The most expensive animated movies of all time are all from the 2010s or later, suggesting that inflation is at least part of rising costs. However, some of the iconic animated movies that changed animation forever required a larger budget to account for the new technologies the movie’s team pioneered. Still, it would appear that most animators have a ceiling when it comes to their budget, even when their movies are regularly successful.
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Pixar accounts for most of the most expensive animated movies, but never spends more than $200 million. The best Pixar movies are proof enough that the studio knows what it is doing, and has reason enough to be confident in spending the extra money or sticking to a budget. However, when working with the material of two of the best Disney movies of all time, executives decided to dish out even more money to make sure the movie was made correctly.
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10 Elemental (2023)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Elemental was met with an average reception and garnered a couple of major awards show nominations despite its disappointment elsewhere. Whereas Pixar had long figured out most of the animation techniques needed for this movie, there was still a lot of creativity involved with applying typical environmental effects to personified characters. Pixar’s president Jim Morris reported (via Variety) that Elemental was so expensive to make “because all the characters have visual effects.”
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Pixar’s Elemental focuses on the residents of Elemental City, who are all made of land, air, water, or fire. Originally thinking that elements can’t mix thanks to her father, Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) sets out on a journey with Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) to see the world in a whole new light. Also starring is Catherine O’Hara as Brook Ripple, Wade’s mother, and Ronnie del Carmen as Bernie, Ember’s father.
Director Peter Sohn Release Date June 16, 2023 Writers Brenda Hsueh , John Hoberg , Kat Likkel Cast Leah Lewis , Mamoudou Athie , Catherine O’Hara , Ronnie del Carmen , Wendi McLendon-Covey Runtime 93 Minutes
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This tracks: the fire, water, and cloud people of Element City are all unusual in composition (the earth people might have been easier because they are mostly solid). However, it must have been difficult to revert to old techniques for large background crowds when the crowd is made up of a variety of characters that demand unique animation. Luckily, Elemental came back after its disappointing first weekend at the box office and turned a profit, allowing Ember and Wade’s story to shine and the animators’ work to pay off.
9 Lightyear (2022)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Lightyear‘s galactic setting looks like it would contribute to a large budget, with much detail going into the barren planet and space travel sequences. The salaries of the three stars riding on the high point of the MCU also likey weren’t cheap; Chris Evans voiced Buzz, Josh Brolin Zurg, and Taika Waititi Mo Morrison. Lightyear possibly set itself up for failure by banking on such stars to bring in profits; Lightyear‘s cost did not match its box office performance.
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Disney Pixar branches the Toy Story franchise off with Lightyear, a story that centers around a human version of the Buzz Lightyear toy and his missions with Star command. Set during an exploration mission, Lightyear and his crew are attacked during a scouting mission by alien lifeforms and find themselves stranded on an unknown planet. To help get everyone home, Lightyear volunteers on a dangerous mission to test pilot their means home. However, each test light passes time and the characters age in his absence.
Director Angus MacLane Release Date June 8, 2022 Writers Jason Headley , Angus MacLane Cast Chris Evans , Keke Palmer , Peter Sohn , Taika Waititi , Dale Soules , James Brolin , Uzo Aduba Runtime 105 Minutes
Lightyear struggled to advertise itself as a Toy Story spinoff completely different from any other Toy Story movie. It came out after the approximated official end of lockdown, but it is safe to say that movie theaters have been struggling, in general, to come back from an at-home movie culture. Lightyear was almost cheap given how big its concept was and how much earlier movies cost the same amount to make, but it failed to live up to the name of its iconic title character.
8 Toy Story 4 (2019)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Interestingly, Toy Story 4 cost the same amount to make as Toy Story 3, which came out almost 10 years earlier. While costs should supposedly go down as animation techniques are perfected and streamlined, Toy Story pushes the boundaries of the characters’ physical forms and the setting’s details with each new movie. Toy Story 4 features more plush toys than any of its predecessors, with the fluffy stuffed animals Ducky and Bunny demanding more work.
