And please, for the love of god, may that be the end of their sequel adventures for at least a long while. Anyway:
THE GOOD DINOSAURU.S. Release Date: May 30, 2014Director: Bob PetersonCo-Director: Peter SohnProducer: John WalkerWhat if the cataclysmic asteroid that forever changed life on Earth actually missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? This hilarious, heartfelt and original tale is directed by Bob Peterson (co-director/writer, "Up;" writer, "Finding Nemo") and produced by John Walker ("The Incredibles," "The Iron Giant").THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE THAT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE MINDU.S. Release Date:Director: Pete DocterCo-Director: Ronnie del CarmenProducer: Jonas RiveraPixar takes audiences on incredible journeys into extraordinary worlds: from the darkest depths of the ocean to the top of the tepui mountains in South America; from the fictional metropolis of Monstropolis to a futuristic fantasy of outer space. From director Pete Docter ("Up," "Monsters, Inc.") and producer Jonas Rivera ("Up"), the inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind.UNTITLED DÍA DE LOS MUERTOSDirector: Lee UnkrichProducer: Darla K. AndersonFrom director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award®-winning "Toy Story 3," comes a wholly original Pixar Animation Studios film that delves into the vibrant holiday of Día de los Muertos.
U.S. Release Date: May 30, 2014Director: Bob PetersonCo-Director: Peter SohnProducer: John Walker
What if the cataclysmic asteroid that forever changed life on Earth actually missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? This hilarious, heartfelt and original tale is directed by Bob Peterson (co-director/writer, "Up;" writer, "Finding Nemo") and produced by John Walker ("The Incredibles," "The Iron Giant").
THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE THAT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE MIND
U.S. Release Date:Director: Pete DocterCo-Director: Ronnie del CarmenProducer: Jonas Rivera
Pixar takes audiences on incredible journeys into extraordinary worlds: from the darkest depths of the ocean to the top of the tepui mountains in South America; from the fictional metropolis of Monstropolis to a futuristic fantasy of outer space. From director Pete Docter ("Up," "Monsters, Inc.") and producer Jonas Rivera ("Up"), the inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind.
UNTITLED DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Director: Lee UnkrichProducer: Darla K. Anderson
From director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award®-winning "Toy Story 3," comes a wholly original Pixar Animation Studios film that delves into the vibrant holiday of Día de los Muertos.
All about that last one in particular. But I hope the second title stays as is.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 29 April 2012 17:27 (eleven years ago) link
I'm a gonna be first in line for the Dia de los Muertos movie.
― "Fourvel - it's like Fievel, but one less." (R Baez), Sunday, 29 April 2012 17:30 (eleven years ago) link
hate loveable dinosaurs
― like Joe Pasquale and Gandhi (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 29 April 2012 17:30 (eleven years ago) link
What if the cataclysmic asteroid that forever changed life on Earth actually missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct?
already been done, sorry pixar
http://i47.tinypic.com/35kpmkm.jpg
― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Sunday, 29 April 2012 17:31 (eleven years ago) link
America needs the wisdom of Herman's Head now more than ever
― los blue jeans, Sunday, 29 April 2012 18:01 (eleven years ago) link
Guillermo Del Toro is also working on a Dia de los Murtos animation
― Number None, Sunday, 29 April 2012 18:13 (eleven years ago) link
/Muertos
I've always wanted more inventive animation from inside our bodies after this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2h1jUpqzcc
― abcfsk, Sunday, 29 April 2012 18:18 (eleven years ago) link
gonna be a sad day when they give that second one an actual name
― balls, Sunday, 29 April 2012 19:08 (eleven years ago) link
I can only hope the Dia De Los Muertos movie is inspired by Grim Fandango
― Nhex, Sunday, 29 April 2012 19:17 (eleven years ago) link
but Grim Fandango is perfect as is
― Number None, Sunday, 29 April 2012 19:23 (eleven years ago) link
John Lasseter has said that the story “takes place inside of a girl’s mind and it is about her emotions as characters, and that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
actually sounds like cranium command from epcot tbh
― JIM THOMETHEUS (zachlyon), Sunday, 29 April 2012 19:27 (eleven years ago) link
Apparently Henry Selick is working on a Pixar project as well?
― Simon H., Sunday, 29 April 2012 20:58 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah I'm all about that, whatever it turns out to be.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 29 April 2012 21:00 (eleven years ago) link
It's for Disney, technically
― Number None, Sunday, 29 April 2012 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
Monsters University was thoroughly enjoyable, as good as the first one.
In bad news, I had to sit through another preview of Planes, Disney's Cars spin off. Horrible. but the Disney cartoon before hand (the Blue Umbrella) was sweet.
― akm, Monday, 1 July 2013 17:30 (ten years ago) link
monsters university was the first movie i took my daughter to, she really liked it and sat through it all and only got antsy at the very end.
― hello :) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 31 July 2013 16:38 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t0A_tZGrYw
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 2 October 2014 18:11 (nine years ago) link
― how's life, Thursday, 2 October 2014 18:18 (nine years ago) link
Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith)
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 2 October 2014 18:19 (nine years ago) link
I don't think I have time for this tbh. Really hope they manage to pull the dinosaur movie back together.
― how's life, Thursday, 2 October 2014 18:19 (nine years ago) link
Damn, if it was a little boy we could call it HERMAN RISING.
― da croupier, Thursday, 2 October 2014 18:20 (nine years ago) link
are they still doing a day of the dead movie now that Book of Life got a jump on them?
― akm, Thursday, 2 October 2014 18:37 (nine years ago) link
huh.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/inside-0/review/796483
― “audience participation” otherwise known as “touching” (forksclovetofu), Monday, 18 May 2015 14:23 (eight years ago) link
Barely gave that a skim, because I want to be surprised, but weird that they let that review out so early. Or not, given that Pixar has been so shaky lately.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 18 May 2015 14:32 (eight years ago) link
I don't think I have time for this tbh. Really hope they manage to pull the dinosaur movie back together.― how's life, Thursday, October 2, 2014 2:19 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― how's life, Thursday, October 2, 2014 2:19 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Eating my words. This was great. Cried a bunch, and I was not alone in that. Loads of laughs too. Very engaging; the first movie that my youngest kid has sat through without a bathroom break.
I still agree with myself that the idea looks dumb. My family had to pretty much drag me in there. The opening short "Lava" was stultifying.
― how's life, Sunday, 21 June 2015 00:35 (eight years ago) link
The preview just looks SO bad and explicitly sexist. Can you convince me a little?
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 21 June 2015 05:32 (eight years ago) link
The preview bit with the mother and father (that also really turned me off) is not indicative of 95% of the film. I really liked it. Though I wouldn't put it up there with their absolute best material, I still cried like a goddamn baby at a certain point, so I have to say it's very good.
― Nhex, Sunday, 21 June 2015 05:37 (eight years ago) link
I went back and re-watched all of the trailers right now and they still don't make it look like something I'd want to go see, even though I've seen it and loved it. The movie has a pretty complicated world and the trailers spend more time trying to explain and make sense of it than making it look appealing.
― how's life, Sunday, 21 June 2015 09:59 (eight years ago) link
this is going to be our first cinema trip since having the baby
― kinder, Sunday, 21 June 2015 12:38 (eight years ago) link
There are no bears in San Francisco.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 21 June 2015 12:40 (eight years ago) link
NYTimes stinger:
“Inside Out” is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). Young children may be mildly alarmed in places, especially at the sight of their parents weeping through the last 20 minutes.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 21 June 2015 13:06 (eight years ago) link
doyy
― ♛ LIL UNIT ♛ (thomp), Sunday, 21 June 2015 13:50 (eight years ago) link
there's no ilx presence at all for big hero 6, how odd
I thought it was pretty underwhelming, though it looked great.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:10 (eight years ago) link
The short film before the main feature was treacle worthy of enhanced interrogation technique; it looked great though. As for IO, it was rare for a movie -- any movie -- to suggest that happiness and sadness are essential components for a full life.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:32 (eight years ago) link
Man, some friends on Facebook yesterday were saying Lava was alright, but then others shared opinions more in line with this thread. It was then that I realized the people who liked it were those with kids who have to watch Dora the Explorer every day.
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:35 (eight years ago) link
It's the sub-Stephen Merritt ukelele strummer that wrecks the thing. Like I said, conceptually and visually it's a coup.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:36 (eight years ago) link
NYTimes stinger: _“Inside Out” is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). Young children may be mildly alarmed in places, especially at the sight of their parents weeping through the last 20 minutes._ --Josh in Chicago
--Josh in Chicago
Completely accurate.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:53 (eight years ago) link
Only redeeming quality for me was that the islands were ostensibly Hawaiians and were portrayed by Hawaiian voice actors. I'd bet that Kuana Torres Kahele did his own strumming, sub-Stephen Merritt or no.
Interesting that Disney's used Hawaii as a setting before and is apparently doing Hawaii again in the very near future.
― how's life, Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:58 (eight years ago) link
LOVED this
― wisdom be leakin out my louche douche truths (k3vin k.), Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:59 (eight years ago) link
Movie was great (my son I think liked it a touch less than his parent's did).
LAVA song totally infectious schmaltz.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Sunday, 21 June 2015 15:58 (eight years ago) link
So excited to see this with my girls when the older one comes back from camp.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 21 June 2015 16:04 (eight years ago) link
Get ready for the tears
― Nhex, Sunday, 21 June 2015 16:32 (eight years ago) link
― Nhex, Sunday, 21 June 2015 16:33 (eight years ago) link
big hero 6 was okay, just a bit over calculated
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 21 June 2015 17:34 (eight years ago) link
AiSF otm about the lava song
― wisdom be leakin out my louche douche truths (k3vin k.), Sunday, 21 June 2015 18:14 (eight years ago) link
BIG HERO 6 was a big hit with my kid and while it's imminently watchable for adults, I do agree that it's extremely lightweight. Pixar is so far ahead of what anyone else is doing (while okay except for the Fantastic Mr Fox) it's almost unfair to compare.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Sunday, 21 June 2015 23:18 (eight years ago) link
i will likely now see this movie due solely to this thread so score one for youpreview is just so so bad
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 21 June 2015 23:34 (eight years ago) link
― ♛ LIL UNIT ♛ (thomp), Sunday, 21 June 2015 13:50 (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 21 June 2015 14:10 (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yeah. also didn't follow through on any of the flagged endings afaicr
― gristly adams (darraghmac), Sunday, 21 June 2015 23:41 (eight years ago) link
Lava short reminded me of a Pixar parody concept a friend had -- its exact inverse -- about a lonely man living in his Igloo, until one day he chips enough ice away to see that there's a more competent girl in an Igloo next door. And he wants to join their Igloos.
