Remembering the Challenger Explosion

     (Originally posted to Another Lover of the Blade.)

     Thursday marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Challenger explosion. I was really surprised(and disappointed) that I couldn't find any TV specials about it. (Scowling particuarly hard in the direction of the History Channel.) This YouTube video archived the live news feed of the explosion. That night, President Ronald Reagan gave the following speech, written by Peggy Noonan. (Emphasis mine.)

  "...Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all the people of our country. This is, truly, a national loss. Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight - we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, and overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gergory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. Wemourn their loss as a nation together. The families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we are thinking of you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge, and I will meet it with joy.' 
     "They had a hunger to explore the universe and to discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us. We've grown used to wonders in this century: it's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States Space Program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we've forgotten that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
     "And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff: I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew were pulling us into the future, and we will continue to follow. 
     "I've always had great faith in, and respect for, our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program, we don't keep secrets and cover things up, we do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change any of it in a minute. We will continue our quest in space; there will be more shuttle flights, and more shuttle crews, and yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here. Our hopes and our journeys continue. 
     "I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and every woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission, and tell them: 'Your dedication and professionalism had moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it.' 
     "There's a coincidence today, on this day 390 years ago the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Canada. In his lifetime, the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He was raised by the sea, lived on the sea, and he was buried by it.' Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew, their dedication was, like Drake's, complete. The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye, and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God."

     This is an amazing speech. The world has gotten so cynical, I'm ashamed to say that I wonder exactly how much of this was heartfelt and how much was acting. But that doesn't matter, because it works either way. It had been a long time since the country had had a disaster of this scale(JFK's death, probably?); and we were hurting. We needed to hear this message, to calm our nerves and assure us the world would keep spinning. The language he used is extremely plain and everyday; even the multisyllable words are common and simple, like "coincidence" and "Challenger". It's easy to understand. And it's comforting. Inspiring, even. (The cynical part of me wonders what are we inspired about, like it does during the Olympics.)
     But that paragraph speaking straight to the kids - that's one of the greatest parts of this speech. Mom was one of those kids watching; I was watching fifteen years later when 9/11 happened. Resgan just explained what happened, like Mr. Rogers advised, and he didn't hide that he didn't understand it all yet, either.
     But as a nation, we mourned. Together. This happened in the aftermath of 9/11, but grief brings people together far closer than anything else does. It's comforting, somehow, particularly in these times we live in now, to realize that it's possible for an entire country to be weeping in response to an event. Maybe that's just because we're constantly at each other's throats about race violence or gay rights or abortion or any of the other things ripping the nation apart right now.
     "They had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge, and I will meet it with joy.'" (Looking at you, Leslie Knope.) That might be one of the most perfect and inspirational epitaphs you could ask for.
     Think about it.
     Don't you want to have someone say that about you when you're gone?
     I just shook my head at the part where he said "we don't keep secrets and cover things up, we do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change any of it in a minute." We don't do that any longer. Maybe we never did. But a lot of things change in thirty years, and a lot of that freedom, that feeling of invincibility, has gotten lost somewhere along the way. And it's really sad.
     That final phrase is amazing. "...and they slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." "Surly" means "ill-humored or ill-tempered" according to my copy of the Webster New American Handy College Dictionary, which is a great way of looking at this life, because it's just so true. And while Dale Hinshaw from Philip Gulley's Harmony novels might be a weirdo who could've come straight from Pawnee, he has good intentions, most of the time. But anyway, he said once that being faced with sickness was bound to turn our thoughts to the eternal. This is especially true in times of massive tragedy like this.

     I don't know, I've always said pop-culturally I belonged to the 80's. So that might have played a part in the solemnity that was the anniversary, why I couldn't concentrate on school. Or maybe it's just my love of history. One of the most amazing sights at the Newseum while on Youth Tour in D.C. June 2011 was the local paper right after the disaster from Christa McAuliffe's hometown. The scale of the event had something to do with it; cell phones and the internet didn't exist yet. But I read somewhere that 85 percent of the country knew what happened within one hour. It just needed to be talked about. 

The front page of the Concord (N.H.) Monitor from Tuesday, January 28, 1986. Concord was the hometown of civilian astronaut Christa McAuliffe, a teacher at the high school.

Modeling Christlikeness in a Sitcom-like Stage Family

    This personal essay was for Topics of Advanced Composition. It scored a 93, and Dr. Dial-Driver just gave me one of those "Really?" looks when I turned in a revised version. That got 100 points.

            Talking about the citizens of Pawnee, Indiana, Parks and Recreation’s Ben Wyatt says at one point, “You know, it’s weird. I’ve been to a lot of towns…usually people don’t care about anything. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re weirdos, but….they’re weirdos that care” (“Time Capsule”). For a while around the Northeastern State University campus, and to a lesser extent the city of Tahlequah or Cherokee County generally, if “the SWAT team” were mentioned, the speaker likely didn’t mean a squad of heavily-armed law enforcement officers. Instead they were talking about the drama ministry of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, which was considered as somewhat of a loose cannon amongst the tight-knit community of BCM outreaches. But we cared about each other. And that was important.

            I was a loner growing up, for the most part. Not that I didn’t like people – it’s more just that I like a small group of specific people, and if someone is able to gain my trust in order to be called a friend, then that trust is nearly indestructible. I had acted in middle school musicals with our homeschool co-op and really enjoyed that, but in general, Oklahoma is rather lacking in acting opportunities. So there was just the occasional murder-mystery, and quoting good TV lines with my siblings. But in general, nothing, which didn’t do much to take my mind off a disastrous freshman year of college or the violent implosion of the sarcastic, witty and creative support group that served as our personal Buffy-type “Scooby Gang” for me and my friends in surviving high school.

            The project known as “Students with a Testimony” began when Samantha Hill transferred to NSU around the spring of 2012 from Carl Albert; their branch of the BCM had a drama ministry primarily used as a tool for evangelization, and Sam wanted to continue that work in and around Tahlequah. She obtained the blessing of NSU BCM directors Bob and Debbie Lipscomb, and then the project was off and running. So she set out to round up some team members through word-of-mouth.

“I pretty much just had to go out on a limb, finding strangers who wanted to be a part of the BCM and say, ‘Hey, are you a Christian? Would you like to share your testimony?’” she said during an interview for an unpublished newspaper article in September 2013. “I was the crazy girl that everyone saw coming and, believe me, they’d run the other way, because they knew exactly what I was wanting to recruit them for.”

Sam tried to recruit me to immediately join the team when I came to Tahlequah in fall 2012, but I declined, since I thought I had better focus solely on schoolwork until I was more adapted to campus culture. Besides, I was more involved at the time with Campus Christian Fellowship, another ministry which has (though no one on either side wants to actually admit it) a fierce rivalry with the BCM. She got about a dozen people to sign up, though; and they performed a handful of shows in churches of various sizes, interspersing testimonies and Scripture with music and comedy sketches.

      Through a mix of gentle pestering by Sam throughout the year and knowing several other people who attended the BCM regularly, together with realizing that CCF wasn’t at all a place where I could grow spiritually, I started going to the Monday-night worship service, and gradually discovered that this was a good organization to be a part of. When fall 2013 started up and the SWAT sign-ups were passed around, I figured that I ought to dive deeper into helping out. It had been forever since I’d acted in anything, and besides, it was a ministry opportunity. The team was made up of mostly new faces this time around, with Haley Ritter co-leading the group with Sam for a semester.

     “I actually heard about SWAT when I first met Sam and Haley, they were telling me about it, and it seemed like a really, really cool way to do ministry,” said Elizabeth Hodge in an interview from September 2013. “I’ve been involved in theater most of my life, but never have done any kind of ministry like this before. It’s a really cool way to spread the Gospel, because you don’t have to go five thousand miles away and spend five thousand dollars.”

     Once we’d gotten the sketches memorized, life quickly turned into something of a sitcom: Friends was blended into Full House and the sketch comedy group Studio C, and then that combination was added to the YouTube series Messy Mondays, as I put it in a blog post simply titled “SWAT.” But we really did become like family. Sam was the mom of the group, Haley the drill-sergeant aunt. And together, they kept things running with a mix of strictness and sweetness. Jacob was the cool older cousin, while Elizabeth, Susan and I were like siblings. Neighbors included the spacey janitor James, four-wheeling Becca, obnoxious Scott (everyone hated him), couple Skylar and Ja Li Si (we gave them a hard time, of course), while Caleb and Holly were always sort of hanging out in the corner. New additions to the cast several weeks in were TJ, serving as the fiery deadpan snarker in addition to doing voiceovers, while Justin turned out to be a jack-of-all-trades, doing everything from locating churches to running sound equipment and acting.

     There were a lot of coffee runs to McDonald’s when someone had a lot on their mind –

“Random coffee runs late at night make for a gem of a night,” Elizabeth tweeted once – and there was entertaining improvisation out of necessity, and malapropisms galore (well-chronicled in my video “SWAT Blooper Reel”). Road trips to and from shows were also very…interesting, to say the least. As Elizabeth said, “The basic theme of all our road trips is, like once we get there, you ask: ‘…But did we die?’ And that sums up everything perfectly.” For example, there was that night we went looking for the invisible church in Sallisaw.

