and wolves. When a river otter goes missing, Hopps has no choice but to team up with a sly fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to find the missing otter within 48 hours. Zootopia is arguably the best animated Disney movie in decades with beautiful animation, likable characters, a very original story, and a universal message that kids will and should understand. Zootopia got really good reviews when it premiered, with an impressive 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed over one billion dollars at the box-office, one of four animated features to do so.
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
 
In the sequel to the 2008 hit animated film Kung Fu Panda, Po is now officially the Dragon Warrior and even has a few fans. However, an evil peacock named Lord Shen plans on destroying kung fu by replacing it with fireworks. Now it's up to Po and the Furious Five to save China from certain destruction. Kung Fu Panda 2 is one of the rare opportunities in which DreamWorks focuses more on story than comedy. The animation is lovely, the fight scenes are awesome, and Lord Shen is probably one of DreamWorks' best villains to date.
Surf's Up (2007)

Surf's Up is a documentary-style CG animated film about a teenage rockhopper penguin named Cody Maverick (Shia LaBouff). Cody wants to surf like his hero, Big Z (Jeff Bridges), who supposedly died ten years earlier. After being wiped out during a surfing match with big shot Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader), Cody gets lost in the jungles of Pen Gu Island, and meets a middle aged penguin nicknamed 'Geek'. 'Geek' turns out to be Big Z himself, and Cody gets to learn from the master, without being pranked by him. Like Pixar's feature the previous year, Cars, the lesson of Surf's Up is that it's the journey that matters, and not the race. I feel like Surf's Up handles the message better because it has a more likeable protagonist. While the film may not be as good as Ratatouille or Persepolis that year, Surf's Up is a film that can be embraced by both kids and adults.
I was so tempted to put Moana as an honorable mention, but in the end, I felt like it's too new to be included.

Movie Review: Moana

Movie Review: Moana                                                                                                            11-24-16

I've actually been waiting for this movie all year. I was actually, initially, more hyped over it than Zootopia! Moana was originally going to be a hand-drawn/computer animated film, in a similar style to the 2012 short film Paperman, but co-director John Musker stated it was too early to apply the Paperman technique to a feature film. On the plus side, this is the first CG animated feature for directors John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog. This is also, if you're counting, the tenth CGI movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios (yes, I counted).

Set about 2,000 years ago, Moana tells the story of a Polynesian girl named Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), who sails on a dangerous mission to save her people. Moana meets a demigod named Maui (Dwayne Johnson), who guides her in her journey to become a master way-finder. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering numerous monsters and impossible odds, while also discovering Moana's identity.

Now what do I think of the film? Well, Moana is an impressive achievement, ranking with Tangled and Frozen. Along with breathtaking animation, Moana has a balanced story, likable characters, and some of the best interactions with water in a CG film since Finding Nemo. Also, like Tangled and Frozen, Moana is a musical and has some memorable songs. There's even a catchy villain song sung by a giant gold-keeping hermit crab named Tamatoa, voiced by Jemaine Clement.

 

Remember how in Frozen, Anna wished Elsa had tropical powers instead of ice? It seems like her wish has come true, despite the two films being set centuries apart: Moana has hydrokinesis, almost similar to Lapis Lazuli's powers in Steven Universe, though not as powerful. In other words, Moana can control salt water.

 

Maui, Dwayne Johnson's character in the film, is also an enjoyable character. He is a marked improvement over previous collaborations with Disney, like The Game Plan (2007) and Race to Witch Mountain (2009). There's also some terrific 2D animation on Maui's tattoos, animated by the brilliant Eric Goldberg.

 

The one thing I wish we could see more of is Pua, Moana's pet pig. I found him more enjoyable that Heihei, the dimwitted rooster in the film, because I found the bird brain (no pun intended) to be annoying at times, and felt like he doesn't contribute to the story that much.

 

With all that said, Moana is still an enjoyable film, though not as good as Zootopia, but still very close. Besides, it's gotta be better than Trolls, DreamWorks' other feature for this year.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

PS. If you're wondering what I think of Frozen, I will post my opinion and comments about it on  December 1st. It WILL NOT count as a movie review.

