When it comes to animation movies, Pixar are one of the best studios in the business and they are back this week with new film The Good Dinosaur.
The Good Dinosaur
Never before have we been treated to two Pixar films in one year as The Good Dinosaur comes hot off the heels of the success of Inside Out and is set to be another family treat.
Over the years, we have seen Pixar movies enjoy both critical and commercial success and we take a look at which movies have performed best at the global box office.
1. Toy Story 3 - $1,063.2 million
So far, there has only been one Pixar film to gross over $1 billion at the box office... and that is the fantastic Toy Story 3, which was released back in 2010.
It is rare for all three films in a franchise to be fantastic but that is exactly what Pixar achieved with the Toy Story series. Each film got better and better and Toy Story packed a huge emotional punch for any adult in the audience - we all remember growing up and leaving our beloved childhood toys behind.
Toy Story 3 really is a coming of age story and at timeless tale that explores some universal themes that we can all relate to. For me, Toy Story 3 was the most emotionally potent in the popular series.
As well as being an emotional roller-coaster, Toy Story 3 is also a very warm and funny movie that is packed with terrific characters and was one of the most visually stunning films of 2010.
It is the most financially successful Disney/Pixar movie and went on to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar as well as being just the third animation movie, behind Beauty and the Beast and Up to be nominated for Best Picture.
Toy Story 3 is the third highest grossing animation film of all time, behind Frozen and Minions. However, it was revealed earlier this week that work has started on a fourth instalment of the franchise.
2. Finding Nemo - $895.6 million
Hard to believe that Finding Nemo hit the big screen back in 2003 and is already twelve years old. It was the film that really took Pixar to the next level and was their most successful film when it was released.
Twelve years on, and Finding Nemo remains a very special film for a lot of people and is still their second highest grossing film of all time. Not only did the movie gross $895.6 million, but it was also a critical smash.
Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, Finding Nemo follows Marlin, a father who heads out on a pic journey to rescue his son Nemo; who was captured on the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney. Along the way, Marlin meets some of Pixar's most unforgettable character creations,
Finding Nemo is an exciting adventure film from start to finish that is as funny as it is heartfelt. The central characters are engaging and compelling and the animation looks wonderful - the underwater world created by Pixar looks as fantastic today as it did over a decade ago.
The movie opened to critical acclaim back in 2003 and went on to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar - beating off competition from Brother Bear and Belleville Rendez-vou.
And Pixar is taking us back into the sea next year with the highly anticipated Finding Dory, which will see the title character on the hunt for her family.
3. Inside Out - $851.5 million
There's no animation movie that has been more acclaimed this year than the fantastic Inside Out, which was the first Pixar film since Monsters University back in the summer of 2013.
We may have had a two year wait for Inside Out, but boy was it worth it as it was one of the most adventurous and stunning movies to date. Directed by Pete Docter, Inside Out follows Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness; the emotions in the head of young girl Riley.
Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, and Mindy Kaling come together to bring the characters of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust to life and give some of the best voice performances of the year.
To say that Inside Out was met with critical acclaim when it was released earlier this year is a bit of an understatement as just about everyone has raved about this film. It is already the red hot favourite to scoop the Best Animated Feature Oscar and it could find itself in the Best Picture race as well.
So far, the movie has grossed $851.5 million to become Pixar's third biggest movie of all time. It is also the second highest grossing animation film of the year - second only to Minions.
Inside Out is another Pixar gem as it is a movie that tugs hard on the heartstrings as well as making you laugh out loud. Also, I did I mention that it was also a true visual treat? This is one of Pixar's greatest film achievements and they have set the bar high for any and all animation movies that follow.
4. Monsters University - $743.6 million
Mike and Sulley are two Pixar's most loved characters and they returned to the big screen in 2013 for Monsters University, which came over a decade after the release of Monsters, Inc back in 2002.
Billy Crystal and John Goodman returned to voice the characters of Mike and Sulley... but they are the not the friends they were in the first film. Monsters University is set during the university days of these two character and they did not start out as friends.
t is a very brave thing to go backwards and introduce us to new versions of characters that we have already fallen in love with - a risk that really did pay off. Mike and Sulley are as great a duo as ever, as they still make a fantastic comic team even if they are at each other's throats.
Monsters University is about dreams and ambitions, and how you may not always get what you had hoped for. It is also about the power of friendship - we see the seed of the Mike & Sulley partnership well and truly being sown.
I was a huge fan of Monsters Inc and was a little nervous when they announced that they were doing a sequel... however, it is a terrific film that is a lot of fun. The movie went on to gross over $743 million worldwide and is the fourth highest grossing Pixar.
5. Up - $731.3 million
There is no opening sequence to a Pixar film that packed a bigger punch than that of Up - you truly had to have a heart of stone to be touched by the story of love and loss.
Pete Docter was back in the director's chair for Up, which followed elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen who fulfils his and his wife's dream of travelling to the wilds of South Africa.
Up is a perfectly crafted story that is as funny as it is poignant it is also a movie that really is fully of life. But it is the emotional range of Up that is one of the most incredibly things about this movie; Pixar aren't afraid of making us shed a tear or think about those that we love. It is a powerful film about the people in our life and how we have to deal with loss.
However, this is not a film that is full of doom and gloom as it is also laugh out loud funny with some larger than life and truly wonderful characters that you will remember long after the credits have rolled. It really is a great adventure from start to finish.
The movie was a critical and commercial hit upon release and went on to gross over $731 million at the global box office. It was the sixth highest grossing film of 2009 behind the likes of Avatar and Harry Pott and the Half-Blood Prince.
Up won the Best Animated Feature Oscar and become only the second animation film in history to be nominated for Best Picture: following in the footsteps of Beauty and the Beast.
6. The Incredibles - $631.4 million
It will be 2019 when we finally get a sequel to The Incredibles and it was back in 2004 when we were introduced to the extraordinary Parr family for the first time.
Written and directed by Brad Bird the movie follows Mr Incredible and Elastigirl, superheroes who are now trying to live a quiet live and raise their three children. But they are called back into action when they need to save the world from Syndrome.
The Incredibles remains one of the best Pixar movies and it was a great take on the superhero genre. The movie is action packed as well as being a script that is full of laughs and very very witty. Throw in some great characters with interesting dynamics and relationships and you have a real gem of a film.
The Incredibles went on to become the fourth highest grossing film of 2004 - behind Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Spider-Man 2 - as it grossed over $631 million and was a critical smash.
The Incredibles won the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar and became the first entirely animated film to win the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
The Good Dinosaur is released 27th November.