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Josh Cooley directed the fourth installment in the Toy Story series and the direct sequel to 2010’s Toy Story 3. Once again starring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Annie Potts, 2019’s Toy Story 4 sees Woody struggling to adapt to his new life as one of Bonnie’s toys, as Andy heads off to college.
Director Josh Cooley Release Date June 21, 2019 Writers Stephany Folsom , Andrew Stanton Cast Patricia Arquette , Tim Allen , Kristen Schaal , Estelle Harris , Jodi Benson , Tony Hale , Blake Clark , Jeff Pidgeon , Joan Cusack , Laurie Metcalf , Tom Hanks , Annie Potts , Jeff Garlin , Bonnie Hunt , Wallace Shawn Runtime 100 Minutes
Meanwhile, the carnival and antique shop setting included a lot of minuscule features for production design to figure out, while the cast expanded to include even more A-listers. However, Toy Story has yet to see a financially unsuccessful movie, and Toy Story 4 brought in more than enough profits to make up for its budget. What remains to be seen is if costs will finally go down for Toy Story 5, or if the Pixar artists will once again come up with something clever that keeps it as an expensive project.
7 Incredibles 2 (2018)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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They spared no expense in making everything and everyone in this movie look as sleek as possible.
The cast of major stars all returned for Incredibles 2, along with some new ones to increase costs. However, Incredibles 2 possibly cost so much because it was doing justice to concepts that arguably were just ahead of what Pixar was capable of animating at the time of the first movie’s production. The Incredibles was Pixar’s first movie to focus primarily on people, and people with unique physicalities at that. They had avoided showing humans as much as possible in Toy Story and Finding Nemo when toys and fish were easier to create.
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The sequel to Pixar’s The Incredibles, Incredibles 2 follows the Parr family as they continue to fight crime as Supers. In a world that has only recently rediscovered its need for superpowered heroes, building trust is key. However, when Elastigirl uncovers a villainous plot to discredit the Super community, the family investigates, putting the Parrs in more danger than ever before.
Director Brad Bird Release Date June 15, 2018 Writers Brad Bird Cast Sarah Vowell , Samuel L. Jackson , Holly Hunter , Craig T. Nelson , John Ratzenberger , Catherine Keener , Huck Milner , Bob Odenkirk Runtime 126 Minutes
The people in The Incredibles look just a little bit creepy, while Pixar was over-capable when it came time to make Incredibles 2. They spared no expense in making everything and everyone in this movie look as sleek as possible. Incredibles 2 was met with the success of most sequels to Pixar’s classics, prompting a huge Father’s Day weekend family event that brought old fans out in droves for the superhero family’s next adventure.
6 Finding Dory (2016)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Ellen DeGeneres reported that she was paid “$75,000 for three years of work” to voice Dory in Finding Nemo (via Business Insider). The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered the same year Finding Nemo came out, the beginning of her campaign to make a Finding Nemo sequel. It is a safe assumption that DeGeneres and Pixar’s net worths were both much higher by the time of Finding Dory; in addition to her salary, there is whatever they paid for Signorey Weaver’s voice.
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The sequel to Pixar’s Finding Nemo, Finding Dory focuses on the character of Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) as she sets off to locate her parents. Still living with amnesia after the events of Finding Nemo, Dory is unable to remember her parents, but an unexpected flashback prompts her to find them. Her journey takes her not only across the ocean but also out of it, enlisting all manner of marine life to help her in her quest.
Director Angus MacLane , Andrew Stanton Release Date June 17, 2016 Writers Andrew Stanton , Victoria Strouse Cast Ellen DeGeneres , Idris Elba , Michael Sheen , Eugene Levy , Ty Burrell , Kaitlin Olson , Albert Brooks , Diane Keaton , Ed O’Neill , Dominic West , Hayden Rolence Runtime 97 Minutes
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Pixar has successfully built an animation empire with incredible stories, building on some of the most popular franchises with compelling sequels.