     Having put together a silent project to go with the Lifehouse song “Everything” for a charity fundraiser/talent show, we were invited to perform it at a revival at Deliverance Baptist the next week. We didn’t usually do shows on Wednesday nights unless it was a special occasion, and this definitely counted. Thing was, though, we’d lost several key props between performances, since it was supposed to be a one-time thing. And several people were late, adding to the tension. So we nervously played ping pong to pass the time, then split up, one group racing to Wal-Mart for glass-bottled root beer, the other group flying to Dollar Tree for play-food money. We got to Sallisaw with a half hour to spare, more than enough time to find the church…..except that none of us can find it on our phones’ maps. We did find three other churches, which all turned out to be the wrong ones. So we finally talk Jacob into calling the pastor, where he’s given directions which sound straightforward enough: “At Wal-Mart, turn right onto Maple and then drive a ways, and then another right.” Maple is located, but it leads to a really sketchy-looking neighborhood….and none of us (ten people in three vehicles) had ever been to this city before, so we were completely lost. And by now it was pouring down rain. Susan and I ask for directions from some terrified construction workers at the Assembly of God, which turns out to be another dead end. (Also, we realized once we got back in the car that she was already in costume as Death.) We get a lead on another place it might be, which takes us several miles out of town and past three burned-out buildings which were at one point churches. The search has now taken an hour and fifteen minutes, all five occupants of our car vote for giving up and finding dinner. We relay this information back to the other two cars, and then eat and drive back home to Tahlequah, crying in frustration yet knowing the situation was hilarious. . This experience was recapped in far more detail in my blog post “Getting Lost.”

     Weather slowed the beginning of our spring semester’s schedule, but the execution of the performances was greatly improved, due in part to the addition of Drew and Ashleigh as tech crew and about a quarter of the cast dropping out. We banded together often to cover roles whenever necessary, and strengthened connections with the other BCM ministries, as the more musical of us joined the worship band. Organization-wide lunch hangouts were a staple of Friday afternoons, and watch parties during Thunder games caused much screaming and strangling of pillows. The overall atmosphere was much like working in Pawnee’s Parks Department, and when you enjoy your coworkers, coming in every day is awesome. Most of us spent nearly every nonclass moment in either the BCM’s basement, living room or office. Special SWAT events included Christmas caroling at a senior citizens’ center - three days before Thanksgiving - a birthday party picnic, and a game night featuring intense rounds of Catchphrase and Apples to Apples. An elderly pastor in Muskogee even gave a handful of us marriage advice after the show one night. (”If you live long enough to say ‘Yes, dear,’ you’ll live to learn everything else.”) Pretty good advice.

      After Sam and her husband moved once she graduated, the way everyone planned the leadership transition to take place was for Susan to take over the reins the next year, with me taking the second-in-command role which Haley had filled. But there were a lot of family problems at home, which meant that I had to leave for a semester in order to help out. Susan’s theater duties kept her too stressed to run SWAT properly, so it was absorbed into the worship band, where it limped along for the rest of the year before apparently being shut down sometime in spring 2015. And by then transfers happened – Skylar and I came to RSU, Elizabeth went to NSUBA, Caleb to Southwest Baptist, etc. And life happened, too – Justin and Ashleigh fell in love almost immediately, and their wedding will be held in a couple months. Jacob is engaged now, and Haley got married. Ja Li Si became Miss Cherokee last year, and began dating Sam’s brother. Graduations will begin proceeding in a couple months.

     We weren’t that successful at evangelizing, but we did do well at encouraging those who needed it – whether that was audience members, relatives, friends or castmates – through the spiritual valleys, discouragements, breakups, general insecurity and school panic of this life. We were a team, which doesn’t come up very often. You don’t really get that Parks and Rec vibe in real life very often. And when you do….that ought to be treasured. “A team isn’t a bunch of kids out to win; a team is something you belong to. Something you feel. Something you have to earn,” Gordon Bombay said in The Mighty Ducks. We earned that, and you don’t let those ties fall slack. So we still keep in touch, and have mini-reunions whenever possible. I may be allergic to college, but SWAT has definitely been one of the highlights.

Works Cited

Coburn, Wesley. “Getting Lost”. Blog post. Another Lover of the Blade. Blogger. 21 November 2013. Web. 17 January 2016.

--------------------. “SWAT”. Blog post. Another Lover of the Blade. Blogger. 9 November 2013. Web. 17 January 2016. 

-------------------. “SWAT Blooper Reel”. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube. 29 December 2014. Web. 17 January 2015.

Hill, Samantha. Personal interview. 9 September 2013.

Hodge, Elizabeth. Personal interview. 9 September 2013.

------------------ (HodgepodgeEH). “Random coffee outings late at night make for a gem of a night.” 7 March 2014. Tweet.

The Mighty Ducks. 1992. Dir. Stephen Herek. Buena Vista Pictures, 1992. DVD.

“Time Capsule”. Parks and Recreation: Season Three. Writ. Michael Schur. Dir. Michael Schur. NBCUniversal Television Distribution. 2011. DVD.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

      May as well review The Force Awakens, since I can't think of anything else to write about. Also, because Star Wars is pretty much the pop culture version of the Super Bowl. And besides, it seems like the whole world's seen episode seven by now, so it's not like I'm spoiling anything.

     Unfortunately, all that post-movie history, which was explained at length in a ton of novels, no longer exists. So Luke was never cloned, he never got married to an assassin named Mara Jade, the remnants of Imperial and Rebel forces never had to team up to fight off a massive takeover attempt by a bunch of aliens, and Han and Leia never got to explore the Millennium Falcon's history with their granddaughter. Lots of other stuff happened, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head. Anyway, none of that ever happened. Although technically the folks at Disney said that it did "in an alternate universe", which is a lame excuse. But basically we have to start from scratch now.

     It's been thirty years since Return of the Jedi. The Empire has fallen apart after the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, and a group called the First Order has picked up the biggest part of their scraps. The New Republic apparently disbanded its army, so a group of dissidents are known as the Resistance, and they're facing off against the First Order.

     On a desert planet called Jakku, an old man gives a trinket to an X-wing pilot named Poe Dameron, who feeds the trinket into his soccer-ball-like astromech droid BB-8 before a bunch of Stormtroopers arrive and massacre everyone in the town. (This trinket turns out to be a slice of a treasure map.) Those Stormtroopers are under the command of a guy named Kylo Ren, who can Force-freeze blaster bolts and read people's minds. Ren captures Poe, BB-8 escapes into the wilderness(have we seen that before?), and one Stormtrooper can't bring himself to murder innocent people, as indicating by frowning at his blaster rifle. (They can hit things now.)
      BB-8 is captured by a desert scavenger(it seems to be the sole occupation on the planet, as it's basically a junkyard) before being rescued by a girl named Rey, who grouchily agrees to take the droid into town the next day. She's very used to taking care of herself, living alone in the hulk of an old AT-AT(those elephant things used during the Battle of Hoth in Empire Strikes Back). She probably would like to leave, but doesn't mention anything about it directly. Everybody in town wants the working droid, but she decides to keep it, which leads to the food trader calling someone to alert them that there's this droid here that everyone in this corner of the galaxy is apparently searching for.
     That one Stormtrooper, FN-2187, defects and rescues Poe, and they steal a TIE fighter, crash-landing on Jakku after getting shot. (Poe was looking for BB-8, who is now with Rey.) She beats him up when they meet, thinking he was a thief, but he explains that there was a wreck and Poe didn't make it, and so that's why he is wearing Poe's jacket. This leads Rey to think that he is a Resistance fighter. Right about then a bunch of TIE fighters come blazing into town looking for the droid, and so they all bolt towards a ship to get away. (She's a natural pilot and mechanic.) The ship they were going for is blown up, so they redirect and steal "a piece of garbage" from the food trader. This "piece of garbage" is an ugly Corellian YT freighter that hasn't flown in years. (That model sounds familiar!)
     Rey pilots masterfully away from her pursuers during a chase, where she manages to allow Finn to shoot most of those chasing them, and they go into deep space....where they're captured by a much larger ship's tractor beam. So they hide, naturally. But when these new invaders arrive, they turn out to be friendly: Han Solo and Chewbacca. As Han says, "Chewie - we're home." They have a brief encounter with Rey and Finn, Rey explaining that she stole the ship from the guy who stole it from someone who stole it from somebody else - "That guy was me!" Han complains. Anyway, now it's backstory time; they explain that they're trying to get BB-8 back to the Resistance, and that sounds like as good a venture as any. So sure they'll help. Han reveals that the legends were true. the Jedi did exist, and he was the same Han Solo who fought with the Rebellion and knew Luke Skywalker before he disappeared, due to a student falling to the Dark Side. (Apparently the last cargo Han was hauling before the Falcon was stolen was a pack of rathtars, terrifying octopus-like things, and they have stayed alive somehow for all that time the Falcon was parked. Either that, or they were on the much larger ship Han anhed Chewie were piloting.)
     Anyway, two separate gangs show up to cause trouble for Han, only to be dispatched through a mix of blaster and bowcaster fire and getting eaten up by the rathtars. Those gangs were going to try to get a First Order bounty on BB-8 while they were at it.
     Han decides to head to visit one of his old smuggling contacts, an ancient lady named Maz Kanata who runs a gathering spot bar on a very green planet called Tokodana. (Maz is about a thousand years old. And on entering the planet's atmosphere, Rey comments that she "had no idea that there was this much green in the entire galaxy." Han looks guilty.) Anyway, Rey finds an old lightsaber and picks it up, only to have a bewildering dream sequence/flashback. She is scared and runs into the woods. Someone in the bar has alerted the First Order to BB-8's presence, and so a bunch of Stormtroopers crash the place.
     Kylo Ren is there, too; and he has some serious anger issues. Or something. Anyway, he flipped out when he heard that there was a girl with the droid, and so he's on Tokodana to capture her. (He does, by using his jagged growling lightsaber for emphasis.) The First Order uses their new Starkiller Base(which is a Death Star built into the core of a planet) to evaporate much of the New Republic system. And Supreme Leader Snoke has told Kylo Ren that he must kill his father to complete his training. Poe's squadron of X-wings saves Han, Chewie, Finn and BB-8, and escorts them to the Resistance base.
     At the Resistance base, a raid is commissioned to attack the possible weak spot in the design, which means the X-wings have to fly down narrow channels again on a bombing run. And Han, Chewie and Finn have to go inside the base to disarm things so that it will explode properly at the end. But before all that, Han and Leia have a terrific reunion, and we learn for sure what we already knew; that Kylo Ren is their son, and he was the one responsible for wrecking Luke's school.
     Back on the Starkiller Base, Rey and Kylo frown at each other a lot as they try to out-stubborn the other. Rey has just realized that she can use the Force, and she mind-tricks a random Stormtrooper into letting her escape. Lots of wandering through hallways occurs here, which chews up a lot of time. Anyway, she runs into everyone else(literally), and Han confronts Kylo, calling him by his birth name, Ben. Chewie, Finn and Rey can only watch in horror as Kylo murders Han; Chewie blows some stuff up as a way to express his grief(and also finish the mission for why they were all there in the first place). Chewie also shoots Kylo for good measure.
     Kylo chases Rey and Finn into the snowy woods outside the Starkiller entrance, and Finn has his spine all slashed up, since he has no training in lightsaber dueling. Rey draws with Kylo, and everyone survives the planet's explosion.
     R2-D2 conveniently wakes up from a coma to deliver the rest of BB-8's map, where Rey travels to a watery island, finds Luke Skywalker, and silently holds out his lightsaber.