Top 30 Greatest CGI Movies of All TIme Redux Part 3/3

10. Tangled (2010)

 

I know what you're thinking at this point. "Why have Tangled placed so high?" I'll tell you why: First of all, Tangled is Disney's 50th animated movie! Disney started as a small company in 1923, and Walt's first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, premiered in late 1937. Now try subtracting 2010 by 1937. That's 50 animated movies in 73 years, which is very impressive. Secondly, think of what characters have been used in the world of computer animation, as of November 2010. There were toys, animals (both extinct and still alive), robots, automobiles, monsters, aliens, and most importantly, humans, and the humans in Tangled look great in my opinion. When John Lasseter joined the project, he asked executive producer Glen Keane, a legendary Disney animator, if he wanted to do Rapunzel (that's what the project was called at the time) hand-drawn, but Glen decided to take the CG challenge. Besides, I think Tangled would be even harder to make if it were hand-drawn, because of all that hair. And finally, Tangled is a CGI fairy-tale that ISN'T a satire. How many movies can you think of before Tangled that were identical to it? Sorry, Barbie, but your direct-to-video cheap-quills don't count. Anyway, Tangled is about a 17, going on 18-year-old girl named Rapunzel (Mandy Moore). She was secretly kidnapped by a woman named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) so she could use Rapunzel's magic hair to keep herself (Gothel) young. On the day before Rapunzel's 18th birthday, Rapunzel encounters a thief named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), and the both of them go on an adventure that will change both of their lives forever. Tangled is an enjoyable gem with beautiful animation, an organic story that stays true to the original fairy tale, well-developed characters, and rememberable songs by the legendary Alan Menken.

9. WALL-E (2008)
 

700 years into the future, Earth has been piled high with trash. Humans have abandoned the planet and reached extreme levels of obesity and laziness and became entirely dependent on robots. WALL-E, a brown and yellow square-shaped robot, has been working for years to clean up the planet. After he encounters EVE, a more advanced robot who has been sent to find plants, he falls in love, and together WALL-E and EVE save humanity. This was probably the most ambitious animated movie of that year, setting a cute comedy with a somber warning about ecological irresponsibility and runaway consumerism, with very little dialogue. Some fans consider this to be Pixar's best, while others didn't like it that much. Probably because the movie is only 15% dialogue. Never the less, WALL-E is an enjoyable film for the entire family, and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
 8. Monsters Inc (2001)

 

In another world inhabited by monsters, monsters scare children to use their screams as electricity. The best scarers at Monsters Inc, the company that provides the energy for the city, are James P Sullivan (nicknamed Sulley, voiced by John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal). When a child goes loose in the monster world, havoc erupts, and it's up to Mike and Sulley to return the girl to her bedroom. While Shrek is good at realistic humans and background designs, Monsters Inc has a more organic story (if you think hard enough, Shrek is similar to The Princess Bride), excellent fur simulation, and imaginative character designs. Ultimately, Shrek won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

7. The Incredibles (2004)

The longest, but arguably the greatest, animated movie of 2004, The Incredibles was Pixar's first movie to have the PG-rating. It was also Brad Bird's first animated movie since The Iron Giant. The Incredibles takes place in a world of superheroes and super-villains. After being saved, who didn't want to be saved, by a superhero named Mr. Incredible, the man sues Mr. Incredible, and all superheroes are banned in that city, or live a normal live as a modern-day citizen. 15 years have passed, and Mr. Incredible (now known as Bob Parr) is married to the super-stretchy Elastigirl (now known as Helen Parr), who gave birth to three kids, each with different superpowers. When a new villain named Syndrome (who's actually a rejected fanboy from Mr. Incredible's fan club) plans to destroy the city with the Omnidroid, a special robot, it's up to Bob and his family to come out of hiding and save the world. The Incredibles was also Pixar's first feature to have humans as major characters, rather than toys, insects, monsters, or fish. Despite earning the PG-rating, The Incredibles earned great reviews and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

6. How To Train Tour Dragon (2010)
 

Like Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon had no pop-culture references. I personally find that ironic because director Chris Sanders' previous movie, Lilo & Stitch, had quite a few pop-culture references. There were Elvis songs, a live-action B-movie from the 50s, and even a View Master. Anyway, How To Train Your Dragon is about a teenage boy named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Jay Baruchel) who lives in a small Viking village called Berk. The only problem is the pests. While other places may have mosquitoes or mice, Berk has dragons that steal their livestock and fish. After capturing a legendary Night Fury, instead of killing it, Hiccup releases the dragon, names it Toothless, and becomes its friend. How To Train Your Dragon is an enjoyable entry into the DreamWorks library with an original story, brilliant animation, and a music score that deserved to win the Oscar for Best Original Score, though some believe ‘Dragons 2’ was better.