― Cunga, Monday, 22 June 2015 01:13 (eight years ago) link
this was so good
― tender is the late-night daypart (schlump), Monday, 22 June 2015 02:25 (eight years ago) link
Amazing movie. Pop Culture Happy Hour folks pointed out that it's a movie with no villain, which is unique, especially for a movie for kids. I cried through much of it - probably the most draining movie I've ever seen (but i only recently became a total softie).
OTOH, Lava was lame. Usually they showcase some new animation trick with their shorts, but I didn't see anything like that. And the song and "story" were completely flimsy.
― schwantz, Monday, 22 June 2015 03:08 (eight years ago) link
And the kids loved it too! I think the name/marketing campaign really blew it for this movie.
― schwantz, Monday, 22 June 2015 03:10 (eight years ago) link
yeah the marketing on this has been terrible but imo it's the strongest complete Pixar offering since ratatouille. The gender stereotype stuff falls with a wet splat and there's some meandering in the second act but tremendous performances and the emotional beats are all direct hits. Not a dry eye in the house by the end and it's well earned.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Monday, 22 June 2015 03:50 (eight years ago) link
Pop Culture Happy Hour folks pointed out that it's a movie with no villain, which is unique, especially for a movie for kids.
― Nhex, Monday, 22 June 2015 04:53 (eight years ago) link
Totoro
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Monday, 22 June 2015 04:58 (eight years ago) link
Kiki's Delivery Service too - even Ghibli films with an antagonist don't tend to have a villain.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 22 June 2015 11:18 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, I'm really glad that Inside Out had no villain, since it's something you don't usually see in a lot of childrens films. Alot of Pixar movies tend to do the thing where a character befriends the leads, and then turns out to have sinister motives and betray them, and I respect Pixar for not returning to that well.
― MarkoP, Monday, 22 June 2015 17:07 (eight years ago) link
i saw lava last year and yeah, way insipid. nothing wrong with kt kahele (tho "ukulele sucks because indie rock" is one of my favorite ilm looks) but i never wanna see another love-powered resurrection. it's like being dramatically punkd.
― difficult listening hour, Monday, 22 June 2015 17:27 (eight years ago) link
maria and cyrus went to inside out the other night and i totally didn't go because of the trailer! bad trailer! oh well. i could still go i guess. rufus hasn't seen it...
― scott seward, Monday, 22 June 2015 18:16 (eight years ago) link
you would get a kick out of it i think, scott, it's super satisfying as just a really long, funny index of thought patterns
― tender is the late-night daypart (schlump), Monday, 22 June 2015 20:09 (eight years ago) link
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-curse-of-the-pixar-universe
god, brody is insufferable
― wisdom be leakin out my louche douche truths (k3vin k.), Saturday, 27 June 2015 20:07 (eight years ago) link
old school trolling
― Nhex, Saturday, 27 June 2015 20:30 (eight years ago) link
In lieu of the mysteries and wonders of life, instead of big dreams and big fears, in place of the cosmic sense of childhood infinity that Terrence Malick thrillingly got at in “The Tree of Life” (the best movie about a child’s inner life that I’ve ever seen),
I had no idea TTOL was a Pixar cartoon!
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 27 June 2015 20:52 (eight years ago) link
Brody is good sometimes, but this is definitely example of one of his worst tendencies: walking in with rigid, somewhat bizarre pre-conceived notions (in this case about the emotional lives of children) and then tearing a movie to pieces because it offers a different perspective.
― intheblanks, Saturday, 27 June 2015 21:11 (eight years ago) link
I kind of would love to see him direct a response film based on the ideas in his column
― intheblanks, Saturday, 27 June 2015 21:15 (eight years ago) link
seeing this tomorrow. one person I know said it was the only pixar movie in years he didn't cry at; seems completely at odds with what everyone else's experience has been. but he is kind of a drunk and young.
― akm, Sunday, 28 June 2015 03:13 (eight years ago) link
I don't cry at movies, still liked it.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 28 June 2015 03:31 (eight years ago) link
I liked it ok, "didja have to tell kids their imaginary friends will die someday?" is pretty mild as far as my kid movie grumbles go. I'm not sure kids enjoy whimsical self-analysis and metaphors about the need to accept pain as much adults do - already heard about a three year old who thinks the movie is about a robot "because she had people in her brain!" But I was entertained.
― da croupier, Sunday, 28 June 2015 04:18 (eight years ago) link
Hated lava, though - what an expensive video for such a shitty song
― da croupier, Sunday, 28 June 2015 04:21 (eight years ago) link
I didn't really cry at this one, but it's probably because all of my islands of personality have crumbled into the canyon.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Monday, 29 June 2015 01:38 (eight years ago) link
Uh, I guess a three-year-old may not grasp it, but it's not hard to imagine the premise and execution being compelling for, say, a 9-year-old.
― intheblanks, Monday, 29 June 2015 02:51 (eight years ago) link
Same, kind of underwhelmed.
Joy was such a condescending jerk (in the beginning, but that was sort of the point).
― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:25 (eight years ago) link
Also: San Fran-stinktown.
― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:26 (eight years ago) link
Disgust's animation and faces are great though.
― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:28 (eight years ago) link
i didnt like this bcuz they kept putting the protagonists in one desperate situation after another and they got stupider and more desperate and then the way they finally got out of the final one was such a dumb deus ex machina and it was really frustrating and stupid like the toy story 3 furnace scene 10x in a fucking row and lava was fucking stupid too.
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:28 (eight years ago) link
yeah but the abstraction chambere
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:29 (eight years ago) link
disgust is so stupid why does that get to be an emotion and not like... ANY OTHER EMOTION PEOPLE FEEL. it was just a way to shoehorn in mindy k so dumb.
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:29 (eight years ago) link
Pixar could've added Gay and cast Adam Lambert.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:31 (eight years ago) link
well it is interesting to note that when they went into the parents heads the emotions were all the same gender as the mom and dad but riley's were BOTH GENDERS omg pixar blowin my mind rn
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:33 (eight years ago) link
I like the part where Bing Bong killed himself.
― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:37 (eight years ago) link
fuck richard kind
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:41 (eight years ago) link
have to admit I wept like a baby at the end of this, my wife is still teasing me about it, but the wish to leave my son with more happy than sad memories is a very strong and fraught feeling for me.
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:46 (eight years ago) link
i also realize this movie is for babies so its ok that i didnt like it but im so sick of this ITS FOR ADULTS TOO hype bullshit when it is clearly NOT
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:48 (eight years ago) link
I probably wouldn't choose to watch this independent of children, but there is definitely a poignancy that I can relate to as a parent of a child the same age as Riley.
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:53 (eight years ago) link
Are you quoting a 16 year old or is that your actual opinion
― da croupier, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:54 (eight years ago) link
Lol xpost
16 year old me wasn't into richard kind either
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:55 (eight years ago) link
i was... underwhelmed by this. even some of the best pixar movies have climaxes that feel, if not perfunctory exactly, then kind of rote. "inside/out" felt a lot like that for much of its length. the inventiveness of the premise did not extend to the mechanics of the action. it also had that problem where it kept making up new rules for the world of the film, to the point where it began to feel quite arbitrary.
that said, there were lots of little clever bits, such that i rarely didn't have a smile on my face. i liked some of the character designs a lot, even if they weren't that original. ("disgust" was the weak link in all respects.)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:49 (eight years ago) link
also: poor, poor bing bong :(
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:50 (eight years ago) link
of course, that whole changing-the-rules-every-five-minutes goes double for some ghibli movies. and it gets a little irritating in ponyo and, to a lesser extent, howl's moving castle. but in general the ghibli films are so fucking inventive and weird that i don't mind. (on a side note i rewatched kiki's delivery service last week and i think that might be the stealth best ghibli movie?)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:51 (eight years ago) link
i put totoro / kiki / porco rosso / laputa on the same pedestal
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:59 (eight years ago) link
what about nausicaa??!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 23:00 (eight years ago) link
Manga version blows Nausicaa away.
― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 23:35 (eight years ago) link
otm, after reading the books the movie became nigh unwatchable for me, except muted as just something cool to see in the background.
― a mallomar full of chamillionaires (Doctor Casino), Monday, 29 June 2015 23:36 (eight years ago) link
leee otm
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:06 (eight years ago) link
basically all of the "lone girl versus / as-a-manifestation-of the unknown or semi-supernatural" films (nausicaa, howl, spirited away, ponyo, mononoke) are good and occasionally great but not upper tier
actually, add "the wind rises" to the top five up there; i'd be hard pressed to rank them beyond that though
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:10 (eight years ago) link
― a mallomar full of chamillionaires (Doctor Casino), Monday, June 29, 2015 6:36 PM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
challops!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:28 (eight years ago) link
ahemhttp://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7b/7f/81/7b7f810667562148ca5626c6b3153d0f.jpghttp://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/museum/mei/
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:39 (eight years ago) link
(you're welcome btw)
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:43 (eight years ago) link
I'd been looking forward to seeing this one with my kids. Finally did tonight, and ... pretty disappointed. Reminded me a bit of one of those EPCOT pseudo-educational film before-the-ride movies, but stretched out to feature length. Not boring, just sort of functional. At the same time, it didn't seem quite fleshed out well enough to support its running time - a lot of the movie was just this not terribly thrilling "we need to get the x to the y!" race - though I did love the central conceit of sadness and joy being equally vital components of growing up. And I'd much rather something minor like this than a "Monsters U," no question. But at times I flashed back to "Monsters Inc.", and how wonderfully that movie handled somewhat similar subject matter, yet in a much more creative manner than what this one attempts literally.
Other random thoughts:
1) Design-wise, I actually thought it was pretty uninspiring for Pixar. The main characters were a bit like boring Muppets, and all the little sub-Minion tic tac characters were sort of missed opportunities.
2) I try to see most Pixar movies in 2D, but this felt like the first Pixar movie that really seemed like it was trying to be 3D. Like, lots of things flying at the screen, playing with perspective or otherwise seemingly designed to make the most of 3D. Sort of distracting.
3) I cry at virtually every movie I see with my kids. I love the experience. I probably even cried, most recently, at "Jurassic World," since I love watching them watch movies so much. But weirdly I did not cry at this one.
4) Was surprised at how not funny it was. In fact, early on they use the old "Be positive!" "OK ... I'm positive this is a bad idea" groaner. And then they do it again! And I can't believe they threw in a lame "Forget it, Jake ... " "Chinatown" gag.
5) How long was Riley at the new house? A few days? And jeez, wouldn't that house go for, like, $10 billion dollars in San Fran? Or is that the bad part of town?
6) Bing Bong also seemed like a missed opportunity. And as my older daughter pointed out, shouldn't he have made a fleeting appearance in the opening montage of formative memories?
7) Joy was pretty condescending, wasn't she? She was basically Leslie Knope.
