A common analysis is that Pixar makes films for boys. Without being too reductively gendered, while Disney makes animatedfilms about princesses, Pixar specializes in making family-films about male sensibilities. Although what makes Pixar stand out (aside from simply good writing/animation/production etc.) is thevulnerability and emotional maturitygiven to these topics. They achieve this by couching familiar and resonant family dynamics within fantastical concepts, almost all Pixar films displaying some level of daddy issues.
Pixar’s ‘daddy issues’ can be broadly defined as well-meaning father figures making strained attempts to connect with their kids. Either as a literal biological relationship, or being thrust into an unexpected surrogate family. It becomes ‘dad energy’ due to the overwhelmingly male protagonists trying to adapt themselves into unfamiliar situations, usually starting with sternness before opening up to sensitivity. These guys are warm-hearted but, like many dads, awkwardly struggle to identify with the children and their responsibilities towards them. Every Pixar film can be placed on this dad-ness spectrum, which is now they are ranked below. Not by quality, only dad-ness.
Note: for the sake of simplicity, movies with several sequels (direct to video or otherwise) are grouped as a single entry.
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16.WALL-E
The desolate future ofWALL-Eshows an Earth ravaged by environmental disaster and consumerist waste, abandoned by humanity. Which means there are no dads left. Even when robots WALL-E and EVE arrive at the megacorporate “Buy ‘n’ Large” spaceship, babies are being taught the alphabet by robots instead of fathers! Maybe one could argue WALL-E and EVE are parents guarding the new plant, but much like the lack of dialogue inWALL-E’s first half, there are no dads to be seen or heard.
15.Monster University
As a prequel showing the college years of Mike and Sully,Monster Universityis set after their own childhood but before becoming parents themselves. As such, it’s another rare Pixar film without dads. Although, being a Pixar film there is a quick reference to Sully living up to his father Bill Sullivan. Plus it features “mature stature” Don Carlton, whose moustache and dad-demeanour do result in him becoming a step-father.
14.A Bug’s Life
Pixar’s early feature about ants protecting themselves against tyrannical grasshoppers also has no dads. It gains some points for Flik’s friendship with the young Dot, but it’s more an elder brother dynamic than a dad one. Likewise, while there is a theme of poor male authority figures – greedy P.T. Flea or menacing Hopper – this is not dad-specific.
13.Finding Dory
On the one hand,Finding Doryis about the amnesiac blue-tang Dory’s attempts to reunite with her parents, father included. But on the other hand, her memory loss means they are mostly absent from the film. When Dory does find them, although a touching scene and all, her mother and father are fairly interchangeable. SoFinding Doryis a family film, but not a dad one.
12.Brave
Bravewas a big deal for Pixar upon its release, being their first (and only) foray into the more traditional Disney canon. Additionally, instead of Pixar’s daddy-issues,Braveis entirely focused on the mother-daughter relationship between Scottish Queen Elinor and her rebellious child Merida. Such dynamics are wonderfully underexplored, but they also putBravepretty low on this list. It does gain some stature due to the beefy and boisterous King Fergus, who Merida initially relates to more than her mother.
11. TheCarsFilms
CanCars’Cars even have children? Like many other questions about theCarsuniverse, it’s a rabbit-hole nobody really wants to go down. But while there are many factors that change Lighting McQueen from fame-starved rookie to considerate good-sport in Radiator Springs over the firstCars, one of the main factors is retired racer Doc Hudson acting as McQueen’s stern father-figure.Cars 3sees McQueen take up the same mentorship position to Cruz Ramirez, doubling down on the dad energy. Although these films lose significant dad-points forCars 2; a spy movie centered on redneck tractor Mater, severely swerving away from the dad angle.
10.The Good Dinosaur
The Good Dinosauris entirely motivated by the father of the timid young dinosaur Arlo pushing him to confront his fears. However, this daddy dino also dies early on. So while his presence looms large inThe Good Dinosaur, it becomes more about Arlo forging his own relationship with a human caveboy, overshadowing the dad-ness.
9.Inside Out
Inside Outis very much about parental supervision of pre-teen children, and learning to let them experience emotional complexity. Unfortunately for this ranking, Joy and Sadness are two moms catering to Riley’s needs instead of dads. However, despite his brief appearances, Riley’s father hasbecome a bit of a memeas a‘Hot Dad’. This, plus an animated short focusing on his own brain control-room, placesInside Outslightly higher than it might otherwise rank.
8.Ratatouille
Ratatouilleintroduces the audience to Remy’s desire to cook in opposition to his father, Django, who tells Remy that for rats “food is fuel” and to “shut up and eat your garbage”. This family rivalry gets slightly lost after Remy arrives in Paris and starts his work-place relationship with Linguini. Luckily forRatatouillethere’s a subplot about Linguini being the illegitimate son of famous chef Gusteau. Although the climax does involve a flashback to Anton Ego eating his mother’s cooking, these dad elements pushRatatouilleforward in the ranking.
7.Coco
Miguel’s desire to play music goes against his entire family, especially his grandmother Abeulita, instead of only his father. Yet the original ban on music stemmed from the abandoned of his great-grandmother Coco by her father, making all ofCocoderived from daddy issues. So although Miguel’s adventures in the Land of the Dead show him reconnecting with his great-great-grandfather, this becomes a conduit of a touching scene between an elderly daughter and dad.