     It's Star Wars. There are a ton of plot holes and maddeningly poor dialogue throughout, and everyone knows far too much about what's going on all the time. But somehow you can overlook that for the most part. Harrison Ford is amazing, and Carrie Fisher did a great job, too. And Daisy Ridley was pretty good. I didn't love the movie like Mom, Dad or Courtney did, but it was enjoyable. (Really, basically the entire world loved it.)
     And also, this was the start of a new trilogy, so there will be a lot explained in Episodes VIII and IX.

Pixar's Greatest - As of June 2015

     With Inside Out joining the Pixar Movie Club, they all must be obsessively rearranged and reranked in color-coded binders to fully appreciate the brilliance and hard work of the folks who work there. (Leslie Knope moment there....but hey, Joy is voiced by Amy Poehler. And besides, Leslie would love that movie. Even Ron would probably like it, though he wouldn't say so.)

     Toy Story became the world's first all-computer-animation feature-length film on November 22, 1995, which was followed on November 25, 1998, by A Bug's Life, with Toy Story 2 coming out November 24, 1999. The first Pixar movie of the 21st century was Monsters, Inc, which opened November 2, 2001; and audiences went to Australia for Finding Nemo on May 30, 2003. The Incredibles were introduced to the world on November 5, 2004, a trip down Route 66 was taken with the cast of Cars, release date June 9, 2006. France was the setting for June 29, 2007's Ratatouille, and the future in WALL-E, released June 27, 2008. Up proved one of their most wonderfully-heartwrenching stories yet on my 16th birthday, May 29, 2009. The movie my generation of high school and college students waited most of our lives to see was Toy Story 3, which proved just right once it hit theaters on June 18, 2010. Cars 2 was looked at as the company's first big flop, appearing June 24, 2011. Brave was another flop from June 22, 2012, and the first prequel was introduced on June 21, 2013 as audiences were enrolled at Monsters University. Finally, Inside Out has just opened on June 19, 2015.  

Toy Story 
     Plot Summary - Andy Davis's toys are special; they come alive when no humans are around. It's the day of Andy's sixth birthday party, held a week early because of the upcoming move, and so he'x helping his mom get the last details fixed up. While he's doing that, we're introduced to the toys of Andy's room, led by Woody the cowboy doll, Slinky Dog, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm the piggy bank, Rex the dinosaur and Bo Peep the china shepherdess. Their job is "to be there for Andy when he needs us". With everyone flipping out over the birthday party being moved up(and scared that Andy might get a new toy to replace them), Woody sends the army men downstairs to spy on the new presents. And one of those new toys that he gets is....a brand-new Buzz Lightyear space ranger action figure. (Complete with laser, wings and karate-chop action!)
     Buzz soon takes over Woody's spot on the bed as Andy's NEW Favorite Toy, and even worse, everybody else likes him! Hearing that there's a trip to Pizza Planet being planned, and that Andy can take one toy, Woody tries to knock Buzz behind the dresser, but sends him flying out the second-story window instead. The other toys take Buzz's side even more strongly than before, seeing Woody as a murderer. At a Dinoco stop for gas, Buzz reveals that he's still alive and rode on the back bumper; he and Woody get into a fistfight, which results in them falling out of the car and getting left as lost toys. And Buzz is still convinced that he is a real space ranger. However; they spot a beat-up Toyota pickup truck driven by a Pizza Planet delivery boy, and they hitch a ride. Once they get to Pizza Planet, they still have to sneak inside and jump into Molly's stroller...but then Buzz sees a claw machine shaped like a rocket and jumps in to get a ride "home". Woody has to leap in as well to rescue him from the claw-worshiping aliens, and at that moment Andy's awful neighbor Sid Phillips plays the machine and grabs them both, taking them to (gulp) his house. (Sid blows up toy soldiers. Just for FUN!)
     After a miserable night hiding from Sid's mutant toys, Buzz discovers that he's a toy, from a TV commercial, and then tries to prove that he can fly. He can't. And it's so incredibly sad. His arm breaks off, and he's rescued(sort of...) by Sid's sister Hannah, who makes him play tea party with her dolls. Woody finds an extremely drunk and depressed Buzz, pulls him back to Sid's room, and tries to fool the rest of Andy's toys that he and Buzz are friends now. He accidentally reveals that Buzz's arm is dismembered, which ends hope of any chance of being saved. Rex throws up, and even Bo Peep and Slinky give up. With no one else to turn to, Woody and Buzz patch up their differences and start working together; and the mutant toys repair his severed arm. But then Sid comes in and decides that he may as well send a spaceman into orbit with his new mega-firework rocket. So he duct-tapes the rocket to Buzz; and Woody enlists the help of Sid's toys to teach him a lesson and help himself and Buzz escape. It works - barely - but they miss the moving van. So they have to chase it down and grab RC to catch up, with some heroics from Slinky. It doesn't quite work, though; and RC's batteries run dead. They remember Sid's rocket still strapped to Buzz's back; miss the moving van completely, and drop into Andy's mom's car, where he finds them again. Everything ends happily ever after. Cut to Christmastime, and things are going well. "Buzz, what could possibly be worse than you?" Woody jokes. Just then, over the radio....Andy yells "Oh, boy! A PUPPY!"
     My Thoughts - THIS MOVIE IS AMAZING. That's all. I'll never get this post finished if I say anything more at the moment. It's just a masterpiece of storytelling with brilliant characters.
     Quotable Quotes - "Reach for the sky!" - Woody.
     "Stop it, stop it you mean old potato!" - Andy as Bo Peep, to Mr. Potato Head(as Black Bart).
     "You're going to jail, pard. Say goodbye to the wife and tater tots." - Andy as Woody, dumping Mr. Potato Head into Molly's crib.
     "Ages 3 and up, it's on my box. Ages 3 and up. I'm not supposed to be babysitting Princess Drool." - Mr. Potato Head.
     (Molly has just took Mr. Potato Head apart; he's hastily reassembled his face.) "Hey, look, I'm Picasso!" "Eh...I don't get it," Hamm shakes his head, walking past. "You uncultured swine!" Potato Head yells. "What're you lookin' at, ya hockey puck?"
     "RAWWWRRRR!!!" "How you doing, Rex." - Woody. "Were you scared? Tell me honestly." "I was close to being scared that time." "I'm going for fearsome here, but I don't feel it. I think I'm just coming off as annoying..."
     "I am Buzz Lightyear. I come in peace." "Oh, I'm so glad you're not a dinosaur!" - Rex.
     "Are you still using fossil fuels, or have you discovered crystallic fusion?" - Buzz. "Uh, well...let's see...we've got double-A's." - Woody.
     "All right, that's enough. Look, we're very impressed with Andy's new toy." - Woody. "Toy?" - Buzz. "T-O-Y. Toy!" "Excuse me, but I think the word you're searching for is 'space ranger'." "The word I'm searching for, I can't say, because there are preschool toys present."
     "Hey, look, a laser! How come you don't have a laser, Woody?" - Mr. Potato Head. "It's not a laser! It's a...it's a little light bulb that blinks!" "What's with him?" - Hamm. "Laser envy." - PH.
     "To infinity...and beyond!" - Buzz.
     "That...that wasn't flying! That was...falling with style." - Woody.
     "That's Mister Potato Head to you, ya back-stabbin' murderer."
     "I just wanted you to know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on my planet." "Oh. Well. That's good." "But we're not on my planet, are we?" "No." (Buzz punches Woody.)
     "Sheriff, this is no time to panic." - Buzz. "This is the perfect time to panic!"
     (Woody's trying to convince Buzz to leap into Molly's stroller.) "It's a special spaceship. I just saw it." "You mean it has hyperdrive?" "Hyperactive hyperdrive. And Astro....uh, Turf."
     "I've set my laser from 'stun' to 'kill'." - Buzz. "Oh, great. If anybody tries to attack us we can just blink 'em to death." - Woody.
     "Wait a minute....I just lit a rocket. ROCKETS EXPLODE!" - Woody.
     "Hey, Buzz! You're flying!" - Woody. "This isn't flying! This is falling! With style." "To infinity, and beyond!" (Woody laughs gleefully, then looks down.) "Uh, Buzz? We missed the truck!" "We're not aiming for the truck!"

