Why Toy Story takes the top spot in our Pixar critics’ ranking

The five films at the top

1. Toy Story (1995): 100% Tomatometer. Its Metascore of 96 puts it ahead of Toy Story 2 in our tie-break. Pixar’s first story about Woody and Buzz follows two rivals learning to work together after being separated from their owner. [2] [4] [14]

2. Toy Story 2 (1999): 100% Tomatometer, with an 88 Metascore. The sequel shifts Woody’s dilemma toward life as a collectible after a toy dealer steals him, while Buzz and the other toys mount a rescue. [3] [5]

3. Finding Nemo (2003): 99% Tomatometer. Marlin’s search for his captured son puts the underwater adventure immediately below the two 100% titles. [6]

4. Inside Out (2015): 98% Tomatometer and a 94 Metascore. Its story turns a child’s emotional upheaval during a family move into a journey through her mind. [7] [8]

5. Toy Story 3 (2010): 98% Tomatometer and a 92 Metascore. With Andy preparing for college, the toys face an uncertain future and an accidental trip to a day-care center. [9] [10]

Why Up falls just outside this five

Up also has a 98% Tomatometer score. Its 88 Metascore places it behind Inside Out and Toy Story 3 under our stated method. That makes this a three-way Rotten Tomatoes tie resolved by a second measure, rather than a Rotten Tomatoes percentage gap. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Rotten Tomatoes’ own Pixar guide lists Toy Story 2 before Toy Story. Our reversal of those two titles comes from the separate Metacritic tie-break, so this should not be described as a reproduction of Rotten Tomatoes’ official numbered list. [1] [4] [5]

A 100% score is not a perfect average rating

The Tomatometer measures the proportion of professional reviews classified as positive. A 100% result means the included reviews are positive; it does not mean every critic awarded the film a perfect numerical grade. The audience Popcornmeter is a different measure and is not used in this ranking. [13]

Metacritic instead assigns scores to selected critics’ reviews and combines them into a weighted average. Using it only for ties creates a transparent editorial rule, not an objective verdict on which film every viewer should prefer. [15]

Our Instagram caption identified October 10, 2026 as its original score-check date. This companion article records a new October 13 check of the same leading films. Scores can change as the services add reviews, so the dates and tie-break belong alongside the ranking rather than disappearing from it. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]