Thread by @EBBaillargeon

This is going to be a long thread, but I’m so tired of the cartoon community’s hostility towards Pixar lately because of their films so far this decade not doing what they want. Let me explain…

From 1995-2010, Pixar have been considered to be the untouchable kings of animation consistently putting out masterpiece after masterpiece, and besides Toy Story 2 & 3, were all original. And you know what happened afterwards, yada yada Cars 2, more sequels, everyone knows this.

People were begging Pixar to make more originals. We only got 4 compared to the 7 sequels in the 2010s. So far in the 2020s, with the exception of Lightyear, Pixar has put out nothing but original films, and despite being well liked by a lot, some find weird reasons to hate them.

“CalArts style” this, “why can’t they be like Spider-Verse/Puss in Boots” that, all these “Animation is Cinema” people love to say they love animation, until Disney is involved because they’re the ones on top. You can have your favorites, but stop turning it into a console war.

People love to put Pixar in a box like all of the artists are one collective entity. Every director has their own style and goals for the stories they want to tell may be different than the people who have a checklist of what a Pixar film should be to them.

And to those saying they should bring John Lasseter back, no. Just no. We don’t need the hugger back and he didn’t really let more new talent rise to the ranks of Stanton/Docter/Bird/Unkrich in the feature department and let them cook.

Maybe this could be a coincidence, but I feel like it’s really not lately. The most “polarizing” Pixar films have been the ones not directed by the four guys I mentioned before. Absolutely no disrespect to them, but I also love to see new talent rise to the levels of the masters.

If there’s one thing I’ve loved about the Pete Docter era of Pixar is that they are all personal stories from their directors and that shines through in all of them. And getting to see new talent break out and veterans getting to make their own original features.

Onward was Dan Scanlon’s story of his relationship with his brother after the passing of his late father and turned it into a fun fantasy adventure with nods to D&D and an emotional climax.

Soul was inspired by Pete Docter’s ponderings of existentialism after finishing Inside Out and he and co-director Kemp Powers made the studio’s most mature film to date with its thought provoking themes and made a rare story about the meaning of life that’s a feel good story.

Luca was Enrico Casarosa’s tribute to his childhood in Italy and growing up in the summer with the spirit of friendship. It’s a refreshingly small scale story that is the perfect movie for summer vibes, taking cues from the slice of life Ghibli films.

Turning Red was Domee Shi’s story growing up in early 2000s Toronto and tackling puberty head on. And she made the studio’s funniest film yet as a wonderful coming of age comedy that broke new grounds for the studio.

Lightyear was Angus MacLane showing his love for the sci-fi genre and doing something new for the Toy Story series with a character he loved since he started working at Pixar. It’s way better than people give it credit for.

And their latest film Elemental is Peter Sohn telling his story growing up as the son of immigrant parents in the culturally diverse New York City in what looks like a sweet and likable rom com.

Even some of their other upcoming original projects like Adrian Molina’s sci-fi film Elio and their first original Disney+ series Win or Lose look to continue that mix of tradition and innovation. So can we please stop making weird discourse with every new Pixar film?

I know other studios are doing really exciting stuff, but that doesn’t mean that what Pixar is doing is bad. You keep saying you want them to make original films, but make a fit when it’s “too generic” or use dumb phrases like “looks like GrubHub” and complain about the sequels.

I figured that they wouldn’t stop making sequels all together, but space them out more than the last decade and do them for financial security. I’m excited for Inside Out 2 and hoping they have a good reason for Toy Story 5. Again, what do you want?

As a lifelong Pixar fan, I just really hate to see my favorite film studio struggling and in a bad spot. Their films mean a lot to me and why I wanted to make films. Their experimentation and innovation still thrives today no matter how many YouTube essayists say otherwise.

After everything that’s happened with the pandemic, the damage done in Chapek’s leadership like sending 3 of their films straight to Disney+, the box office failure of Lightyear, and the recent layoffs, I think Pixar is long overdue for another win.

I don’t want to guilt trip people, but please give Elemental a chance when it comes out. It may not be Spider-Verse, but you’re better off giving your money to this instead of a CBM movie starring a criminal that’s allegedly “the best CBM film ever” releasing on the same day.

Maybe not all of the films will cater to your tastes, but that’s okay. I really miss the days when talking about the latest Pixar film was fun and exciting. This was something I really needed to vent. But I will always look forward to seeing anything that Pixar does.