A Bug's Life
     Plot Summary - There's this ant colony that's in a bad situation, you see. This biker gang of grasshoppers, led by Hopper and his brother Molt, take all the food the ants have harvested each summer. It's sort of an extortion plot. And one of these ants, a klutzy eccentric inventor named Flik who kind of lives in his own world, accidentally destroyed the entire summer's harvest. Hopper demands twice as much food to make up the difference; and the Queen, her advisers and Princess Atta worry about what to do. Flik's volunteers to go on a rescue mission to recruit a band of warrior bugs to fight off the grasshoppers, and the rulers see this as a perfect opportunity to get him to leave. So Flik sets off for the big city, his friend Dot watching him leave. (She's Atta's little sister.)
     Meanwhile, P.T. Flea's circus troupe has just finished another miserable show(and been fired), and they're drowning their frustrations at the local bar. They're antagonized by a couple of jerks from the audience that night, still harassing everyone. During the tussle that follows, Flik mistakes the actors for warrior bugs, and since they're desperate for work, they accept his offer, thinking Flik was a talent agent. Neither side realizes that they misunderstood the agreement. By the time the troupe goes to Ant Island with Flik, they've all realized the truth, but the rest of the ants haven't, so....it's still a bad situation. Flik tries to sneak out of town with them, but a bird almost eats Dot, who's trying to fly a dandelion-hot-air-balloon like Flik - They rescue her, and that turns the ants into believing that the actors are real heroes, which further complicates things...
     That encounter inspires Flik to build a fake bird decoy to terrify Hopper away, since birds are his only known weakness. During a celebration party for finishing the bird, P.T. Flea shows up to rehire his former employees, and the ants find out the truth. Flik is banished for good this time; and the grasshoppers arrive, find the meager collection of food, and forcefully take over the colony. Hopper tells Molt that he plans to squeeze the Queen's head in; which Dot overhears and she goes chasing down the circus group, reminding Flik of an inspiring conversation about imagination and creativity that they had earlier. The bugs come back, that they try to use the decoy bird, but P.T. Flea also thinks it's real and sets it on fire. Hopper nearly beats Flik to death after the ant stood up to him, but then it starts raining, and things get really chaotic here. Hopper is tricked into being eaten by a real bird, and sometime later the circus promises to return next year; Molt has joined them. Atta takes the throne, she and Flik are a couple, and his inventions are in widespread use throughout the colony.
     My Thoughts - This one is overlooked for some reason. But it's one of their best, in my opinion. I've always really loved it. The animation is so great, and it's so interesting to see the world from an insect's perspective. It emphasizes the importance of creativity and thinking outside the box. The characters are really well-developed. Plus Hopper is a very frightening villain.
     Quotable Quotes - (Flik's trying to encourage Dot, who's having trouble with flying.) "Here. Pretend - pretend it's a seed, okay?" - Flik, handing rock to Dot. "It's a rock," she answers, pointing out the obvious. "Oh, I know it's a rock. But let's just pretend for a minute that it's a seed, all right? We'll just use our imaginations. Now, do you see that tree? Everything that made that giant tree is already contained inside that tiny little seed. All it needs is some time, a little bit of sunshine and rain, and voila!" "This rock will be a tree?" "Seed to tree - you've gotta work with me, all right? Okay. Now, you might not feel like you can do much now, but that's just because, well, you're not a tree yet. You've just got to give yourself some time. You're still a seed." "But it's a rock." "I KNOW IT'S A ROCK! Don't you think I know a rock when I see a rock? I've spent a lot of time around rocks!" (Dot giggles.) "You're weird. But I like you."
     "First rule of leadership: Everything is your fault." - Hopper to Princess Atta.
     "What's the point in going out there? They'll only laugh at me." - Slim asks. "That's because you're a clown!" - P.T. Flea snaps. "No, it's because I'm a prop. You always cast me as the broom, the pole, the stick...a splinter..." "You're a walkingstick! It's funny!"
     "My dad says he gives you one hour before you come back to the island crying." - One of Dot's friends. "Does he now?" - Flik. "My dad doesn't think that." - Another Friend. "He doesn't, huh?" "Nah. He's betting you're gonna die."
     "Okay, everybody. Come on now. Break a leg." - Rosie. "Whoa...you're vicious!" - Flik says admiringly, completely not getting it
     "Oh! Look at all the....beautiful....colors of the blood..." - Rosie manages to say, looking at the Blueberries' mural of the "warrior bugs" massacring the grasshoppers.
     "...and so that's how my twelfth husband died. So now I'm a widow. I mean, I've always been a black widow, but now I'm a black widow widow." - Rosie to an ant at the bird-reveal party.
     "I swear, if I hadn't promised Mother on her deathbed that I wouldn't kill you, I would kill you..." - Hopper to Molt.
     (Dot grabs a rock and drops it in Flik's lap.) "Pretend it's a seed, okay?" (He smiles.) "Thanks, Dot." "Hey. what's with the rock?" - Francis whispers to Slim, confused. "Must be an ant thing." Slim shrugs.
     (The circus bugs elegantly present the ants with a rock before leaving.) "What's with the rock?" - One ant whispers to another. He shrugs. "Must be a circus thing."

Toy Story 2 
     Plot Summary - Andy's all set for Cowboy Camp with Woody, but just before it's time to leave, Woody's arm rips, so he has to stay home. Rex has been spending his time establishing himself as the best of the toys at the "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" SNES video game. Mom's holding a garage sale, and while saving a toy from being sold, Woody gets kidnapped by a collector named Al. (Who drives a car which looks remarkably like Flo... Also, he's the owner of the Al's Toy Barn franchise.) Buzz, Slinky, Rex, Mr. Potato Head and Hamm all go on a rescue mission to save Woody.
     From new acquaintances Jessie, Bullseye and the Prospector, Woody learns that he is a valuable collectible, star of the 1950's TV show Woody's Roundup. Now that they're a complete set, they'll be sent off to a museum in Japan. On hearing this, Woody wants out as fast as possible, which Jessie hates, because if he leaves, they'll just go back into storage. Woody's arm comes off completely, so he's forced to spend the night in Al's apartment.
     The next day, Jessie shares her story of being abandoned by her girl, Emily; and the Prospector convinces Woody that Andy will cast him aside, too. The rescue party has made it to Al's Toy Barn, where they encounter a less-than-helpful pair of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, and a helpful Tour Guide Barbie. Also, Buzz gets into a fight with a newer, even more deluded version of himself. This new Buzz imprisons Buzz in a cardboard box-spaceship, while New Buzz joins the others as they go to Al's apartment. Buzz eventually escapes and follows, but inadvertently releases a Zurg action figure, which follows Buzz in order to destroy him. After they all find Woody and the Roundup Gang, there's a bit of a mix-up as everyone tries to figure out who the real Buzz is. Buzz repeats the "toy's true purpose" speech to Woody, who initially rejects it, but then changes his mind. Prospector blocks his way out; determined to last forever in the museum since he was never taken out of his box. Al shows up and packs everyone up as he rushes to the airport, and Andy's toys follow, intent on rescuing them. Along the way, Rex finally defeats Zurg, purely by clumsiness. Anyway, they steal the Pizza Planet truck and chase after Al, freeing Woody and the rest while in a maze at the baggage area. The Prospector tries to tear Woody to shreds, but is foiled by Slinky, Rex, Hamm and Mr. Potato Head, who blind him with some high-end camera equipment they found. Jessie is put onto the plane heading for Tokyo, so Woody and Buzz ride Bullseye to save her; and then everybody piles into a baggage cart and drive it back to Andy's house, just as he's getting back from Cowboy Camp.   
      My Thoughts - This one really grows on you, especially since the trilogy was completed eleven years later. In my opinion it's still typically overrated, but it's still very good. Lots of entertaining one-liners, and some big stuff to think about, too.
     Quotable Quotes - "Don't worry, Woody. In just a few hours, you and Andy'll be sitting 'round a campfire, eating delicious hot schmoes." "They're called s'mores, Buzz..."
     "Hey, how do you spell 'FBI'?" - Rex.
     "I may not be a smart dog, but I know what roadkill is." - Slinky.
     "This is for Woody, when you find him." - Bo Peep gives Buzz a long kiss. He coughs uncomfortably. "Um....okay. But it won't be the same coming from me..."
     "We've been down this aisle already!" - Slinky. "We're haven't been down this aisle yet! It's pink!" - PH. "Face it. We're lost." - Slinky.
     "I say we stack ourselves up, push the intercom and pretend we're delivering a pizza." - Mr. Potato Head. "How about a ham sandwich? With fries and a hot dog?" - Hamm. "What about me?" - Rex. "Eh, you can be the toy that comes with the meal." - Hamm.
     "Somewhere in that pad of stuffing is a toy who taught me that life's only worth living if you're being loved by a kid. And I traveled all this way to rescue that toy because I believed him." - Buzz.
     "You're right, Prospector....I can't stop Andy from growing up. But I wouldn't miss it for the world." - Woody.
     (Hamm reading the driver's manual for the truck.) "I seriously doubt he's getting this kind of mileage."