7) The nightmare music was the music from Disney's "Haunted Mansion" ride!
8) I would watch an entire movie about the inner lives of cats.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 02:10 (eight years ago) link
on a side note i rewatched kiki's delivery service last week and i think that might be the stealth best ghibli movie?)
we just went thru a Miyazaki festival and, yeah, I agree.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 02:17 (eight years ago) link
"Kiki's" is great, one of my older daughter's faves. Also, some great Phil Hartman in the English version.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 02:25 (eight years ago) link
the moment where hartman comes back and says "I'm here too Kiki!" is the moment i determined never to watch a dubbed miyazaki again.
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 03:33 (eight years ago) link
kiki is (of course) a very early miyazaki dub, none of the others are that obnoxious
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 03:51 (eight years ago) link
(assuming that the fox totoro is out of print and wiped from memory)
Spirited Away > Kiki > Howls > Ponyo > Mononoke > The Wind Rises > Totoro
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 04:24 (eight years ago) link
i like the fox totoro! the vhs one right?
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 04:33 (eight years ago) link
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Monday, June 29, 2015 10:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i thought that there were two dubs, one for the first theatrical release, and it was re-done for the DVD/Blu-Ray. maybe i'm mixing it up with a few other films. (yes, i /know/ there was an original, botched american release of nausicaa as "warriors of the wind." i'm talking about disney re-doing a few english dubs.)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 05:21 (eight years ago) link
More than most need to know:
http://animeenglishdubreviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/dub-review-kikis-delivery-service.html
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 12:03 (eight years ago) link
I saw the Japanese version of Kiki last week at a screening – marvelous.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.)
otm
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 12:06 (eight years ago) link
Totoro deserves more love
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 13:24 (eight years ago) link
Was Sadness supposed to resemble Velma from Scooby Doo?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:08 (eight years ago) link
she wasn't a lesbian.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:10 (eight years ago) link
kiki > mononoke > totoro > spirited away > ponyo > howls
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:22 (eight years ago) link
grew up with the fox totoro, never seen the disney one but fiercely partisan anyway
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:27 (eight years ago) link
Princess Monolake.
― :wq (Leee), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:41 (eight years ago) link
oh yeah i like the fox totoro too, i just forgot to acknowledge it when criticizing the disney kiki
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 23:40 (eight years ago) link
Liking anything more than Spirited Away is fucking insanity.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 04:47 (eight years ago) link
spirited away has never been my favorite miyazaki film lol
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 04:57 (eight years ago) link
otm except i don't rate howls
you can't put totoro at the bottom of a spectrum
It's infantile and cloying.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 05:00 (eight years ago) link
gtfo
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 05:19 (eight years ago) link
Eat shit and die.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 05:21 (eight years ago) link
that's the ghibli spirit!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 17:07 (eight years ago) link
I haven't seen any of the Pixars since Toy Story 3 and was kinda thinking that I was over them, but this was wonderful. The mixed genders of the emotions in Riley's head (as opposed to the uniform gender representation in the adults) struck me too; the subtle suggestion that we only take on firm gender identities while in the process of growing up is typical of Pixar at their brilliantly subversive peak (see also, the critique of the "graduation" in The Incredibles). I teared up a good four or five times, which isn't something I normally do--I'm thinking the combination getting married yesterday and my accompanying some children to the movie (it was my friend's three-year-old's first time seeing a film in the theater) had me in an unusually (and appropriately!) vulnerable emotional state. I suppose that I could share the above gripe about the so-typically-Pixar move of overdoing the peril, but I also credit the film for its constant invention--the film never coasts on its premise, but rather keeps finding new ways to explore it (the "abstract thought" scene...wow).
Beyond that, I laughed, partially in amazement, at the joke about bears in San Francisco, and groaned at the Chinatown reference while at the same time being somewhat impressed that a children's film in 2015 even bothered making a reference to Chinatown. And I loved the fact that I was watching what is essentially a family version of a Charlie Kaufmann script.
Lava looked pretty, but I may have been a bit more susceptible to its brand of corniness had the song not reminded me cringingly of Jack Johnson (the beach-bummmy singer/songwriter, not the guy Miles Davis wrote the one album about).
― The New Gay Sadness (cryptosicko), Thursday, 2 July 2015 00:36 (eight years ago) link
the song reminded me of "Hey Soul Sister."
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 2 July 2015 00:38 (eight years ago) link
Song reminded me, musically and thematically, of Josh Ritter's "The Curse."
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 2 July 2015 02:03 (eight years ago) link
(see also, the critique of the "graduation" in The Incredibles)
― Nhex, Thursday, 2 July 2015 03:05 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq5vt_KUj5o
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:28 (eight years ago) link
(xpost)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:29 (eight years ago) link
been reading some interviews with the songwriter/director of Lava (who - not coincidentally - happens to be the president of Pixar), trying to figure out if he wrote the shitty song first and then decided to make a video for it, or decided to make a video and wrote a shitty song for it.
answer:
http://khon2.com/2014/11/03/5-questions-with-disneypixars-lava-director-james-ford-murphy/
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Israel Kamakawiwoole sing “Over the Rainbow.” It was on an episode of “ER” that I was watching with my wife. I immediately recognized this song from one of my favorite films, “The Wizard of Oz,” but when I heard Iz’s version, I was reminded of the love affair I have with Hawaii and it instantly reignited the powerful connection I feel for the love I shared with my wife there in 1989.
So when it came time for me to develop short film ideas I thought to myself, what if I could write a song that makes me feel the way that song does, and combine it with the love, admiration and powerful connect I feel to the Hawaiian islands.
― da croupier, Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:53 (eight years ago) link
dude spends like four years on this thing with an amazing team of animators and apparently never once thinks he should maybe bring in someone to help with the SONG
― da croupier, Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:55 (eight years ago) link
After LAVA was green-lit for production, for one year all I did was listen to Hawaiian music as I searched for the perfect Hawaiian singers for LAVA. Not only did I become a connoisseur of Hawaiian music, I also learned about the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards and festival. As soon as I found out about this festival, I immediately convinced our producer Andrea Warren that we had to go because all of the musicians I was interested in were going to be there, and this would be our opportunity to see, hear and meet who we wanted to work with on LAVA.
...We also hope that in some small way, our film can help expose more people to the incredible musical treasure trove that is Hawaiian music.
whhhyyy couldn't he have outsourced the songwriting though, whyyyy
― da croupier, Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:57 (eight years ago) link
that song is to hawaiian music what this song is to japanese music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUDqcnSuKWc
except, you know, less good
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 06:07 (eight years ago) link
song is the rotten fruit of a mauna kea beach wedding
― difficult listening hour, Thursday, 2 July 2015 09:48 (eight years ago) link
iz's music is often beautiful, no idea why they didn't just license one of his tracks
also very disappointed none of you watched kittenbus
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 2 July 2015 15:38 (eight years ago) link
wait, was there actually a link to watch the video? i didn't see it
― Nhex, Thursday, 2 July 2015 15:40 (eight years ago) link
ahem
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 2 July 2015 15:44 (eight years ago) link
i've warmed to totoro in recent viewings but Eric is right, it's vastly overrated - infantile, cloying and a little bit boring/uneventful? the totoro themselves don't seem to have any impact on the main plotline.
Whereas Howls is very underrated.
And Kiki's is just so great. I prefer the sentiment a whole lot more than Totoro.
― cod latin (dog latin), Thursday, 2 July 2015 15:59 (eight years ago) link
totoro is about coming to terms with having a new sibling, fears of losing your mother, sitting on the cusp of childhood and losing the hallucinatory magic of young wonderkiki is about transitioning into young womanhood, new responsibilities and pubertyi've always seen them as part of a continuum.
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 2 July 2015 16:02 (eight years ago) link
Howl is justly rated. I was going to say that Ponyo is underrated but honestly have no clue what the ILX hivemind thinks of it or how regular people rate it in the Ghibli canon.
― :wq (Leee), Thursday, 2 July 2015 17:27 (eight years ago) link
a little bit boring/uneventful? the totoro themselves don't seem to have any impact on the main plotline.
as a kid i watched totoro over and over and over but i made up an alternate plot, more elaborate on each pass, where mei was a secret agent sent to assassinate her mother who was also a secret agent
― difficult listening hour, Thursday, 2 July 2015 17:40 (eight years ago) link
anyway sorry still not over i heard that iz song on e.r. and i run an animation studio so i thought why not pay powerful homage to the time i fucked in a hotel
A free screening will be held this Friday, Nov. 7, at the IBM Building Courtyard in Ward Village.
i was in this building the other day looking at the gorgeous scale model of the highrise development that's replacing the old international marketplace and i'm glad they have something to play now in the attached lava-furnished cinema besides the endless loop of a 5-minute video where construction executives compete to see who can most frequently remind you "o'ahu" means "the gathering place"
― difficult listening hour, Thursday, 2 July 2015 17:57 (eight years ago) link
some lovely stuff in ponyo, especially when the town floods: the tethered boats floating above the houses like balloons; the kids rowing through the canopy. great eerie kid-adventure stuff. only saw it once but remember being less into the magic liam neeson plot or the mechanics of ponyo's origin and peril. definitely lower-tier but when i saw it a little kid behind me stood up after the lights came up and announced "miyazaki never disappoints!" so it is hard for me to criticize.
― difficult listening hour, Thursday, 2 July 2015 18:05 (eight years ago) link
infantile, cloying and a little bit boring/uneventful?
i love the quasi-stasis of much of "totoro"!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 18:10 (eight years ago) link
Ponyo was his first genuine crossover right? That's the one my cousin's kids watch on road trips. They know every line. And they are not an art house family.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 2 July 2015 18:30 (eight years ago) link
I always thought Totoro was the early crossover, at least in that I've seen the most Totoro figurines, art and stuff toted around by kids. Which is still not much, but the Totoro cat is the only bit of Ghibli iconography I come across with any frequency.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 2 July 2015 18:48 (eight years ago) link
a few of the ghibli films that didn't do big theatrical box office stateside ended up becoming big hits on video over the course of decades, so it's hard to say what was a "crossover"
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:11 (eight years ago) link
ponyo felt pitched at a younger audience than spirited away/howls (and obv than the dismbemberment-heavy mononoke) so it's where i'd expect kids who didn't grow up w totoro/kiki to discover ghibli
― difficult listening hour, Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:20 (eight years ago) link
miyazaki was pretty clear that ponyo was designed for younger viewers than the average ghibli film
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:21 (eight years ago) link
Also of course it's a little gross to judge a Japanese filmmaker's "crossover" on whether it does well in the US.
― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:25 (eight years ago) link
i thought that was the explicit context here though
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:26 (eight years ago) link
I'm surprised nobody's started a studio ghibli thread - sure seems to be enough people interested in the subject.
