21. Jumping Genres
Disney tend to do Fairy Tales very well, which is precisely why the majority of their most successful output has been from within that genre, but no such restriction holds Pixar back. Okay so they work only in animation, but that medium doesn't restrict the studio from genre hopping from film to film, from superheroes, to racing cars, to animal kingdom flicks to robot romances. While they all have universal themes, they are definitely different in terms of genre, and each has a very tangibly different aesthetic, making their successes all the more astounding.
22. The Music: Carl Goes UP
http://youtu.be/PCOsKri8Glw
23. Compelling Action Sequences
The animation medium has never been a restrictive one for Pixar, who regularly make a mockery of the supposed limitations of that mode by creating gloriously cinematic sequences that have both grandeur and depth in a way that no other animation was ever capable. And the studio's actions sequences, from the
Incredible's battle with Syndrome, to the Junkyard chase scene in
Toy Story 3 are the greatest testament to that ability to use the medium in striking, cinematic ways. They're tense, immersive and energetic, yet they're still "just" animation.
24. The Easter Eggs
In hiding secrets in their films, and making references to other films, Pixar have spawned a whole new culture of Pixar Easter Egg hunting. Aware that the studio hides hints to future projects in their new releases, and pay homage to their idols (for instance by including Totoro as a character in
Toy Story 3), fans now spend way too many hours scouring over the footage in minute detail to find them. Don't believe me? Type Pixar Easter Eggs into YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_8x3n15L7E
25. They Changed The World of Animation Completely
Without Pixar no Shrek, no How To Train Your Dragon, no Megamind and no Despicable Me. Simple as that.
Toy Story was no less than a watershed moment in the history of animation. Before it, computer generation had been a footnote that Disney had used to add some shimmer to a number of scenes in Beauty & The Beast, and to bring a single complete character (in the shape of Magic Carpet in Aladdin) to screen. And despite Pixar's obvious skill level, Toy Story was still a gamble in the eyes of critics and early audiences - with some quarters unconvinced that anyone would ever be able to care about characters rendered in CGI. What happened next, and the immediate legacy that Toy Story imparted speak for themselves.