Monsters, Inc. 
     Plot Summary - Sulley's the top scarer at Monsters, Inc. Mike's his assistant, best friend and roommate. In Monstropolis, electricity is generated by children's screams, so it's vital that someone goes in there and collects those screams, by scaring them. But here's the thing: Children are toxic. Other important details to know: Sulley and Mike's main rivals are Randall and Fungus, Mike's dating Celia the receptionist, Sulley's been named Employee of the Month for the past four months in a row, children are becoming harder to scare, and Mike's constantly being threatened by Roz the clerk for turning in paperwork late.  
     One night, Sulley discovers that Randall has been working overtime, accidentally leaving a door activated. And a little girl walked through the door! After trying to put her back in her world, he gives up and puts her in a bag, hiding while Randall comes back and stores the door again. Sulley then crashes Mike's date with Celia, and the little girl gets loose, causing a panic. They get the girl to their apartment, find out she isn't toxic, and her laughter causes a power surge throughout the entire building. Sulley names the girl "Boo", much to Mike's frustration. The next morning, Mike tries to get her back through her door, which doesn't work. Randall then tries to kidnap Boo, capturing Mike instead.
     Randall puts Mike in his torture machine in the factory's basement, only to be foiled by Sulley unplugging it. Sulley then reports Randall to Mr. Waternoose, who's working with Randall on an underhanded diabolical plan to boost production at all costs. Waternoose banishes them to the Himalayas, where they run into their old mailroom-coworker the Abominable Snowman. He points them towards the nearest village, where Sulley and Mike barge back into their world. Sulley rescues Boo from the Scream Extractor, too.
     A high-speed world-hopping chase occurs here; with Mike, Sulley and Boo avoiding not only Randall and Fungus, but also the agents of the Child Detection Agency. Randall is eventually trapped in a doublewide trailer in the Deep South; beaten up as an alligator. Boo is returned to her room, but her door is put through the shredder, and Waternoose is arrested by the CDA agents after revealing his role in masterminding the illegal energy-harvesting plot. Sulley becomes the new CEO of the company, and realizes that laughter is ten times more powerful than scream, has completely reorganized the company, with Mike now one of the top performers. Mike has secretly rebuilt Boo's door as a surprise for Sulley; and the movie ends with them reuniting.
     My Thoughts - Okay....this movie as good music, and I love the detail of the monsters' alternate world, but the pace is way too rushed. That's my complaint with this movie.
     Quotable Quotes - Mostly just wonderful Billy Crystal one-liners in response to something somebody else said. When written out, they lose something.
     "One of these days, I am really gonna...let you teach that guy a lesson." - Mike to Sulley, about Randall.
     "I'm sorry, Wazowski, but Randall said I'm not allowed to fraternize with victims of his evil plot." - Fungus.
     "I think I have a plan here. Using mainly spoons, we dig a tunnel under the city and release it(Boo) into the wild." - Mike. "...Spoons?" - Sulley. "That's it! I'm out of ideas! We're closed. Hot air balloon? Too expensive. Giant slingshot? Too conspicuous. Enormous wooden horse? Too Greek!"

Finding Nemo
     Plot Summary - A severely overprotective clownfish named Marlin is anxiously shuttling his disabled son Nemo off to school for the first time. They live in the Great Barrier Reef. On a field trip, Nemo is picked up by a scuba-diver, leading to a panicked Marlin giving chase. Along the way he meets a blue tang named Dory who suffers from severe short-term memory loss. She agrees to help Marlin search for...whatever his son's name is - Elmo. Along their search, the duo meets a group of friendly sharks trying to kick their fish-eating addictions, they're nearly killed by a smack of jellyfish, and they run into some cool surfer sea turtles. Nemo is placed inside a fish tank in a dentist's office in Sydney, which his new tankmates quickly break him out of. After a lot of minutes later, Marlin and Nemo are reunited, and Dory now lives nearby.
     My Thoughts - Not a huge fan of this one...the message is aimed at adults, and the action is for kids. Doesn't quite hit either audience. The Australian accents are cool, though.
     Quotable Quotes - "Just keep swimming....just keep swimming....just keep swimming..." - Dory.
     "SHARKBAIT. OOH HA HA." - the Tank Gang. (This works as a pretty good volleyball rally cry, too.)
     "P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!" - Dory.
   
The Incredibles
     Plot Summary - In the 1950's, superheroes are forced to relocate and give up crime-fighting due to massive lawsuits by people and companies caught up in the wreckage caused by their battles with supervillains. Because of this, they're forced into a witness-protection-type program. And also, using their powers is illegal. So Bob(Mr. Incredible) and Helen(Elastigirl) Parr are forced to raise their kids Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack (mostly) as ordinary humans...which includes teaching the kids not to use their powers(Hers, invisibility and force fields, his, super-speed. Nobody knows if Jack-Jack has any.) Bob works in an insurance office, Helen is a homemaker, Dash is super-bored with school, his pranks threatening to blow their cover, and Violet is a serious wallflower. Despite it being illegal, Bob and his friend Lucius(Frozone) Best sometimes do vigilante work in order to feel like they're doing something. 
     Bob gets fired from his job, and on coming home he gets a message from someone named Mirage, who gives him a mission as Mr. Incredible to destroy a robot called the Omnidroid on Nomanisan Island. Although his skills are a bit rusty, he tricks the robot into ripping out its power source. Mirage promises that she'll find him more work, and he gets back into shape and just acts really....different. He gets costume designer E to patch up a tear in his super-suit, and she makes matching new sets for the whole family. Once on the island, he discovers that Mirage is working for Buddy Pine, who was his biggest fan, but that he blew off, which motivated Buddy to become the supervillain Syndrome, who murdered a whole lot of other superheroes waiting for revenge on Mr. Incredible. And also, to make the term "super" meaningless because everyone can have superpowers.
     Helen gets suspicious of Bob's weird behavior and visits E, who tells her about Bob's superheroing and shows her the new suits. She decides to chase after him, and the kids stow away for the ride, leaving Jack-Jack with ditzy babysitter Kari.  Syndrome captures Bob. After crash-landing their jet, Helen finds Bob and rescues him with Mirage's help, while Violet and Dash fight off a variety of guards. Bob and Helen find the kids, and then Syndrome recaptures them all, heading off to Metroville to start his plan to eliminate all superheroes. Mirage helps them all escape again, and the Parrs head for Metroville in an old RV(powered by a spare rocket Syndrome had laying around).
     The Omnidroid is too intelligent to control, and so it almost kills Syndrome before he runs away, while the Incredibles and Frozone eventually defeat it. Syndrome captured Jack-Jack while they were busy, intending to use him as a sidekick to get further revenge on the Parrs, but Jack-Jack's shapeshifting powers kick in, and Syndrome is chewed up a car motor after his cape gets caught in the machinery. Several months later, Dash has finally convinced Helen to let him run track, and Violet gets asked out on a date by a guy at school. Meanwhile a new villain called the Underminer shows up, prompting the family of supers to jump back into action.
     My Thoughts - The superhero parodying is kind of funny, and the spy-ish tone at times is neat, but this is not one of the better Pixar films, in my opinion.Which is kinda strange, since I love superheroes, but, yeah... The family dynamics are really good, though.
     Quotable Quotes - "No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess. Can't we keep it clean for, like...ten minutes?" - Mr. Incredible.
     "Want to catch a robber?" - Bob. "No. To tell you the truth, I'd rather go bowling. Look, what if we actually did what our wives think we're doing, just to shake things up?" - Lucius.
     "So now I'm in deep trouble. I mean, one more jolt of this death ray and I'm an epitaph. Somehow I manage to find cover, and what does Baron von Ruthless do?" - Lucius. "He starts monologuing?" - Bob. "He starts monologuing! He starts, like, this prepared speech about how feeble I am compared to him, how "inevitable" my defeat is, how 'the world will soon be his', yada, yada yada...." "Yammering." "Yammering! I mean, the guy has me on a platter and he won't shut up..."
     "We look like bad guys. Incompetent bad guys." - Lucius to Bob while on an unsanctioned rescue mission..
     "Freeze!" - Cop. "I'm thirsty." - Lucius. "I said freeze!" "I'm just getting a drink." (Take long drink.) "Okay, now you've had your drink. Now I want to-" "I know, I know... Freeze." (Lucius freezes the cop so he and Bob can escape.)
     "Normal? What do you know about normal? What does anyone in this family know about normal?" - Violet. "Now, wait a minute young lady-" - Helen. "We act normal, Mom! But I want to be normal! The only normal one of us is Jack-Jack, and he's not even toilet trained!"
     "Shut it down, do it quickly, don't destroy it." - Bob repeats Mirage's instructions. "And don't die," she reminds him. "Great. Thanks."
     "What are you waiting for?" - Bob. "I don't know...something amazing, I guess." - Neighbor Kid.
     "Mom and Dad's lives could be in jeopardy. Or worse - their marriage." - Violet. "Right....So, the bad guys are trying to destroy Mom and Dad's marriage." - Dash.
     "Everyone can be super....and when everyone's super....no one will be." - Syndrome.
     "A jet's not fast enough." - Mr. Incredible. "Hey...how about a rocket?" - Dash. "Great. I can't fly a rocket." - Elastigirl. "You don't have to. Just use the coordinates from the last launch." - Violet. "Oh, wait. I bet Syndrome's changed the password by now. How do I get into the computer?" - Mr. Incredible. "Say 'please'." - Mirage, over intercom.

