It was a swell year for computer-generated cartoons. Shrek and Monsters, Inc. each had heart, spot-on gags and $200 million-plus domestic grosses. But if my desert island had a giant movie theater (or a DVD player), I'd choose the latest miracle from director Pete Docter and the Pixar crowd. This is a buddy movie and a daddy movie, about two creatures who inadvertently adopt a nosy little girl. It's got pictorial dazzle and an uncommon generosity of spirit, and it ends with the sweetest, rightest shot of the movie year.
Animated actors dominated the box office, Barry Bonds hit 73 and 'It' turned out to be a scooter. TIME picks the bests and the worsts of this year...