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Many more impressive stars joined the cast for the highly anticipated sequel, which included the challenging animation of the big blue sea, as well as the aquatic settings within the aquarium. Despite Finding Dory‘s weaknesses, pure nostalgia carried it to the $1 billion mark at the box office. Given how beloved Finding Nemo is, it would be very difficult for any movie remotely related to it to fail.
5 Monsters University (2013)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Billy Crystal and John Goodman were always huge stars for Monsters, Inc. to have recruited, let alone get back for a prequel. Additionally, like with Elemental, it is hard to use standard animation techniques for background characters in a world like that of Monsters University when everyone has a unique design. Monsters University is an average addition to the franchise that didn’t necessarily need to happen, but it made a sizable profit at the box office.
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This prequel to Monsters, Inc. takes viewers back to a time before James P. “Sully” Sullivan and Michael “Mike” Wazowski formed the most successful “scarer” team in Monsters, Inc. history. The film chronicles the pair’s Monsters University origins, where 18-year old Sulley and Mike first meet and become competitive rivals. However, as the two monsters go head-to-head, a larger dilemma forces them together, forging a lifelong friendship.
Director Dan Scanlon Release Date June 21, 2013 Writers Pete Docter , Andrew Stanton Cast Billy Crystal , Jennifer Tilly , John Goodman , Kelsey Grammer , Steve Buscemi , Frank Oz , Helen Mirren , Peter Sohn , Joel Murray , Sean Hayes , Dave Foley , Charlie Day , Nathan Fillion Runtime 104 minutes
New movies attached to something from the Pixar golden age like Finding Dory and Incredibles 2 are almost guaranteed to find success. What’s interesting about Monsters University is it is a prequel rather than a sequel, promising the fun setting of a university for monsters rather than a workplace. It loses the novelty and emotional variety of its predecessor, depending too much on prequel clichés, but is a serviceable movie.
4 Cars 2 (2011)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Cars 2 saw new actors, more settings, more races, and everything in between. However, it is also essentially James Bond meets Cars, racking up costs where some of the secret agent special features are concerned. With explosions to go around, Cars 2 had its work cut out for it. Unfortunately for Pixar, this movie did not live up to their expectations or fans’ fondness for the down-to-earth original movie. Cars 2 technically made a profit, but this is where anything good to say about it ends.
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Following the first film, racecar Lightning McQueen and tow truck Mater travel to Japan for Lightning to compete in the Grand Prix. However, Mater stumbles into the world of international espionage, and must work with two British spies to bring down a criminal who threatens the race.
Director John Lasseter , Brad Lewis Release Date June 18, 2011 Writers Ben Queen Cast Owen Wilson , Larry the Cable Guy , Michael Caine , Emily Mortimer , John Turturro , Eddie Izzard , Thomas Kretschmann Runtime 106 minutes
Cars 2 is generally considered one of the worst Pixar movies and at least its worst sequel. It didn’t have as much time to build up nostalgia as some of the studio’s other legacy sequels and completely abandoned the tone and themes of the original. Pixar at least learned from its mistakes with Cars 2 and returned to a story about fame and career in Cars 3, not one of Pixar’s best movies but at least better than the installment that came before it.
3 Toy Story 3 (2010)
Movie’s Budget: $200 Million
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Pixar went for bigger and better with
Toy Story 3
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Pixar went for bigger and better with Toy Story 3. The human characters finally look like real people, the cast list expands, and there are more complex settings than ever before. The toys admittedly move around a lot in the first two movies, but upon revisiting them, it is possible to see how the settings’ designs are much simpler. It paid off when Toy Story 3 was received as the perfect, then assumed to be the end of the franchise, which was nominated for Best Picture.
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The third installment in the Toy Story franchise, Toy Story 3, continues the story of Woody and Buzz as they come to terms with the inevitable. With their owner, Andy, growing older and no longer playing with his toys, Woody, Buzz, and co. are given a new lease on life when they end up in a local daycare center. However, things there aren’t as they seem, and the toys must work together to find their way home.