Cars 
     Plot Summary - Lightning McQueen is the fastest rookie the Piston Cup circuit has ever seen. He's also incredibly arrogant - running through three crew chiefs in one season. This cockiness leads to a sure title victory ending in an embarrassing three-way tie with "The King", Strip Weathers, and Chick Hicks, a tiebreaker race a week later in Los Angeles, and his entire pit crew walking away. While traveling to California, his driver Mack falls asleep, leading to some delinquent road hazards to push him around, and Lightning falling out of the semi trailer. In a panic to catch up to Mack, Lightning takes a wrong turn at the interstate, lands on Route 66, and is chased by the past-his-prime Sheriff, tearing up most of a worn-out town and eventually passing out upside-down hooked on a power line.
     When he wakes up, he's in the impound, where he meets a redneck tow truck named Mater, and then Sheriff takes him to jail, where he meets all the rest of the angry residents of Radiator Springs - diner owner Flo, her husband Ramone the painter, neighbors Fillmore(the hippie) and Sarge(the soldier), Red the very shy fire truck, and senile Lizzie. This includes physician/judge Doc Hudson and motel operator/lawyer Sally. With Sally's insistence, Doc reluctantly sentences Lightning to community service for however long it takes to fix the torn-up road. Meanwhile, the media are going crazy keeping up with this "Hotshot racer disappears!" story.
     While repairing the road, Lightning becomes friends with the townspeople, learns the history of Radiator Springs and what the interstate did to Route 66, falls in love with Sally, and finds out that Doc used to be a champion racer. He also pitches in to organize a party to spruce up the town back to what it was in its heyday....which is quickly crashed by the media flooding into the town and forcing him back to LA.
     During the tiebreaker race, he seems really lost and unfocused for most of it; his mind still in Radiator Springs, when most of the Radiator Springs gang shows up to cheer him on(Sally and Red stayed at home to keep an eye on Lizzie.) Chick wrecks The King out of pent-up frustration at constantly losing, and Lightning screeches to a halt, not wanting The King's career to end like Doc's did. This allows Chick to win the Piston Cup, but nobody really notices; and The King can retire with dignity. Lightning is offered the lucrative Dinoco gasoline sponsorship, but turns it down to stick with his current sponsor Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment. Lightning also sets up his new headquarters there, which helps in a big way to put Radiator Springs back on the map.
     My Thoughts - I could go on forever talking about this movie, how good it is, but I'll just say this: YOU NEED TO WATCH (or Rewatch) THIS IMMEDIATELY.
     Quotable Quotes - (Hanging out at Flo's, watching the stoplight.) "I'm tellin' ya, man; every third blink is...slower." - Fillmore. "The sixties weren't good to you, were they?" - Sarge.
     "Where am I?" - Lightning. "Where are ya? Why, shoot, you're in Radiator Springs, the cutest little town in Carburetor County." - Mater.
     "The only guy strong enough to fix that road is Big Al." "Lizzie, Big Al left like, fifteen years ago." - Ramone points out. "Then why are you bringin' him up, ya lemon?"
     "Maybe I should've, uh....hooked him up to Bessie, and then took the boot off..." - Mater.
     (Sally and Lightning at Wheel Well, looking over the landscape of the Ornament Valley.) "Forty years ago, that interstate back there didn't exist." - Sally. "Really?" - Lightning. "Yeah. Back then, cars came across the country in a whole different way." "How do you mean?" "Well, the road didn't cut through the land like that interstate. It moved with the land; it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn't drive on it to make a great time. They drove on it to have a great time."
     "These are good folk who care about one another. I don't want them depending on someone they can't count on." - Doc to Lightning.
     "Ya know....Mater trusts you." - Sally to Lightning.
     "I'm serious! He won THREE Piston Cups!" - Lightning says about Doc, shocked. "He did what in his cup?!" - Mater asks.
     "What're you doin', kid?" "I figured The King should finish his last race." - Lightning answers. "You just gave up the Piston Cup, you know that?" "Eh...this grumpy old race car I know once told me somethin'. It's just an empty cup."
     "Just passin' through?" - Sally asks Lightning. "Actually, I thought I'd stop and stay a while. I hear this place is back on the map." "It is?" "Yeah. Apparently there's a rumor floating around that some hotshot Piston Cup racecar is setting up his big racing headquarters here." "Really? Well, there goes the town."
     "I'm happier'n a tornada in a trailer park!" - Mater.

Ratatoullie
     Plot Summary - A culinary-minded Parisan rat teaches a young restaurant employee how to cook. The evil owner of the restaurant nearly kills the rat and fires the boy, but doesn't; and the unpleasant food critic is won over, mice in the kitchen is unsanitary, and everyone winds up living happily ever after. Also, there's some subplot about an illegitimate child?  
     My Thoughts - This is really bad. Whose idea was it to have a rat, even if he is voiced by Patton Oswalt, be the protagonist? AUDIENCES DON'T LIKE RATS. We also don't particularly care about the operations of French restaurants, especially high-end ones in Paris. And food is not interesting in a movie. You can write about food as almost a character or to move the plot along; yes; see Jan Karon or C.S. Lewis. But in a movie? We don't care.
     Quotable Quotes - "Well, yeah, anyone can cook. But that doesn't mean that everyone should." - Remy the rat.

WALL-E
     Plot Summary - A culture of intense consumerism eventually has a price, right? In WALL-E, it's 2805, and generations of humans' trash are coating the Earth. It's uninhabitable, actually; and a colony of mega-obese folks are living on a spaceship called the Axiom. which was part of a plan by Buy 'n' Large, the company largely responsible for the mess, to move Earth's population to starliners while janitorial robots cleaned the place up. One of these particular Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth-class, or WALL-E, robots has been at work for 700 years, keeping itself running by scavenging parts from dead coworkers. He also collects human artifacts like plastic spoons, cigarette lighters and a VHS tape of Hello, Dolly! 
     One day WALL-E finds a small plant, which draws the attention of a spaceship that deploys the Earth Vegetative Evaluator, EVE. WALL-E's romantic nature causes him to fall in love with her, but she blows him off, focused on the mission. He shows her the plant; which she collects and then goes into standby mode, waiting for her ship to collect her. WALL-E tries without success to wake her up, but stows away clinging to the hull of the ship taking EVE to the Axiom. The autopilot system Auto controls most the ship's functions, as Captain McCrea is so ignorant. After receiving EVE's plant, the Captain learns that Earth is now habitable, and the Axiom will make a hyperjump back to Earth so that the passengers can recolonize it. EVE and WALL-E also go dancing somewhere near here; it's a beautiful scene, and leads to the Captain's researching all about culture on Earth. Auto orders an assistant to steal the plant; since orders had been programmed into BnL autopilots never to return after the planet was deemed irredeemable. Auto stages a mutiny to follow the directions, while this resistance(and his new knowledge about Earth) sparks the Captain to stand up for something and actually fulfill his job's requirements. (Auto follows Asimov's Three Rules of Robotics: First, that a robot may not harm a human being, or through inaction, allow a human to be injured, Second, that a robot must obey orders from a human except when it violates the First Law, Third, a robot must protect its own existence except when that conflicts the First or Second Laws.)
     This struggle over which rules to follow leads to Auto damaging WALL-E, and he's so outdated, the only parts to fix him are in his truck-home back on Earth. And to get there, EVE has to get the plant to the holo-detector in order for the hyperjump to activate. Auto is overriden by having his control switch flipped to "manual", and EVE repairs WALL-E while the passengers and robots of the Axiom undertake a new existence in revitalizing the Earth.
      My Thoughts - Pixar can make a movie mostly devoid of any dialogue, and you're still moved to tears by how well the story was presented; which is really like three love stories, WALL-E and EVE, the Captain and the Earth, and John and Mary, a pair of passengers of the ship.
     Quotable Quotes - This movie is almost silent. So there's not many lines to quote. But there is this good exchange: "No, wait a minute. Computer, when was that message sent out to the Axiom?" - Captain. "Message received in the year 2110." - Computer. "That's...that's nearly 700 years ago. Auto, things have changed. We've gotta go back." "Sir, orders are do not return to Earth." - Auto. "But life is sustainable now. Look at this plant. Green and growing. It's living proof that he was wrong." "Irrelevant, Captain." "What? It's completely relevant! Out there...is our home. Home, Auto. And it's in trouble. I can't just sit here and do - do nothing. That;s all I've ever done! That's all anyone on this blasted ship has ever done! Nothing!" "On the Axiom, you will survive." "I don't want to survive. I want to live."   

Up
     Plot Summary - A young, very quiet, 9-year-old boy named Carl Frederickson meets a very talkative 8-year-old girl named Ellie who loves explorer Charles Muntz as much as he does. Muntz's reputation has been trashed because he's accused of fabricating a skeleton he found around Paradise Falls, Venezuela, South America. He vows to return with a live specimen. Ellie's always wanted to move her clubhouse to Paradise Falls and live there. Carl and Ellie get married; she works in a zoo with birds, and he works at the balloon stand just outside the zoo's gates. Their married life goes pretty well, for the most part; they buy Ellie's old clubhouse and move in, fixing it up all just right. Ellie miscarries a pregnancy; which leaves her incredibly depressed. Carl digs out their old Adventure Book, and they decide to finally go on their trip to South America. Every time, though; something comes up when they almost enough money, so they have to start over again. Once they're elderly, Carl has finally bought the plane tickets, but just as he's about to surprise her, Ellie's illness causes her to be hospitalized, where she dies. (It's one of the saddest montages in cinematic history.)
     Several years later, Carl is a very lonely, very depressed and very angry widower still living in their house. The city 's built up all around them; a construction worker next door accidentally runs over the mailbox. Carl whacks him with his cane, leading to a court ordering him to go into a nursing home. Carl uses leftover balloons from the stand to turn the house into an airship, thus keeping his promise to Ellie and avoiding the nursing home. A young Wilderness Explorer named Russell(who knows nothing about the wilderness, being from the city) gets trapped on Carl's porch, and after surviving a thunderstorm, they make it almost to Paradise Falls. They walk the house the rest of the way, like a Macy's balloon.
     Russell makes friends with an enormous multi-colored bird that he names "Kevin", and an overweight, ADHD golden retriever-ish dog named Dug with a radio color that allows him to speak English. (Kevin turns out to be a girl bird trying to reach her chicks; my friend Susan calls her "Kevinista".)
     Dug's master turns out to be Muntz, who's been living in his dirigible the Spirit of Adventure searching for a live Beast of Paradise Falls. Over dinner, Russell innocently points that Kevin looks like Muntz's bird, leading to him setting with pack of dogs after them and setting Carl's house on fire. Carl chooses to save the house over the bird. They reach the falls, where Carl looks through the scrapbook and reminisces, while Russell goes flying off in some balloons to save Kevin from Muntz. Carl dumps furniture and possessions out the window in order to lighten the house to chase after Russell, landing on Muntz's dirigible. Carl saves Russell, Kevin and Dug, Dug defeats pack leader Alpha and takes his spot,  Carl and Muntz fight, with the house dropping into the mist and Muntz falling to his death.
     Kevin is reunited with her chicks, and Carl and Russell fly the Spirit of Adventure back to the city, where they eat some ice cream together. The house has landed on the cliff next to the falls, exactly as Ellie wished. Carl gives Russell the "Ellie Badge"; the grape-soda bottle cap that she'd given him on the day they first met.
     My Thoughts - As Larry said in Dave and the Giant Pickle, "I laughed. I cried. It moved me, Bob." This is a really emotional movie, and one of the hardest to watch because of that; but also one of their best.
     Quotable Quotes - "You don't talk much. I like you!" - Ellie to Carl on the day they met.
     "When I get big, I'm going where he's going: South America! It's like America, but south!" - Ellie to Carl, about Charles Muntz.
     (Russell giving Dug commands, which are followed.) "Speak!" "Hi there." (Carl and Russell look at eah other.) "Did that dog just say, 'Hi there'?" - Carl. "Oh yes. I have just met you, and I love you."
     "Now you must wear the Cone of Shame." - Alpha. (Dug hangs head.) "I do not like the Cone of Shame."
     "This is crazy. I finally meet my childhood hero, and he's trying to kill us. What a joke." - Carl. "Hey, I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says, 'I forgot to store acorns for the winter and now I am dead.' It is funny because the squirrel gets dead." - Dug.
     "I was hiding under your porch because I love you." - Dug.
     "I know that might sound kinda boring, but I think the boring stuff is what I remember the most." - Russell.
     "Thanks for the adventure. Now go have a new one!" - Ellie, on the last page of the Adventure Book.