― da croupier, Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:29 (eight years ago) link
there are like ten ghibli threads, no?
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:29 (eight years ago) link
Oh well then you know where to go when you want to rank and debate their movies
― da croupier, Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:31 (eight years ago) link
ebert pushed totoro on fox video early in 1993, that's the generally acknowledged first american crossoverhttp://www.dramafever.com/news/roger-ebert-is-why-you-like-miyazaki/
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 2 July 2015 19:47 (eight years ago) link
didn't realize ponyo had a following at all; I wasn't thrilled with it, don't remember it getting very good reception either.
― akm, Thursday, 2 July 2015 23:27 (eight years ago) link
i loved Ponyo, but also surprised that so many here did see it - it didn't have a huge theatrical showing in the states IIRC
― Nhex, Friday, 3 July 2015 00:41 (eight years ago) link
it seemed to get about as broad distribution as any ghibli film has gotten in the US
― wizzz! (amateurist), Friday, 3 July 2015 01:12 (eight years ago) link
Favourite Miyazaki film
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Friday, 3 July 2015 01:14 (eight years ago) link
“Pixar has created a stable of films for children that is founded on narratives of self-actualization—of characters branching out, embracing freedom, hitting personal goals, and living their best lives. But this self-actualization is almost exclusively expressed in terms of labor, resulting in a filmography that consistently conflates individual flourishing with the embrace of unremitting work…. The natural and profitable ideological by-product of this fixation is an abhorrence of collectivism—and therefore organized labor.”
http://www.theawl.com/2015/07/the-pixar-theory-of-labor
― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Friday, 17 July 2015 16:14 (eight years ago) link
Yeah but ... at least the robots are doing all the work in WALL-E.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Friday, 17 July 2015 16:19 (eight years ago) link
ha, that article is nutso!
― Nhex, Friday, 17 July 2015 17:00 (eight years ago) link
"Although he causes all this, and at no small cost to his daughter’s mental health, Riley’s dad is not depicted as a villain."
Well because he's not a villain... but he is presented as being pretty tone deaf and self-absorbed.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Friday, 17 July 2015 17:02 (eight years ago) link
Ned is totally right at the top of this thread, I liked Inside Out fine but would have LOVED it if they'd released it as "THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE THAT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE MIND."
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 17 July 2015 17:30 (eight years ago) link
Well because he's not a villain
I don't know if he's exactly a villain but I think the movie makes it pretty clear that the sequel to this is Riley grappling with mom and dad's divorce in <3 years, whether or not Pixar actually produces it
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 17 July 2015 17:31 (eight years ago) link
Hard to believe they'd leave that money on the table.
― Andrew Farrell, Friday, 17 July 2015 17:33 (eight years ago) link
I dunno, plenty of their "prestige" titles don't get sequels, there's no "Further Up" or "Wall-F"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 17 July 2015 18:04 (eight years ago) link
That article isn't crazy, but it isn't very good either.
No, the relationship between father and son in Finding Nemo does not resemble management how-to literature, because in management how-to literature there is no room for the emotional freak-outs that strongly mark close relationships. No management book anywhere tells anybody to drop everything and risk your life to find a lost employee.
No, you shouldn't expect American pop movies to make arguments for socialist collectivism, although that bit at the end of Nemo where all the fishes are urged to swim together in the same direction, overriding their own individual panic motions, just to avoid being captured - that seemed kind of commie to me, fella.
No, the abhorrence of Woody becoming part of a box set in Toy Story 2 is not a rejection of collectivism (LOL) but a rejection of collector-fetishism and the enshrinement of childhood playthings as high-priced collectibles, and at its best from the toy point of view, a rejection of safety in favor of the danger of love. Aw.
No, actually, Whole Foods, like most upscale food places, caught on to the whole "local" thing a while ago, and consumers who care can buy more local products if they want, not that that makes it all wonderful or anything.
What's really weird about this article is that the author avoids the obvious and objectionable Ayn Rand-y type business in certain Pixar movies (especially The Incredibles).
― Vic Perry, Friday, 17 July 2015 20:50 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-RgquKVTPE
― Number None, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 17:57 (eight years ago) link
i don't care for the animation style for the characters and have a long held antipathy for the anachronistic mix of humans and dinosaurs but THOSE BACKGROUNDS THOhttp://www.comicscube.com/2011/06/comic-book-glossary-masking-effect.html
― you are extreme, Patti LuPone. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 18:11 (eight years ago) link
like as far as i'm concerned that is a movie about beautifully realized gravel
Yeah, the whitewater rapids is the most stunning bit of animation I saw in that trailer. Character design is positively goofy, though.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 18:59 (eight years ago) link
We're getting two full-blown Pixar releases in one year? That's kinda nice. Foliage and rocks look amazing, and I'm fine with the character design.
― Nhex, Wednesday, 22 July 2015 05:01 (eight years ago) link
― kinder, Saturday, 25 July 2015 18:29 (eight years ago) link
the music hurts to listen to
― The Once-ler, Saturday, 25 July 2015 19:15 (eight years ago) link
let your friend know i'm looking forward to paying money to see A+ tufts of grass and dust physics
― you are extreme, Patti LuPone. (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 26 July 2015 00:46 (eight years ago) link
How come nobody brought up Porco Rosso in the Miyazaki debate?
― the man who posts like Sam Smith sings (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 26 July 2015 18:34 (eight years ago) link
Saw Inside\Out tonight. Loved it. Thought the opening short was sweet.
Liked the fact that since the story was in allegory land, they could go nuts with the designs. Appreciated the inclusion of hockey and the fact that family island had a part that deliberately looked like the "Life" board game.
The 3D gimmickry seemed real hammy, and we saw it in 2D.
― Purves Grundy (kingfish), Sunday, 25 October 2015 08:11 (eight years ago) link
have literally seen zero advertising for the one that's coming out in a couple weeks
― qualx, Sunday, 8 November 2015 19:00 (eight years ago) link
they're doing bumps in football occasionally. i dunno, there's a definite muted tone to the pr
― a llove spat over a llama-keeper (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 8 November 2015 22:01 (eight years ago) link
Wha, I had literally no idea the Good Dinosaur was out so soon. I had it figured as a summer 2016 release. Are they trying to bury it?
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 9 November 2015 14:30 (eight years ago) link
More like, they've spent so much time on it, delayed it, changed directors and changed the entire voice cast, that I think they just want to get it out of the way. Barring more delays, and following a fallow period, looks like they've got a movie each summer through 2019, each a sequel, plus one original movie slated for Nov. 2017. There's a Pixar backlog.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 9 November 2015 15:55 (eight years ago) link
Not sure why but they skipped releasing any movies in 2014, so this might be a result of that
― Nhex, Monday, 9 November 2015 16:05 (eight years ago) link
It definitely strikes me as odd when compared to the punishing amount of marketing for Inside Out.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 9 November 2015 16:07 (eight years ago) link
I have seen nonstop ads for this pretty much every day for the past two weeks.
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 9 November 2015 17:42 (eight years ago) link
I have seen billboards advertising this on my occasional forays outside of my room.
― :wq (Leee), Monday, 9 November 2015 17:43 (eight years ago) link
There's a big moving one in Times Square, for example.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 9 November 2015 23:00 (eight years ago) link
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSf-5vbVpAU
― Number None, Wednesday, 11 November 2015 00:15 (eight years ago) link
The Good Dinosaur is not a good movie. It's a very obvious case of something that was in development entirely too long and at the hands of people who had wildly different ideas about what to do. The end result is a completely cliched and boring storyline ripped from Finding Nemo (and hundreds of other things). The setting and premise is bizarre: why are they farmers? why are they southern? It has three things that made paying to see this worth it: there is a scene with a stegasaurus that seems to be left over from some other, more fun version of the script; he has different animals on his horns and names each one and explains why they are there, and it is a rare moment of real humor; there is a scene with gophers getting blown out of their holes which was cute; and we finally get an actual, full fledged psychedelic trip brought on by dodgy berries, it lasts about 20 seconds but is the most bizarre and interesting things Pixar has done in a long time.
Technically of course they've totally surpassed themselves, water, light, grass, everything (other than the characters) is utterly completely photorealistic, it's beautiful.
The opening cartoon, Sanjay's Superteam, is 1000x better than the movie.
― akm, Saturday, 28 November 2015 17:06 (eight years ago) link
the voice acting team was awful across the board.
― akm, Saturday, 28 November 2015 17:11 (eight years ago) link
for pixar, this is a crazy low metascorehttp://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-good-dinosaur
― Eugene Goostman (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 28 November 2015 17:15 (eight years ago) link
I asked my kids today if they wanted to see it, and they responded with a firm and resounding "no."
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 29 November 2015 01:19 (eight years ago) link
I hadn't heard about this short. It does look pretty cool.
However, this is how I first heard about it - from Facebook:
My mom and I (& J___) just walked out of "The Good Dinosaur." It was too scary and kinda gross for J___'s age in our opinion and even if he wasn't there we wouldn't have liked it. Wish we would have seen the chipmunk movie or something instead. AND there was a horrible short film beforehand that we were subjected to...this dad is bowing and praying to Allah, then then there's all these scary gods...some three headed monster looking thing...then ultimately the little boy draws these gods as his superheroes. It was demonic honestly and had it been a Christian short film I bet people would complain...
― pplains, Tuesday, 29 December 2015 23:48 (eight years ago) link
Well thank heavens it wasn't Christian, otherwise, I'd have to listen to dimwitted people complain.
― pplains, Tuesday, 29 December 2015 23:49 (eight years ago) link
My kid and I really enjoyed the movie. I mean, if you've got a 5-year-old or something and they like dinosaurs, there's really no reason not to go. The opening cartoon (about a hindu, not muslim, father and son) was amazing as well.
there is a scene with a stegasaurus that seems to be left over from some other, more fun version of the script; he has different animals on his horns and names each one and explains why they are there, and it is a rare moment of real humor;
This was a styracosaurus.
― how's life, Wednesday, 30 December 2015 00:31 (eight years ago) link
Gotta watch out for any of those religions that worship three-headed deities, I mean....
http://i.imgur.com/TFKVtSR.jpg
Oh wait, nevermind.
― pplains, Wednesday, 30 December 2015 00:35 (eight years ago) link
Chaw's review couches this as an existentialist western. Fun read, at least.
http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/ffc/2015/12/the-good-dinosaur-the-revenant-the-hateful-eight.html
― El Tomboto, Wednesday, 30 December 2015 01:52 (eight years ago) link
just saw Inside Out, cried a fair bit, beautiful little film in my eyes
― niels, Saturday, 27 February 2016 20:20 (eight years ago) link
yeah it's wonderful. good dinosaur on the other hand
― akm, Saturday, 27 February 2016 23:56 (eight years ago) link
What's going on? Some message board invasion type thing?
it's just relentless, 1-star review after 1-star review:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/reviews?ref_=tt_urv
but they're only 0.9% of the ratings:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/ratings
― StanM, Saturday, 12 March 2016 17:28 (eight years ago) link
took the kid to see Inside Out at her school's movie night and can't say I enjoyed it's Inception-meets-Herman's Head claptrap. Kind of a bad idea to have your characters be one-dimensional by their very nature, since it means they can't change or be interesting over the course of the movie. and the central conflict was so arbitrary (here let's make up a bunch of rules about how the inside of a brain works!) it felt like nothing was at stake.
idg why people like Pixar movies I guess
― Οὖτις, Monday, 21 March 2016 20:54 (seven years ago) link
Characters not changing over the course of the movie doesn't really describe any Pixar film? I mean, it's usually really obvious from the first ten minutes: "Mike / Nemo's Dad / Joy is going to learn to loosen up and enjoy life more", but it's pretty much always there.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 21 March 2016 21:16 (seven years ago) link
I was referring specifically to Inside Out, where the main characters are all literally one dimensional emotions
― Οὖτις, Monday, 21 March 2016 21:21 (seven years ago) link
you're meant to put the glasses on
― kinder, Monday, 21 March 2016 21:27 (seven years ago) link
But . . . they do change by the end of the movie. The whole movie is Joy's character arc!
― T.L.O.P.son (Phil D.), Monday, 21 March 2016 22:27 (seven years ago) link
She comes to understand why Sadness is important! And Sadness gets more integrated into the spectrum of emotions!
― T.L.O.P.son (Phil D.), Monday, 21 March 2016 22:28 (seven years ago) link
she realizes that Sadness has a role to play in like the last 10 minutes and that's it, hardly a ton of depth there
xp
― Οὖτις, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:29 (seven years ago) link
#neverforget
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyPdW4kxVZA
― akm, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:29 (seven years ago) link
but as characters in their own right I did not gaf about Sadness, Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust - they were all more or less one-note jokes, with Joy simply a narrative focus necessary to move the (again, almost totally arbitrary) action along.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:30 (seven years ago) link
shakey i 100% agree with you abt inside out and the desperate situations they put the characters in became tiring... one toy story 3 inferno scene after another it basically became self parody
― kurt schwitterz, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:31 (seven years ago) link
xxxp wow you mean a movie's plot was resolved in the closing minutes rather than at the beginning or somewhere in the middle? What kind of screenplay sorcery is this?
― T.L.O.P.son (Phil D.), Monday, 21 March 2016 22:40 (seven years ago) link
Maybe they should have expanded those characters, perhaps by looking inside their heads at what makes them tick...
I found it charming and quite an unusual 'story' (less so the main adventure; I do have less time for 'we go here, then we go here' journeys).Realising the role of Sadness is the main thrust of that story!
― kinder, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:50 (seven years ago) link
it is the main thrust of the plot resolution but it is not a particularly interesting character development or character trait for Joy. Joy's character traits are a) she wants Riley to experience joy and b)... nope that's it. at the end she realizes its necessary for Riley to experience other emotions. So her one identifiable trait shifts. real quality character conception/arc there.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:53 (seven years ago) link
idk maybe you guys don't care about characters being relatable or interesting or nuanced. it is possible to have those things in a children's film, and this film didn't have them, because the underlying concept of the film was so literally pursued and constraining.
― Οὖτις, Monday, 21 March 2016 22:54 (seven years ago) link
the conclusion to the "exciting" adventure at the end of inside out was a totally out of nowhere deus ex machina type bullshit ending. like they obviously wrote themselves into a corner and just threw it in there. it sucks. i mean its for babies and babies probably like it so thats fine.
― kurt schwitterz, Monday, 21 March 2016 23:06 (seven years ago) link
Yeah that's why I specifically mentioned one of the characters from the film. Were you drunk when you saw it? I mean, it's fine if you were drunk, but maybe check the wiki page before the post button.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 21 March 2016 23:50 (seven years ago) link
Like, none of this is complicated? Joy focuses too much on the importance of being joyful, like you know a lot of the prevailing culture, but painting all your memories with joy is not really how people work, sometimes sadness has a purpose, particularly in relating to other people who are sad - teenagers can lose access to joy and sadness when they feel fucked up by life? Nothing here is really that complicated to follow?
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 21 March 2016 23:54 (seven years ago) link
its ok to be drunk for baby movies.
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 00:02 (seven years ago) link
xp okay I see you posted a bunch while I was writing that - I don't think I disagree with you as such, but I dunno, have you seen a bunch of Pixar films, that you don't get why people like? It's not Ibsen, it's generally a straightforward "bad things happen, it'll be okay" with characters designed to be relatable to kids, and subtext that keeps adults up at night. The subtext here is a lot closer to text - Hey your kids will grow up and have their own emotions - but the characters are literally designed to be one emotion each: was that shocking?
― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 00:17 (seven years ago) link
it's not exactly shocking that a bunch of shitty screenwriters would ignore the fact that they're writing themselves into a corner with that premise, no.
I've seen a handful of these movies, not a ton. As far as CGI kids movies go, I liked the first couple Toy Story movies. Wall-E was terrible. Saw Zootopia (yes I know that's not Pixar) last week and that was much better than Inside Out. I liked the Lego movie. I can't think of any others I've seen off the top of my head.
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 17:54 (seven years ago) link
I love Pixar films and a huge number of the better lauded animated films, but I could not get into Inside Out at all, and can't imagine sitting through it again. Don't even think my two kids have ever brought it again, either, and in fact actively forbade me from taking them to see "Good Dinosaur." But the Pixar adjunct team behind "Ralph," "Tangled," "Zootopia," 'Frozen" and "Big Hero" have been killing it even as Pixar descends into sequel hell. Didn't like Monsters Inc 2, didn't like Toy Story 3, trailer for Finding Nemo 2 looks like nothing but callbacks (and, more importantly, the animation doesn't look better than the original, which is 13 years old and still looks stunning).
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 19:46 (seven years ago) link
Inside Out is the new "on loop" movie at our house (5yo girl) having succeeded Fantastic Mr. Fox and Frozen. I'm pretty happy with this although now she asks "Why did Bing Bong fall back out of the rocket and fall back down?" and neither of us can really answer it because it's too hard to explain while trying not to cry.
Little kids get this movie on a straight comedy level, apparently. When we first saw it and were evangelizing it to some of our friends I learned that kids Riley's age and up (into the twenties) all seem to take it along the lines of "yeah, seems about right" but as noted in that one review, parents take it somewhere between a gut punch, a good (but not great) stand-up routine and a roller coaster, and in all cases, you know what's coming and you still cry/laugh/scream despite how rote all the elements might be.
― bothan zulu (El Tomboto), Tuesday, 19 April 2016 23:21 (seven years ago) link
Finally saw The Good Dinosaur. I approve!It's a great children's film, less aimed at adults than most of Pixar's movies. Some of the photorealistic nature animation is incredible - interesting contrast with the character designs, which are as cartoonish as you can get (often too much). Probably a third of the movie has no dialogue, or one character talking effectively to a dog, and there's a well-created sense of loneliness and longing I found touching. Was afraid this would be another Cars or something, glad to report it was not, and willfully misadvertised as such.
― Nhex, Wednesday, 4 May 2016 09:29 (seven years ago) link
And as others have said, the Sanjay's Super Team short is very good
finally saw inside out..it was so dreary to take the infinite possibilities of this concept and just make it the same adventure park theme ride as wreck-it ralph. endless urgency and conflict. jumping. falling. big things tumbling.
like when joy and sadness were clinging to the ledge at the climax and the other emotions were trying to figure out how to break the glass and they used the flames from anger’s head to melt a hole in the glass. like..why was there glass? and why would anger have actual flame? which do they have to cling to a ledge to climb back in? why does this imaginary world have earth gravity and physics and chemistry besides lazy screenwriting?
it’s depressing to imagine a kid imagining their subconscious like this. “i’m gonna be late for the train!”
― slam dunk, Tuesday, 13 September 2016 18:18 (seven years ago) link
also the character models were hideous and charmless and just looked like fungus and mucus commercial mascots.http://www.depirrogarrone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/lamisil__0001_Layer-1-480x360.jpghttps://d6u22qyv3ngwz.cloudfront.net/ad/7LH8/childrens-mucinex-bad-cold-forecast-small-5.jpghttps://rwalck.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/jublia.jpeg
― slam dunk, Tuesday, 13 September 2016 18:25 (seven years ago) link
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a15jJgt6wE8/ViJ75euKxCI/AAAAAAAAKm4/tWCxn72BGn4/s1600/Myrbetriq-bladder.jpghttps://www.healthyoffers.com/sites/default/files/products/Rapaflo%20image3_0.png
― slam dunk, Tuesday, 13 September 2016 18:30 (seven years ago) link
what is that last thing, a testicle?
― akm, Tuesday, 13 September 2016 19:56 (seven years ago) link
His name is Deez.
― schwantz, Tuesday, 13 September 2016 20:48 (seven years ago) link
More like Dis
― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Tuesday, 13 September 2016 23:34 (seven years ago) link
No thoughts yet on Finding Dory? Took my little one to see it at the weekend, think I enjoyed it more than she did.
― heaven parker (anagram), Monday, 10 October 2016 15:13 (seven years ago) link
There's a bit here - Pixar to Disney: Drop Dead - I liked the movie overall, but there was a scene at the end of Finding Nemo where they've lost Dory, and she's terrified and bewildered, and then they find her hooray the end. And I found that scene very affecting, and the ghost of that scene haunts the movie for me.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 10 October 2016 22:47 (seven years ago) link
I'm aware that I dodged the main concerns of FN by neither being or having a kid.
Also wandering around Sydney Aquarium yesterday, the kids are having none of the idea that those fish are called Clownfish and Blue Tang.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 10 October 2016 22:51 (seven years ago) link
So going back to the original post we've known about this for years:
UNTITLED DÍA DE LOS MUERTOSDirector: Lee UnkrichProducer: Darla K. AndersonFrom director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award®-winning "Toy Story 3," comes a wholly original Pixar Animation Studios film that delves into the vibrant holiday of Día de los Muertos.
...and we finally have some details:
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/06/pixar-coco-cast-plot
First, the voice cast: Benjamin Bratt and Gael García Bernal will lead Coco alongside newcomer Anthony Gonzalez, who will voice the film’s main character, a 12-year-old Mexican boy named Miguel. Gonzalez was hired after serving as Miguel’s scratch voice during early development, proving himself indispensable to both the filmmakers and the character. Character actress Renée Victor also joins the cast as Abuelita, Miguel’s grandmother.However, to understand whom Bratt and Bernal are voicing, it helps to get a little context. What’s Coco even about?Coco follows the secret musical ambitions of Miguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican village but comes from a family of shoemakers that may be the town’s only music-hating household. For generations, the Riveras have banned music because they believe they’ve been cursed by it; as their family history goes, Miguel’s great-great-grandfather abandoned his wife decades earlier to follow his own dreams of performing, leaving Imelda (Miguel’s great-great-grandmother) to take control as the matriarch of the now-thriving Rivera line and declare music dead to the family forever.But Miguel harbors a secret desire to seize his musical moment, inspired by his favorite singer of all time, the late Ernesto de la Cruz (Bratt). It’s only after Miguel discovers an amazing link between himself and De la Cruz that he takes action to emulate the famous singer and, in doing so, accidentally enters the Land of the Dead.
However, to understand whom Bratt and Bernal are voicing, it helps to get a little context. What’s Coco even about?
Coco follows the secret musical ambitions of Miguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican village but comes from a family of shoemakers that may be the town’s only music-hating household. For generations, the Riveras have banned music because they believe they’ve been cursed by it; as their family history goes, Miguel’s great-great-grandfather abandoned his wife decades earlier to follow his own dreams of performing, leaving Imelda (Miguel’s great-great-grandmother) to take control as the matriarch of the now-thriving Rivera line and declare music dead to the family forever.
But Miguel harbors a secret desire to seize his musical moment, inspired by his favorite singer of all time, the late Ernesto de la Cruz (Bratt). It’s only after Miguel discovers an amazing link between himself and De la Cruz that he takes action to emulate the famous singer and, in doing so, accidentally enters the Land of the Dead.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 6 December 2016 18:19 (seven years ago) link
Abuelita, Miguel’s grandmotherMiguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican villageAbuelita, Miguel’s grandmotherMiguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican villageAbuelita, Miguel’s grandmotherMiguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican villageAbuelita, Miguel’s grandmotherMiguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican village
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Thursday, 8 December 2016 05:10 (seven years ago) link
The next Pixar movie after that will focus on a streetwise East London paperboy Guvnor and his grandpa Old Geezer, and their comical attempts to avoid the Morris Dancing festival in Shoreditch.
― Tuomas, Friday, 16 December 2016 07:58 (seven years ago) link
dude we're already used to Hollywood documentaries about Real England
― Rock Wokeman (Noodle Vague), Friday, 16 December 2016 09:39 (seven years ago) link
I'm so confused. Half of this sounds like a really lame version of The Book Of Life without the crazy supernatural stuff & framing devices that made that movie awesome
― a Warren Beatty film about Earth (El Tomboto), Friday, 16 December 2016 18:59 (seven years ago) link
The other half just sounds really stupid and terrible
― a Warren Beatty film about Earth (El Tomboto), Friday, 16 December 2016 19:00 (seven years ago) link
... how is this thing actually getting made? it sounds like a total rip off of Book of Life (which was great)
― Οὖτις, Friday, 16 December 2016 19:03 (seven years ago) link
As far as Day of the Dead cartoons go, I'd much rather someone adapt this:https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gu6AB7%2B3L._SX342_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 16 December 2016 19:03 (seven years ago) link
oh god i didn't even notice this in Ned's prologue...
the vibrant holiday of Día de los Metrosthe vibrant holidaythe vibrant holidaythe vibrant holiday
i mean, for all i know this movie might not suck but the PR department can go fuck itself
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Saturday, 17 December 2016 04:08 (seven years ago) link
Well, teaser trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNCz4mQzfEI
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 15:38 (seven years ago) link
Seriously just watch The Book Of Life. Wtf Pixar
― SFTGFOP (El Tomboto), Wednesday, 15 March 2017 15:47 (seven years ago) link
"No, really, it was our own original story we borrowed from Corpse Bride. Wait, shit!"
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 15:48 (seven years ago) link
this looks really bad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zxj9q8Yjdw
― Number None, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 18:18 (six years ago) link
That might have been good if no-one had made The Book of Life (or Kubo and the Two Strings)
― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 8 November 2017 00:01 (six years ago) link
So Toy Story 4 is inexplicably great, for a movie that sounded completely unnecessary.
― akm, Friday, 21 June 2019 05:22 (four years ago) link
That's pretty much how Pixar sequels work
― Rory end to the lowenbrow (Noodle Vague), Friday, 21 June 2019 06:01 (four years ago) link
True. I guess this is the one series where each film really hits it out of the park. Most of the other sequels (Dory, monsters, incredibles) were enjoyable but not equal to the first.
― akm, Friday, 21 June 2019 13:35 (four years ago) link
Nah that's fair. Didn't like the first Incredibles so haven't bothered with the second but i usually sigh and roll my eyes when they bring out a sequel even tho they're very well-executed compared to the other US animation studios
― Rory end to the lowenbrow (Noodle Vague), Friday, 21 June 2019 14:23 (four years ago) link
God sitting through previews of upcoming animated movies last night was motherfucking painful. Trolls 2? Angry Birds 2? A bunch of other ugly horrendous looking shit. Frozen 2 trailer was lovely though (though I doubt I'll ever see that).
― akm, Friday, 21 June 2019 15:45 (four years ago) link
Non-Disney/Pixar animated multiplex fare is one of the purest expressions of unalloyed misanthropy I can think of.
― Morrie Antoilette (Old Lunch), Friday, 21 June 2019 16:09 (four years ago) link
Dreamworks bats .250 maybe, but the good ones are good
― Cecil replies to your e-mails (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 21 June 2019 16:15 (four years ago) link
(arches eyebrow as smirk slowly spreads across punchable mug)
― Morrie Antoilette (Old Lunch), Friday, 21 June 2019 16:17 (four years ago) link
(twerks to the tune of 'Who Let the Dogs Out')
.250 is probably generous. you recalibrate after your 3 yr old exposes you to amazon prime shit like "Jeppy"
― Cecil replies to your e-mails (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 21 June 2019 16:26 (four years ago) link
or "Learn with Jeppy" if you want to google
― Cecil replies to your e-mails (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 21 June 2019 16:28 (four years ago) link
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Saturday, 22 June 2019 00:56 (four years ago) link
oh man i expected to meh that Finding Dory and it made me cry SO MUCH, like heaving sobs by the end
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:02 (four years ago) link
same
― Nhex, Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:19 (four years ago) link
Yeah, Finding Dory was a solid film. It was no Coco though...
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:11 (four years ago) link
yeah Coco was the business.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 22 June 2019 03:42 (four years ago) link
i've forgotten every single thing about Finding Dory TBH
― akm, Saturday, 22 June 2019 04:03 (four years ago) link
Could be good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8DKg_fsacM
― chap, Saturday, 22 June 2019 17:24 (four years ago) link
Ha, that looks good!
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 22 June 2019 17:59 (four years ago) link
Will say, Pixar has been super hit or miss for me since ... Disney acquisition? I don't remember anything about Toy Story 3, didn't see Cars 2, thought Brave was OK, hated Monsters Inc 2, thought Inside Out was OK, didn't like Good Dinosaur, don't remember anything about Finding Dory (except Gerald, the goofy unibrow sea lion), didn't see Cars 3 (and didn't remember it existing?), loved Coco, hated Incredibles 2 ...
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 22 June 2019 18:18 (four years ago) link
neat!
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 22 June 2019 18:46 (four years ago) link
There was way too much "wait, we have to go back for ...!" in this one, but otherwise I thought Toy Story 4 was surprisingly good.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 23 June 2019 02:07 (four years ago) link
God sitting through previews of upcoming animated movies last night was motherfucking painful.
Unless you have children, there is no reason NOT to walk into movies 20 minutes late to miss the trailers.
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 23 June 2019 12:11 (four years ago) link
Independent Woman Bo Peep was good angle
― hollow your fart (m bison), Sunday, 23 June 2019 13:06 (four years ago) link
She was a survivalist!
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 23 June 2019 13:25 (four years ago) link
I heard/read a great take on the Toy Story movies as workplace comedies. Woody is established early on as sort of a manager, the guy in charge, barking orders and giving directions. The first movie is about the arrival of a new employee and how to integrate him into the team. The second movie is about Woody considering a promotion with better pay and fewer duties at a different company, but ultimately deciding to remain loyal to his team. The third one is about a hostile takeover leading to Woody et al. jumping ship to a new start-up (Bonnie). And the fourth movie is about Woody coming to grips with aging out of the workforce and embracing retirement.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 8 July 2019 21:57 (four years ago) link
there were a few moments that felt almost a bit Black Mirror-ish...Forky trying to kill himself, the defective and broken toys living in the antique store forever, the fact that a kindergartener can just create sentient life...I feel like the film's cuteness and humor was able to gloss over all that but the more of these they make the more it kinda delves into that world
I watched this with my kids (4 & 2) so I only got to pay half attention, but it was pretty funny. I assume I missed some good stuff while my kid was trying to climb over the seats. the stuffed toys played by Key & Peele were pretty good, I'm glad they did an ad ahead of time where they play the K&P valet characters cuz I was gonna say
― frogbs, Monday, 8 July 2019 22:08 (four years ago) link
Anyone have any thoughts on Onward? Doesn't seem to have been discussed here much, if at all. Haven't seen it yet but planning to rectify that soon.
Soul is out later this year and sounds v promising, looking forward to that one.
― joni mitchell jarre (anagram), Monday, 28 September 2020 08:30 (three years ago) link
Onward is remarkably unremarkable.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 28 September 2020 13:48 (three years ago) link
Onward was fine, my 9 year-old loves it and has watched it dozens of times. It's not top tier Pixar, but I also think it dropped from the conversation pretty quickly. I'm not sure a traditional run in a non-pandemic year would have improved it's rep all that much. But I think part of it is the curse of Pixar expectations, Onward didn't break any new ground in animation style/techniques (i.e. nailing Sully's hair in Monster Inc. or the underwater stuff in Nemo) and the story was pretty pat compared to say, Coco. All of which makes it sound like I'm lukewarm on it, but I'm not, I thought it was enjoyable.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 28 September 2020 14:20 (three years ago) link
I loved it. I tend to get very invested in dead dad stories anyway, but this one resonated in many unexpected ways.
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Monday, 28 September 2020 14:33 (three years ago) link
i quit ten minutes in.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 28 September 2020 15:27 (three years ago) link
I have access to disney+ but I don't feel like watching anything after Coco.
― wasdnous (abanana), Monday, 28 September 2020 23:33 (three years ago) link
Toy Story 4 in HDR is gorgeous.
― DJI, Monday, 28 September 2020 23:59 (three years ago) link
There was a little discussion of Onward in the streaming services thread. I was surprised to really enjoy it - my favorite of the uh three movies I've watched this year
― Vinnie, Tuesday, 29 September 2020 00:49 (three years ago) link
Soul is really really good I thought!
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Friday, 25 December 2020 23:05 (three years ago) link
Yeah, I enjoyed it. I went in with fairly low expectations, for Pixar anyway, but I liked it. Much better than Onward and a pretty sweet story, for the most part.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 25 December 2020 23:34 (three years ago) link
a pretty sweet story, for the most part.
With a fairly nuanced message. It certainly is in their more thoughtful, 'adult' category of films, along with Ratatouille and Wall-E.
I was concerned it would be too close to Coco, given the premise (afterlife & music!), but the texture and themes were very different.
― chap, Saturday, 26 December 2020 15:16 (three years ago) link
Disney charged full price for mulan but soul is up for free with disney+? i guess the mulan experiment failed.
― wasdnuos (abanana), Saturday, 26 December 2020 15:59 (three years ago) link
Onward was "free," too. But you're right, if they could have charged more for it I imagine they would have.
Glad to hear this is possibly better than some of the things I've, well, heard.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 26 December 2020 16:46 (three years ago) link
seems to be a growing consensus on Twitter that Disney has an issue with letting black people be black people through a whole movie. Haven't watched it yet myself.
― akm, Saturday, 26 December 2020 16:49 (three years ago) link
Yeah, Princess and the Frog was pretty bad on that front. "We have the first black princess! And ... now she's a frog."
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 26 December 2020 16:53 (three years ago) link
We liked it. I especially enjoyed the moment when Dorothea tells the fish in the ocean parable.
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Saturday, 26 December 2020 18:22 (three years ago) link
I thought the story was sweet in this one, but man, the lighting on Pixar movies is SO beautiful at this point. All of the little reflections and diffuse light everywhere added up to an almost-overwhelming version of NYC, where every time they started to zoom out, I was just flooded with sensory overload and emotion.
― DJI, Saturday, 26 December 2020 23:21 (three years ago) link
Soul was excellent, one of their best works imo. Felt like they improved on the headier concepts from something like Inside Out and markedly improved it
Character poses alone were off the charts good, and the script had me guffawing throughout
― Nhex, Saturday, 26 December 2020 23:30 (three years ago) link
Rachel House is great in this btw
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Saturday, 26 December 2020 23:40 (three years ago) link
I feel like this will benefit from a second viewing where I’m not quite as anxious about the outcomes of various parts. It’s actually pretty stressful on the first watch!
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Saturday, 26 December 2020 23:46 (three years ago) link
the script had me guffawing throughout
Yes it was extremely funny.
― chap, Sunday, 27 December 2020 00:35 (three years ago) link
Oh my god, I absolutely *loved* this. My favorite Pixar film since ... Ratatouille and WALL-E? It was absolutely gorgeous, and the perfect capper to a crap year. I wish I could have seen it on the big screen.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 02:42 (three years ago) link
Watched this with the whole family. Some very good jokes but contra some here I didn't think it matched Inside Out, which had multiple bravura performances; then again I don't think this movie was really going for bravura performances. The things I liked best about it (the very fast, very good jokes about 22's various mentors & the Knicks) were the things I felt the movie was doing out of obligation (though very well!) whereas what I felt the movie really cared about was a basic "enjoy the little things" message that didn't really ring for me.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Sunday, 27 December 2020 03:26 (three years ago) link
oh man i loved this - it kinda hooked into me like lowlevel therapy, i guess i was just in the right headspace. Really, really great.
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 27 December 2020 04:56 (three years ago) link
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Saturday, December 26, 2020 6:46 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
interesting you say this, I actually thought the stakes felt kinda low throughout, I mean the main character dies in the first 15 minutes! I liked this a lot, the message that constant striving is bad and mediocrity is meaningful is something that really resonates with me, but I thought there was something of an economy to the story (comparing to, say, inside out) that left a little to be desired. and whatever happened with chloe??
some fun and somewhat cringe nuggets, loved the knicks reference, tina fey voicing a black character after the 30 rock blackface thing was uh, no comment I guess. thought the whole thing overall was really tightly done, looked great, kind of a minor pixar but 4/5 for me
― k3vin k., Sunday, 27 December 2020 06:22 (three years ago) link
Soul was one of the most unexpectedly Buddhist films I'd seen in a long time.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 27 December 2020 07:15 (three years ago) link
I enjoyed Soul. My gut reax is that I didn't like it as much as Inside Out or Coco (definitely) and maybe even Onward ... although I might just be saying that because I cried more at Onward. (I cried at Soul, but a little less than I expected to.)
I thought it was sweet, maybe a bit low-stakes, with a good message, which I took more as "appreciate day-to-day life" as opposed to "mediocrity is meaningful". For me, the message felt very similar to Up, i.e. quit looking for more because it's the people/relationships/experiences/memories you're having now that matter.
Agree with the comment about beautiful light in Pixar movies, how NYC was portrayed, etc. I was struck by the way Terry moved through the real world.
I guess I feel similarly to k3vin ... and good call on what happened to Chloe?
― alpine static, Sunday, 27 December 2020 11:02 (three years ago) link
quit looking for more because it's the people/relationships/experiences/memories you're having now that matter.
But do follow your ambitions if that makes your happy - as long as you're aware there's a balance. A nice antidote to the standard Hollywood messaging (which was hammered in when I watched the inferior La La Land a day later, an interesting unwitting companion piece).
I found the lost souls rather haunting, I feel like I've been there myself a few times.
― chap, Sunday, 27 December 2020 13:38 (three years ago) link
Like Inside Out, I thought it gained a lot of power from literalizing somewhat abstract concepts like lost souls. And the simplicity of it all I think was part of the point. Joe in a lot of ways is making things complicated by thinking there is a specific purpose for his life, a specific goal, and anything less is failure. But as 22 learns via the little things, it's the journey, not the destination. Sort of reminded me a tiny bit of ... Defending Your Life?
Inside Out is good, too, but for some reason it didn't fully work for me, at least as much as I remember it. I loved Coco, which at the least was absolutely gorgeous and moving, but one reason I may prefer this one, or at least like it equally, is the lack of a villain. I love it when these movies can get away with losing the baddie.
Who was Chloe? There's not even a Chloe in the full cast and crew in IMDB.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 14:43 (three years ago) link
maybe I got her name wrong — the trombone kid that joe mentors
the lack of a villain is a good observation, the movie still works despite lacking that convention, it just seemed to take from the urgency a little. idk, I have to think about it it some more
― k3vin k., Sunday, 27 December 2020 14:49 (three years ago) link
it’s connie I think
― k3vin k., Sunday, 27 December 2020 14:51 (three years ago) link
Oh, the trombone kid? I don't think we really need a follow up with her, the movie more or less takes place in one day. 22 getting a chance to play the mentor for once is the story being told there.
Btw, one of my kids asked if her name was 22 because she was the 22nd soul (we know she's been around for thousands of years) and, if so, if she used to be a caveman.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 14:53 (three years ago) link
Also, I found all of the cat stuff hilarious. Just the idea of a guy being chased down the sidewalk by an angry and howling fat cat is inherently funny to me.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 14:56 (three years ago) link
also thought basically all the jokes landed to some degree or another, I enjoyed the self-deprecating anti-MBA bullshit from the jerrys especially
― k3vin k., Sunday, 27 December 2020 15:20 (three years ago) link
Again, been years since I've seen Inside Out, but I do remember that one had a "Chinatown" joke, which in 2015 felt a little ... hoary. But this one had a funny pizza-rat joke. And also a good joke about finding a half-consumed Slurpee on the Subway. And also a joke about a man in a cat's body instinctively licking his butt before realizing what he was doing and grimacing. And I want to go back and freeze-frame the name tags of mentors in one fleeting scene. We caught Aretha Franklin's name, but that's it.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 15:26 (three years ago) link
Several Ghibli films don't really have a villain either, or at least not one that remains straightforwardly villainous. I wonder if Pixar was inspired by that.
― chap, Sunday, 27 December 2020 16:15 (three years ago) link
Pixar and Ghibli have had a close relationship for years
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Sunday, 27 December 2020 16:47 (three years ago) link
yeah this was exceptional. hard to even rank Pixar films for me; I like this as much as I liked Coco and Ratatouille and Up.
― akm, Sunday, 27 December 2020 18:07 (three years ago) link
probably goes without saying, but the music was lovely in Soul. the jazz, for sure, but i really loved the synth-y stuff in the moment and thought it fit perfectly with otherworldly setting when they weren't in the city. (i didn't know of the Batiste or Reznor/Ross involvement until watching the credits, for whatever that's worth.)
― alpine static, Sunday, 27 December 2020 19:51 (three years ago) link
Yeah, who would have ever guessed that one day Trent Reznor of all people would wind up an Oscar winner scoring a Pixar film?
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 20:00 (three years ago) link
I mean, he was Up above it
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Sunday, 27 December 2020 20:12 (three years ago) link
the synth parts of the score reminded me of that Eno music app “Bloom” - such pretty sounds
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 27 December 2020 20:17 (three years ago) link
definitely heard the Eno in there. Music works super well in this I thought.
On first watch, "I like this as much as I liked Coco and Ratatouille and Up" seems about right!
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 27 December 2020 21:18 (three years ago) link
i watched Ratatouille for the first time today & it’s nice and all but i just can’t get past the whole rat thing. ugh. #NotForMe my Pixars are prob Toy Story & Monsters Inc.
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 27 December 2020 21:42 (three years ago) link
I do like Ratatouille a lot.
I pay very little attention to movies, Pixar, etc., but looking at the list of their films, I feel like I should go back and watch The Good Dinosaur because I saw it with my kids and thought it was *awful* and they don't really make too many *awful* movies.
Is it generally considered a clear dud in their catalog? I remember the whole thing being just pointless and clunky and boring and weird.
― alpine static, Sunday, 27 December 2020 21:51 (three years ago) link
You remember correctly.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 27 December 2020 22:30 (three years ago) link
the best part of the good dinosaur is when both the lead characters are tripping balls on mushrooms, otherwise it's mostly forgettable
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 27 December 2020 22:34 (three years ago) link
Good Dinosaur is a bit underrated to me. Yes, it's slight compared to other Pixar movies, but fairly solid and simple, a good straightforward kid's movie. And some of the animation work was excellent, especially for the time.
― Nhex, Sunday, 27 December 2020 22:52 (three years ago) link
Yes acid trip is the only good part of that movie, aside from how amazing the grass looks. Otherwise it’s a mystery to me that it was completed and released.