Director Lee Unkrich Release Date June 18, 2010 Writers Michael Arndt Cast Jodi Benson , Ned Beatty , Tim Allen , Tom Hanks , Joan Cusack Runtime 103 minutes
Sunnyside Daycare has a lot of moving pieces, while a bigger variety of toys appear. Toy Story 3 was also the first Pixar movie to use the then brand-new Dolby Surround 7.1 technology, costing them extra dollars (via SlashFilm). However, Toy Story 3 is one of the most tear-jerking Pixar movies there is, depicting all the feelings about growing up and moving away through the eyes of Andy’s toys, and it was worth Pixar spending the extra money to make it special.
2 The Lion King (2019)
Movie’s Budget: $260 Million
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Most people can probably guess why Jon Favreau’s The Lion King cost so much to make, a movie that is labeled as “animated” due to all the characters being rendered on computers — even if they are designed to look much more realistic than regular animation. In comparison, Favreau’s The Jungle Book cost $175 million. The combination of the movie’s accoladed cast and its groundbreaking technology drove costs far above even Pixar’s highest budget.
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Jon Favreau directs this 2019 live-action adaptation of Walt Disney’s popular film, The Lion King. Starring Donald Glover, Alfre Woodard, Seth Rogen, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, this release follows young Simba as he grows up to become a mighty lion and take vengeance on his dastardly uncle, Scar.
Director Jon Favreau Release Date July 19, 2019 Writers Jeff Nathanson Cast James Earl Jones , John Kani , Shahadi Wright Joseph , Eric Andre , Donald Glover , JD McCrary , Alfre Woodard , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Beyoncé , Florence Kasumba , john oliver , Seth Rogen , Keegan-Michael Key , Billy Eichner Runtime 118 minutes Expand
Related The 10 Most Expensive Disney Movies Ever Made
Disney has made a lot of mega-blockbusters, but they weren’t cheap to produce. These are the studio’s 10 most expensive movies, so far
The Lion King is a direct product of the Disney live-action remake era, which keeps bringing in profits despite some annoyance among audiences. However, no one can deny that The Lion King is a huge accomplishment of CGI and design and that the cast of new and old Lion King actors is very impressive. Disney felt emboldened enough by its success to make the Mufasa prequel, utilizing the same techniques.
1 Tangled (2010)
Movie’s Budget: $260 Million
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The most expensive animated movie of all time label goes not to Pixar nor a crazy “live-action” feature, but the now-classic romp Tangled, Disney’s first 3D-animated Disney Princess movie. Tangled went through a lot of rewrites and an extensive production cycle due to the animation of Rapunzel’s hair, racking up costs (via CBR). After the lackluster period of the 2000s for Disney Animation, they were committed to getting this movie right — and were successful, setting the stage for Frozen three years later.
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An adaptation of the fairytale of Rapunzel, Disney’s Tangled follows the long-haired princess as she journeys to discover her real identity. Kidnapped as a child by the evil Mother Gothel in order to exploit the healing properties of her magical hair, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) has lived her whole life isolated in a tower. A chance encounter with a smooth-talking fugitive called Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) sees Rapunzel venture out into the dangerous world to find the kingdom of Corona and unlock the secrets of her past.
Director Byron Howard , Nathan Greno Release Date November 24, 2010 Writers Dan Fogelman Cast Donna Murphy , Ron Perlman , Mandy Moore , Brad Garrett , Jeffrey Tambor , Zachary Levi Runtime 100 minutes
3D animation had proven to be risky at Disney with the failures of Treasure Island and Meet the Robinsons in the 2000s. The studio spent a lot of money on Tangled, but this was arguably a long-term investment when figuring out this technology meant the success of later movies. It still may come as a surprise that Tangled is the most expensive animated movie ever made, but this is partially because it was made at a time and by people who were still learning their way around this animation style.
Source: Variety, Business Insider, SlashFilm, CBR
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