Toy Story 3
     Plot Summary - Andy's grown up now. And heading off to college soon. The toys haven't been played with for years. But he still doesn't want to get rid of them - they'll just be moving to the attic for a while. And Woody will go to college, too. Buzz'll take care of those who're left - which is just Jessie, Bullseye, the Potato Heads, Slinky, Hamm and Rex. Mom thinks that the bag the toys are in is trash, so the garbage guy(Sid!) stuffs them into the truck. They escape and climb into a box of stuff to donate to Sunnyside Daycare, thinking that Andy meant to throw them away. Woody tries to explain the mistake, but nobody else wants to listen.
     Sunnyside seems perfect. Lotso the Bear gives the new toys a tour of the place; they'll be played with every day. Molly's Barbie falls in love with Ken at first sight, much to everyone's disgust. Woody tries to get back to Andy, landing in the backpack of a little girl named Bonnie, who's toys Buttercup, Dolly, Trxie and Mr. Pricklepants are part of an improv group. Everyone learns that Sunnyside is more like a prison than a paradise. Toddlers just can't play with toys properly. And Lotso, a tyrannic dictator, resets Buzz to his original space-ranger persona. Mrs. Potato Head accidentally left one of her eyes at home, so she can see Andy searching for them, realizing that Woody was telling the truth. (The rolling eye was one of Joss Whedon's ideas for the original that just didn't make it.) Woody returns to Sunnyside and they plan a breakout, but an attempt to reset Buzz puts him into Spanish mode, which is slightly friendlier but no less nutty. Spanish Buzz allies with Woody (again) and falls in love with Jessie (again). A dumpster showdown leads to Lotso being overthrown, but he and Andy's toys wind up in the trash truck going to the dump. A TV lands on Buzz, literally knocking the sense back into him, much to everyone's relief.
     The dump is terribly emotional. Everyone nearly dies several times, and there's nothing anyone can do but accept it. The Pizza Planet aliens finally rescue them, though, in order to pay back Mr. Potato Head from saving their lives earlier. Lotso is picked up by a worker who ties him to the grill of his truck.
     Andy's toys make it back to the house(riding in Sid's truck), and Andy decides to donate the toys instead of stuffing them in the attic. He slowly drives Mom's old car to Bonnie's house and gives her the toys; including Woody. They all have one last playtime before Andy drives away, tears in his eyes. (And all audience members'. We've been crying for the last twenty minutes.)
     My Thoughts - This is an almost perfect movie. Well worth waiting for my whole life up til then. It's so beautiful, and yet so sad, but you don't really want to change anything. So I guess it's a lot like life that way.
     Quotable Quotes - "We're all still here! I - I mean, yeah, we've lost friends along the way....Wheezy....and Etch..." "And Bo Peep." - Rex. "....Yeah," Woody barely whispers. "Even...even Bo."
     "Now, hold on. This is no time to be hysterical." - Buzz. "This is the perfect time to be hysterical!" - Hamm. "Should we be HYSTERICAL?!" - Rex. "No!" - Slinky. "Yes!" Mr. Potato Head. "Maybe! But not right now!" - Buzz.
     (Buzz has been clonked with the TV.) "Buzz! YOU'RE BACK!" - Jessie. "Uh, yes. Yes, I am. ...Where did I go?" Woody laughs and shakes his head in relief. "Beyond infinity, Space Ranger."
     "You'll be okay in the attic?" - Woody. "Of course I will," Jessie rolls her eyes. "Besides, I know about Buzz's Spanish mode." "My what?"
     "Now, you gotta promise to take good care of these guys. They mean - a lot - to me." - Andy to Bonnie.
     "Now, Woody....he's been my pal for as long as I can remember. He's brave; like a cowboy should be. And kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special is that he'll never give up on you...ever. He'll be there for you, no matter what." - Andy to Bonnie.
     "So long, partner." - Woody. (Last line.)

Cars 2 
     Plot Summary - Lightning McQueen has just won his fourth Piston Cup, and he and Mack are set for the offseason in Radiator Springs with Sally, Mater and the rest of the gang. A former oil tycoon named Miles Axelrod is promoting his new World Grand Prix series, designed to showcase his new biofuel Allinol to find out the best racer on the planet. An arrogant Formula car named Francesco Bernoulli challenges Lightning to volunteer for the final spot on the starting grid, Mater stands up for his pal, leading to Lightning being insulted and then agreeing. Mater, Luigi, Guido, Sarge and Fillmore volunteer to be his pit crew.
     Also, there's this spy named Finn McMissile on an assignment, which goes badly and he must fake his own death.
     A group of lemons headed by German scientist Professor Z plan on using an EMP disguised as a TV camera to ignite the Allinol fuel at the first race in Tokyo. Finn is partnered with Holley Shiftwell, who is new to field work, and they need to meet up with the American spy Rod Redline in order to receive intel about the mastermnid of the lemons' plot. Redline is trapped by Grem and Acer, the main henchmen, and he slips a tracking device with the intel on Mater's bumper when trapped in a bathroom. (He's captured and blown up anyway.) Meanwhile, Holley and Finn think that Mater is Redline, who was known to be an expert with disguises. The henchmen, while killing Redline, learn that Mater now has the intel, and they set out to assassinate him. This happens during the first race, and as Finn and Holley guide him through the Tokyo streets, Mater gives Lightning poor race information, which allows Francesco to steal the win. Several racers have had their engines roasted by the EMP, too.
     Lightning and Mater have a huge fight, and Mater leaves  to go back home. In the airport, Finn intercepts him and they're chased by more henchmen, and Finn is convinced that Mater is one of the world's best agents. Along with Holley, they fly to Paris to track down the motor of the Big Boss Lemon. In Paris, they learn of a criminal meeting in Italy, which Mater crashes, where he discovers their plot. More cars wreck in this race; and the Allinol fuel is a subject of controversy, so Axelrod determines that it is optional for the final race in London. Lightning decides to go ahead and use it anyway, and the lemons decide to kill Lightning during the final race. Mater overhears this, and he is kidnapped and knocked out, waking up inside the clock tower of Big Ben with Finn and Holley.  
     They all escape; and Lightning is hit with the EMP but nothing happens. A bomb is discovered inside Mater's oil filter, and he and Lightnig apologize at high speed and while fighting off a bunch of lemons with Finn, Holley, most of the Radiator Springs group and the British army. Professor Z is captured and says only the activator of the bomb can defuse it. Mater realizes this must be Axelrod, and everything ends happily ever after. Mater is knighted, and because the qurstion of "world's top racer" was never answered, the WGP cars come to Radiator Springs to find out the answer. Finn and Holley ask Mater to take on a new spy mission, which he declines.
     My Thoughts -  This movie is fun. That's about all it was designed for, but that's okay. It's not that great, but it's still really watchable. Plus, it's kind of a spy-movie parody. And involves a lot of Darrell Waltrip and Brad Paisley!
     Quotable Quotes - "For a second there, I thought you was goin' to fix my dents." - Mater. "I was." - Holley Shiftwell. "Well, then, no, thank you. I don't get them dents buffed, pulled, filled or painted by nobody. They's way too valuable." "Your dents are valuable?" "I come by each of these with my best friend Lightning McQueen. I don't fix these. I wanna remember these forever."    
     "Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro." - Luigi's Uncle Topolino. "What does that mean?" - Lightning. "Whoever finds a friend, finds a treasure." - Mama Topolino.
     "I'm not a spy. I'm a tow truck. Y'all know that, right?" - Mater. "Yes. And Miss Shiftwell designs iPhone apps." - McMissile.
     (Finn McMissile and Holley are trying to save Mater and Lightning. Wings have just appeared from Holley's side skirts.) "They're standard issue now," she explains. "You kids get all the good hardware..."
     (Finn and Holley show up suddenly in Radiator Springs, Mater's introducing them to everybody.) "Everybody, this is Finn McMissile. He's a secret agent, but don't tell nobody. This is Holley Shiftwell. She-" "I'm Mater's girlfriend. So nice to meet you all." (Guido nearly faints in astonishment.) "Guido, he believe you now." - Luigi. "Whoa, honey. You got a nasty dent there!" - Flo. "Yeah." "Was that from where ya swooped in and saved 'em in London?" - Van the roadtripper. "Van!" - Minnie scolds her husband. "Don't you worry, sweet pea. my baby Ramone can get that fixed up for ya in no time." Ramone agrees, starts to get his tools. "Oh, no, no. I'm keeping that dent. It's way too valuable."
     "He's not that good-looking, after all..." - Sally, about Francesco. "Uh-huh..." - Lightning rolls his eyes. "I'm serious!" "That's why I love you, Sally. Wish me luck!" (He drives off for the starting line.) "You don't need it!"