5. Toy Story 3 (2010)
 

In the final chapter of the beloved Toy Story trilogy, problems mount as Andy grows up and goes to college while the toys end up at a daycare center for destructive toddlers, ruled by a sinister teddy bear who smells of strawberries. While the plot may not be as elegant as the previous Toy Stories, Toy Story 3 more than makes up for it by hitting new highs in other areas. For starters, the animation has improved. Not only are there plastic toys as characters, but also plushes. Also, almost all the original voice actors from the first two Toy Stories are back, even Andy's voice actor. Jim Varney, who voiced Slinky Dog in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, sadly passed away in February 2000, so he didn’t return for Toy Story 3. Instead, Slinky was voiced by Blake Clark. Toy Story 3 earned over a billion dollars worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, until Frozen came along. Like Up the previous year, Toy Story 3 got nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. It also got nominated for Best Original Screenplay and won the Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song (We Belong Together, which plays during the end credits).

4. Finding Nemo (2003)

In the oceans of Australia, a clownfish named Marlin (Albert Brookes) has a son named Nemo (Alexander Gould). On his first day of school, Nemo touches a boat against his dad's orders and gets kidnapped by a scuba diver. Now Marlin, along with a forgetful regal tang named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) have to search the whole ocean to find Nemo, while meeting characters like vegetarian sharks, a school of moonfish, and hippy sea turtles. Meanwhile, Nemo gets dumped into a fish tank in a dentist's office with four domesticated fish named Bubbles, Bloat, Gurgle, and Deb, a sea star named Peach, a French cleaner shrimp named Jacques, and a feral Moorish idol fish named Gil (William DeFoe). Finding Nemo is an unforgettable gem with breathtaking animation, many species of fish, and lost of rememberable quotes. 'Nemo' was also Pixar's first movie to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and earned 800 million dollars worldwide at the box-office.

3. Up (2009)

The 2009 Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature is about an elderly man named Carl Frederickson (Ed Asner), who ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies it to South America to fulfill his deceased wife's dreams. A young Boy Scout named Russell hitches a ride on Carl's house, much to his (Carl's) dismay. When they finally land in South America, Carl and Russell meet a rare bird that Russell named Kevin, and a friendly talking dog named Dug. Little do Carl and Russell know that Dug is one of the hundreds of dogs who Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) sent out to capture Kevin, who wants the bird to prove to scientists that a bird like Kevin did exist in Paradise Falls. Up was the first animated movie since Beauty and the Beast to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and is considered Pixar's masterpiece by fans. 
2. Toy Story (1995)

In the first full-length computer animated feature film, Woody (Tom Hanks) is Andy's favorite toy, but gets jealous when a newer toy, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), takes Woody's place as Andy's favorite toy. When Woody accidentally knocks Buzz out the window, Woody must save his rival. But things take a dangerous turn when Woody and Buzz get taken by Sid Philips, who tortures toys for his own amusement. Toy Story earned 392 million dollars worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of 1995. Toy Story also earned John Lasseter a special Academy Award for the achievement of making a computer animated feature film.

And the best CGI movie of all time is...

1. Toy Story 2 (1999)

In the sequel to the animation phenomenon known as Toy Story, Woody gets kidnapped by Al (Wayne Knight), a greedy toy collector. When Woody finds himself in Al's apartment, he discovers that he was part of a popular TV series from the 50s called 'Woody's Roundup'. He also meets a perky cowgirl named Jessie (Joan Cussack), a loyal horse named Bullseye, and a boxed prospector named Pete (Kelsey Grammer). Little does Woody know that Al wants to sell him and his 'Roundup Gang' to a toy museum in Japan! Now it's up to Buzz Lightyear, along with Hamm, Rex, Slinky, and Mr. Potato Head to rescue Woody. Toy Story 2 takes everything that made Toy Story 1 good and amplifies it by 100%. There are also some enjoyable new characters, like Buster, Andy's dog from the end of the first Toy Story, Mrs. Potato Head (voiced by Estelle Harris), Wheezy the squeaky penguin, who was originally going to be in the first Toy Story, the persuasive 'Stinky' Pete, and the hilarious Utility Belt Buzz, a doppelganger of Andy's Buzz. Toy Story 2 got really good reviews (and is called the rare sequel that lives up to its predecessor), earned nearly 500 million dollars worldwide, and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture.