for me its
Ratatouille > Up > Wall-E = The Incredibles > Finding Nemo
Ratatouille was cute as ****, and i could really relate to both main characters. It didn't dwell on why the guys life sucked, but instead focused on challenges that could be overcome. It was a feel good movie, and that's what i want/ed it to be. Even real struggles, like the rat's house being destroyed got gg'd because its a kid movie.
Up was great. The beginning was pretty real, especially because i saw it as a couple, but the majority of the film was pretty feel good.
wall-E was cute, Incredibles was great but its been a long time. nemo was ok. dont want this post to get too long.
But I think its the characters that draw in different viewers, which could correlate with your real life theory. Also I think that a (mostly) human cast with a few animals maxes out the cute meter -> liked it more. Ratatouille, Up, Wall-E (did it backwards but it still worked) all follow this. Incredibles had a lot of characters, but they were all interesting and the super powers aspect sort of fills in the niche that animals did.
not too big on nemo, its been a while is probably a big reason why. but the whole cast is animals which cuts the cuteness for me. im relating to a bunch of characters, but feel no variety in the strength of my attachments.
ill bring in toy story real quick. woody / buzz fill the human role while rex / potato head / pig fill the animal side character role.