Brave
      Plot Summary - A frizzy-haired princess named Merida outshoots a bunch of would-be suitors in an archery contest and thus escapes being forced to marry somebody(or anybody) for now, accidentally turning her mother Queen Elinor involving an enchanted cake while trying to get her mother to understand her point of view. A real bear that chomped off her father the king's leg years ago is eventually killed and the Queen returns to her human self after an ancient curse is repealed by repairing a tapestry.
     My Thoughts - Can we pretend this movie doesn't exist? It's that horrible.
     Quotable Quotes - None that I can remember, because everyone talks with an extremely thick Scottish accent which is well-nigh impossible to understand. Also, the best quotes are when nobody says anything; because all you hear is the beautiful soundtrack.

Monsters University
     Plot Summary - Mike Wazowski has always wanted to be a scarer at Monsters, Inc. He's a freshman scaring major at Monsters University now, but things aren't really going that great. (But, hey, it's college. College is awful.) He's an extremely diligent student, but he's not really that scary. At all. This stands in sharp contrast to his classmate Sulley, an exceptionally athletic, terrifying monster who coasts on his family's accomplishments. They both try to get into the Roar Omega Roar fraternity, but Mike doesn't make it while Sulley does. They get into a fight during the final of fall semester, leading to Dean Hardscrabble failing them both and dropping them from the program. Sulley is kicked out of ROR.
     Spring semester they both have drearily switched to engineering, which they're bored to tears by. They're also roommates now. Mike makes a deal with Hardscrabble; if he joins a team in the Greek Scare Games, and they win, then his whole team will be readmitted to the scaring program, but if they lose Mike will leave the school. He joins the Oozma Kappa fraternity, and since they need one more member to make a team, and since he's desperate, Sulley joins OK as well. OK's members are....really not athletic. There's Art the free spirit, Squishy the timid slob, Terri the dance major, Terry the English major, and Don the middle-aged former salesman-turned-computer-science major. Also, their frat house is actually Squishy's mom's house.
     Mike takes charge of coaching his frat brothers, and they gradually improve and advance through the competition, becoming the Cinderella story just about everybody on campus is talking about. That still doesn't prevent ROR from humiliating the OK crew, though. In the final showdown, OK beats ROR, but only due to Sulley's rigging the simulator. Determined to prove that he can actually be scary, Mike breaks into the Door Lab and winds up at a summer camp, but he can't scare anyone.
     ROR offers to reinstate Sulley, but he refuses and admits what he did to Hardscrabble, and then goes hunting for Mike. who he finds and they realize they've become friends. However, Hardscrabble deactivated their door while waiting for the CDA to arrive, and so they're trapped in the human's world. And being chased by park rangers. So the only way to escape is by generating enough scream to power the door from the inside. Working together, they horrify the rangers, which provides more than enough energy to get back home.
     However, for so flagrantly disregarding school policies, they're both expelled. The other OK members are accepted to the scaring program, though, for next fall. Also, Don's gotten engaged to Squishy's mom, which is a little awkward for everybody involved. Sulley and Mike take entry-level jobs in the Monsters, Inc. mail room instead of trying a different school. Over the next ten years, they climb the corporate ladder until the events of Monsters, Inc.  
     My Thoughts - Life usually doesn't have a happy ending. Neither does college. (Especially college?) This movie doesn't, either. So it's very realistic. Totally feels like a real college campus, which is astounding. And the minor characters are even better than usual, which is saying something. Plus, the cast includes Helen Mirren, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza.and Alfred Molina.
     Quotable Quotes - "Mr. Wazowski, what you lack simply cannot be taught. You're just not scary." - Dean Hardscrabble.
     "It's my job to make great students greater, not make mediocre students less mediocre." - Dean Hardscrabble.
     "I can't go back to jail!" - Art.
     "I act scary, Mike. But most of the time I'm terrified." - Sulley. "How come you never told me that before?" "...Because we weren't friends before."
     "I don't want you to think of me as your new dad. After all, we're fraternity brothers first." - Don to Squishy. "This is so weird..." "Just think of me as your big brother who's marrying your mother. Wait, hold on. We're brothers who share the same mom/wife. Hmm....Okay, yeah, you're right. This is weird..."

Inside Out
     Plot Summary - A newborn baby named Riley Anderson is born in east central Minnesota, and an emotion appears called Joy(Amy Poehler, yellow). Joy plays with a button that she finds, which turns out to be the control panel for Riley's mind. As Riley gets older, there are other emotions that pop up inside the Control Room, each with their own job; Anger(Lewis Black, red) makes sure things stay fair. Disgust(Mindy Kaling, green) keeps Riley from being poisoned either physically or socially. Fear(Bill Hader, purple) keeps her safe. Nobody quite knows what Sadness(Phyllis Smith)'s job is supposed to be. Joy is kind of a control freak. Besides responding to daily events, these emotions also retain memories, with the Core Memories powering the five islands of Riley's personality; Goofball Island, Friendship Island, Hockey Island, Honesty Island and Family Island.
     When she's eleven, Riley's dad gets a new job in San Francisco, uprooting the family. This doesn't sit well with anyone, really; but...well, that's life. It's stressful and usually full of unpleasant happenings. The emotions are having a bit tougher days at work, trying to figure out when to trade drivers where. Sadness turns a new Core Memory blue on Riley's first day at her new school. All the core memories get sucked up into the memory tube, depowering the Islands of Personality. And then Joy and Sadness get sucked up into the tube, too; leaving only Anger, Disgust and Fear in the control room.
     Joy and Sadness are lost in Long-Term Memory; a maze of complicated passageways. They run into Bing Bong, Riley's now-homeless imaginary friend made of cotton candy. He agrees to try to guide them back a station of the Train of Thought, which will take them to Headquarters. This leads them through the terrifying shortcut factory of Abstract Thought; the more-pleasant Imagination Land, consisting of Cloudtown, Trophytown, and past the House of Cards. Bing Bong's Radio-Flyer wagon, "the Rocket", is shoved into the Abyss of Forgetfulness, and with it go his chances of reconnecting with Riley. Sadness comforts him and gets them all back on track in their journey while Joy watches their conversation, completely mystified.
     Anger, Disgust and Fear cause an angry outburst at Riley's parents over dinner, and Goofball Island collapses. Riley lashes out at her best friend Meg, jealous that she's getting along so well with the girl who took Riley's spot on the Prairie Dogs hockey team. Friendship Island implodes following that event. This follows a disastrous hockey tryout for the Tri-County Youth League, where she gives up on the game, leading to Hockey Island melting. She finally falls asleep after a terrible day.
     While Riley sleeps, the Train of Thought is stopped. So Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong tour the Dream Productions studios, where Joy totally fangirls out when she spots Rainbow Fairy Unicorn, star of numerous Riley dream productions, including "Fairy Princess Land No. 7". There they crash a taping of that night's programming; which scares her so much that the Train starts running again.
     Anger and Disgust's last-ditch plan to restore Riley's happiness is reluctantly implemented; running back to Minnesota. She steals her mom's credit card, which is the final nail in the coffin for Honesty Island, and the debris caused by that wrecks the Train of Thought. As Riley waits at the bus station, Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong hide on Family Island; but that falls apart, too, so they drop into the Abyss. Sadness escapes somehow. Joy sorts through memories and discovers that Sadness' job allows others to help Riley when necessary. And after a bit of panic, Joy and Bing Bong remember (and find!) the song-powered Rocket wagon, and ride it through several unsuccessful attempts to sail over the cliff. Bing Bong realizes that his dream of reconnecting with Riley are weighing them down and leaps off midway through the takeoff of one last attempt, while Joy makes it back onto solid ground again. Bing Bong evaporates, knowing that Riley will continue her life by his choice.
     Joy and Sadness use a trampoline(and a lot of Imaginary Canadian Boyfriend clones) to reach Headquarters, while Disgust and Anger bring them back inside. Sadness takes the control panel, and Riley regains control of her emotions, gets off the bus and returns home, where she and her parents have a long talk about what's been happening recently. The next year, the Islands are flourishing again, with some new additions like Boy-Band Island(which Fear really hopes is just a phase) and Sparkly Vampire Book Island. There's also a shiny upgraded new control panel, with a ton of new buttons and dials that everybody can't wait to try. Nobody wants to test that flashing "Puberty" button to see what it does... Riley's now playing with a team called the Foghorns, with Mom and Dad as extremely enthusiastic fans in the bleachers. 
     My Thoughts - When I first heard this premise, I thought, "Hmm. That's weird. I LOVE IT!!!" And I do. Joy is honestly Leslie Knope inside a Pixar movie. (Which makes three Parks and Rec stars to appear in Pixar movies; Rashida Jones has a tiny role in this one, and Aubrey Plaza is the goth announcer of the Scare Games in Monsters U.) It's ranked No. 7 right now because I've only seen it once, but I'm guessing it will climb higher in future rankings. Some of the movies switched places this time. Anyway, it's really like two movies in one, and the way that they're blended together...it's amazing. And the little details like the way the headlines of Anger's paper reflect what's been going on in Riley's life. Also, Remy the rat showed up, and Bing Bong has Dug's ears, only they're pink.
     Quotable Quotes - "Can I use that curse word that I know now? It's a really good one..." - Anger.
     There were A TON of other great lines, but I can't remember them right now, and nobody else on the internet has really had time to track them yet, either.

Grades....
15 - Brave
14 - Ratatouille
13 -  Finding Nemo
12 - Monsters, Inc. 
11 - The Incredibles
10 - Cars 2
9 - Toy Story 2  
8 - WALL-E
7 - Inside Out
6 - A Bug's Life
5 - Monsters University
4 - Up
3 - Cars
2 - Toy Story
1 - Toy Story 3

     That's the current rankings right now, but they should be re-ranked around Thanksgiving when The Good Dinosaur is released. (It doesn't sound too promising, but there's a good premise. What if the asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs missed the Earth?) I've just realized something, though; with the possible exception of Ratatouille, every single Pixar movie has featured at least one character getting lost during the story.