Vince Staples’ favourite Pixar movies of all time: “Kids have got to know”
Vince Staples is a big fan of animated movies and has starred in many series. Throughout his career, he’s lent his voice to shows such as American Dad!, Lazor Wulf, and MFKZ while nailing acting roles in Abbott Elementary, Insecure, and White Men Can’t Jump.
During an interview, Vince once revealed his four favourite Pixar movies. The animation studio has produced some of the most successful films of the past 30 years, starting with 1995’s Toy Story and continuing with its most recent film, Inside Out 2, in 2024.
The number one film on his list is 2015’s Inside Out, which follows the inner workings of a child’s mind, exploring emotions such as joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. “It’s a sad film, but kids have got to know, man,” he told ShortList. “All that shit is sad. No Disney film is for children, really. Lion King and Bambi feature murders. I’d rather a kid have some emotional issues watching a film about growing up than thinking their dad’s going to get killed. Or have them watch a film about a slave like Cinderella.”
The second Pixar film Vince Staples picked out was Toy Story, the ongoing series about toys that come to life. “Buzz Lightyear looks like he’d be great, but he’s useless,” he said. “You think you’re a big shot because you’ve got a laser? You don’t even have a heart, dawg. I had a Buzz. At least you could take Woody’s hat off and get him to hold it. All Buzz had was a helmet. Whoop-di-the-fucking-doo. And his laser always stopped working.”
As for 2003’s Finding Nemo, he said, “I don’t fuck with Nemo’s dad. I don’t like him. He’s a weirdo. Dory has a medical condition and he treats her like shit. I’d put him in a skillet, with a little Old Bay Seasoning. Fuck that, I’d deep fry him. What’s his name? Probably something like Harold. Marlin? Fucking Marlin. It’s been two films and you still ain’t got your shit together.”
Last but not least, 2001’s Monsters, Inc made his top four. “I’ve had a lot of Monsters, Inc toys,” he said. “Shout out to Mike Wazowski, underrated. Shout out to Boo, underrated. In fact, the whole franchise is underrated. It’s taught my niece a lot. She’s a compassionate human based on Monsters, Inc alone.”
During an interview about his Netflix series, The Vince Staples Show, he was asked if he’s always been into surrealism. Vince named some memorable movies he saw during his youth, specifically Toy Story and A Bug’s Life.
“My first couple, I guess, introductions to cinema, as we see it, would probably be The Twilight Zone, The Wizard of Oz, those kinds of things, watching them with my grandparents,” he told The Guardian. “And I’ve always liked the idea of the unknown or just a perceived reality down to something as simple as Toy Story or A Bug’s Life, dealing with perception, especially as a child.”
He added, “As you get older, you learn about David Lynch, you learn about the Coen brothers, you learn about Roy Anderson. You watch Donnie Darko, and you’re like, ‘OK, what’s happening? What’s not happening?'” On another occasion, he told CBC that Back to the Future, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 and American History X were his favourite films.