― akm, Sunday, 27 December 2020 23:13 (three years ago) link
holy shit soul is so fucking good
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 27 December 2020 23:43 (three years ago) link
i wish i could see those escalator into the void scenes on a big screen :(
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 27 December 2020 23:44 (three years ago) link
i like how much space there is in this thing, it is just a really beautiful and patient full sensory experience. i found some of the shots and transitions just straight up formally stunning, like holding on his expression after finally playing the gig, which really strikes the weird note of emptiness you feel after reaching what you thought would be a life-changing milestone that of course becomes just like anything else, another bead in the chain of events and routines that make up a life, and the subway fades in behind him... that was lovely
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 27 December 2020 23:51 (three years ago) link
probably my favorite pixar film since up, maybe my favorite pixar movie. the music stuff is just a framing device practically and it's all so deeply felt anyway, rendered with as much detail as the shiver of autumn leaves in new york
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 27 December 2020 23:55 (three years ago) link
its love scene shots of NYC made me verklempt for pre-covid times
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Monday, 28 December 2020 01:16 (three years ago) link
Dug the Prismo Picasso-esque Jerry, Jerry & Terry (especially when he was slinking around NY) characters.
― BrianB, Monday, 28 December 2020 23:17 (three years ago) link
yes the character design there was genius
― akm, Monday, 28 December 2020 23:32 (three years ago) link
no pixar movie is bad and even the worst ones are better than 75% of the shit I've had to watch with my kid
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 28 December 2020 23:34 (three years ago) link
pretty sure the cars sequels are bad
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 28 December 2020 23:43 (three years ago) link
just wanted to echo the praise for this one, thought it was cool that questlove was in this
― trans-panda express (m bison), Monday, 28 December 2020 23:49 (three years ago) link
cars 2 was okcars 3 was goodI'm talking shit like those goddamn Ice Age movies, Dolphins Tale
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 00:48 (three years ago) link
I loved the human parts of this and was kind of ambivalent about the rest?
― stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 01:29 (three years ago) link
Soul was lovely, agree with the Reznor = Eno soundtrack. The parts in the Great Before/lost souls areas made me all teary, I cant even say why, but something about those 2-D curlicue Jerrys really got to me. Their unflappableness? The fact it looked like 70s sesame st and made me regress? God knows.
Did anyone else get a Wizard of Earthsea vibe from the lost souls area btw? All that black sand and no way out, made me think of how I visualised death/afterlife as she'd put it in those books.
― Stoop Crone (Trayce), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 02:42 (three years ago) link
Oh and and AND - the mocap on the jazz musicians was fuckin *chefs kiss* perfect.
"Prismo" is very OTM btw, it occurred to me when I first saw them but slipped my mind over the course of the film.
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 03:50 (three years ago) link
just realizing that the Prismo from Adventure Time was also a reference to Picasso
― Nhex, Tuesday, 29 December 2020 07:27 (three years ago) link
I forgot to mention, is was a little disconcerting to hear the very recognisable voices of Brit TV stalwarts Graham Norton and Richard Ayode in a huge Hollywood animation.
― chap, Tuesday, 29 December 2020 14:30 (three years ago) link
The escalator into the great beyond was v A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH I thought - and all the Moonwind stuff was quite reminiscent of Steve Martin's ALL OF ME. But this was really, really great, and was a highlight of my daughters' Xmas - probably best film of 2020.
― Piedie Gimbel, Tuesday, 29 December 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
good catch on the pressburger and powell reference
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 29 December 2020 21:13 (three years ago) link
Excellent movie on all fronts, I thought - story, theme, score, characters. Maybe not the best Pixar movie, what with Wall-E and Coco to compete with, but certainly top-tier
― Vinnie, Thursday, 31 December 2020 04:39 (three years ago) link
One thing I found interesting is this never had that hallmark Pixar moment that makes me cry. I don't think it's worse for it, just that I come to expect it from Pixar movies now
― Vinnie, Thursday, 31 December 2020 04:42 (three years ago) link
I think after Up and Inside Out, I’ve been fully prepared to cry at Pixar movies, and have steeled myself appropriately. If I watched this on an airplane by myself instead of on the big teevee with my family I think the results would have been different.
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:24 (three years ago) link
I mean it’s not even Pixar but don’t ask me what happened when I watched Big Hero 6 on an airplane
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:25 (three years ago) link
i bawled a ton during “soul”
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:46 (three years ago) link
I almost did! At several moments! But see above re: steeling myself.
― sound of scampo talk to me (El Tomboto), Thursday, 31 December 2020 05:52 (three years ago) link
xp oh man, my crying has gotten so much worse since having a son. There's a recent movie I'm too ashamed to admit made me cry, when the father was reunited with his son (the astute can probably figure out which one)
― Vinnie, Thursday, 31 December 2020 06:00 (three years ago) link
i cried at fuckin' Big Daddy on a plane one time
― alpine static, Thursday, 31 December 2020 06:32 (three years ago) link
the part where 22 was a lost soul & all the mean voices were talking to her was when i became unglued
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 31 December 2020 06:36 (three years ago) link
yeah, that killed me too
― Nhex, Thursday, 31 December 2020 06:53 (three years ago) link
my crying has gotten so much worse since having a son
I was a blubbering mess for the first few years of parenthood. You suddenly realise every nice little family friendly film is actually a horror about separation.
― new variant (onimo), Thursday, 31 December 2020 09:23 (three years ago) link
I'd go further than that to say life is a horror movie now
― Vinnie, Thursday, 31 December 2020 09:55 (three years ago) link
I thought Soul was fine, definitely a pleasure to look at, but it didn't really resonate in the ways Coco or Inside Out did with great ease. I'll admit that part of it is due to seeing Joe's body inhabited by the voice of a white lady for half the film and how icked that felt. I could never settle into a comfortable place while viewing.
However, since I signed up for Disney+ for a month, I finally watched Onward on Tuesday night and thought it was great. It's probably better when considered scene to scene rather than as a whole, but I came away from it with that traditional sense of fulfillment and peace I want from Pixar movies. Didn't get that from Soul.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 31 December 2020 15:44 (three years ago) link
Onward tugged my heartstrings more than Soul, even though Soul has weightier themes and they're more of the focus of the movie. Ian giving up his few minutes with his dad to the older brother is very comparable to Joe going back to save 22 even if it means giving up his life. For me the former was more affecting because it was driven by gratitude, appreciation, empathy. Joe goes back for 22 in part because he's grasping the lesson* of the movie, but also because he feels guilty for how dismissive and obnoxious he's been to her all through. That guilt is less sympathetic. The more I think about it, he's not much of a sympathetic character overall, though the scene with his mom yields some compassion for how he ended up the way he is.
*also the lesson - life's about the journey, not the destination - is pretty trite, and I think it strains belief a little bit that someone who spends that much time in "the zone" wouldn't have a higher baseline of appreciation for that.
One thing that I loved about Soul was how much was conveyed, in both Joe's body (as Joe or 22) and when he was a cat, by eyes getting wide and eyebrows rising. Loved all those scenes where both characters were simultaneously learning about the pleasures of living life. I'm sure Pixar has done this tons of times but I really noticed it in this one.
Overall I do think I liked Soul more than Onward, but Onward is more successful as a kids' movie. I am sure my kids will not be going back to Soul with the frequency they have gone back to Onward over the past year or whatever since it came out. Soul still inferior to Inside Out though, which I think had the tighter concept and integration of the plot machinations with the concept.
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Thursday, 31 December 2020 18:33 (three years ago) link
I think the message was a little more nuanced than that, or maybe it's a separate message - that passions don't define us. Music makes Joe want to live but doesn't have to be the only thing he lives for. That message resonated with me, my 20s were a lot about figuring that out. It's unusual to see it in an ostensible kids' movie but still a good message to take
To your point about the zone, didn't they say something about how one can lose themselves in it, it's not always a good thing? I see Joe's moments in the zone as that: he's not appreciating what he's doing while he's there
― Vinnie, Friday, 1 January 2021 03:17 (three years ago) link
yup. it's those people who get too obsessed with the zone (and other thoughts) that end up as lost souls
Interesting to hear people's varied rankings on the recent (non-sequel) Pixars. I felt the sense that the run from Ratatouille/Wall-E/Up was a certain peak, but less consensus on everything after, though all generally very good. Personally, I thought Soul expanded magnificently upon the themes of Inside Out, and I thought Coco was very good, and Onward was fairly boilerplate for PIxar.
― Nhex, Friday, 1 January 2021 03:21 (three years ago) link
I liked this but it's not in my pinar top tier. The animation is next level and I think I liked the theme but that was my problem with it, the theme and message felt a bit muddled to me, lost within too much concept
― or something, Friday, 1 January 2021 16:51 (three years ago) link
*Pixar top tier obv
― or something, Friday, 1 January 2021 16:52 (three years ago) link
yes, I think all the originals from Ratatouille on have been exceptional with two exceptions: good dinosaur and onward. The sequels are all fine, some better than others, but don't like any of them as much as the originals from this time period (except for maybe toy story 3)
― akm, Friday, 1 January 2021 17:23 (three years ago) link
Brave is unmemorable.
― chap, Friday, 1 January 2021 18:41 (three years ago) link
The first half of Brave is impeccably animated, and she's a great character, but then iirc it falls back on the ol' someone-turns-into-an-animal chestnut which I didn't find particularly compelling.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 1 January 2021 19:09 (three years ago) link
Soul looks and sounds great, but I've never liked these movies where the afterlife is dictated by absurdly complicated rules that, for some reason, everyone but the hero has no trouble accepting or understanding. The best versions of these movies are the simplest: A Matter of Life and Death, Defending Your Life. Soul is closer in, er, spirit to Made in Heaven or Heart and Souls.
― Langdon Alger Stole the Highlights (cryptosicko), Friday, 1 January 2021 22:06 (three years ago) link
I respect that take. I think deep down I dream if there is an afterlife with multiple paths, it's going to be plagued with as much bureaucratic nonsense as our Earthly lives.
― Nhex, Sunday, 3 January 2021 00:27 (three years ago) link
I enjoyed Soul but wow did they ever lean into the “never show a Black protagonist as a person” trope Disney is famous for
Also, the movie spent so much of its running time making the argument “teaching is for chumps” that the “actually teaching means as much to me as performing” resolution did not feel earned and the end result came across like dude wanted to go back to his life expressly to be content with staring at a wall
― Totino's Fortnite Training Room (DJP), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 14:36 (three years ago) link
both valid points
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 15:37 (three years ago) link
i don't feel like the movie was arguing that teaching is for chumps
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 15:58 (three years ago) link
Yeah, maybe I need to watch it again, but I didn't catch that thread at all. DJP's first point 100% otm though.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 15:59 (three years ago) link
joe believes that, the movie doesn't agree with him
i'm glad the film also resists the easy path of "wait teaching is good and my actual purpose" xp
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 15:59 (three years ago) link
yeah agree there
― k3vin k., Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:02 (three years ago) link
The message was fairly muddled. It seemed like a counter to grass-is-always-greener mentalities. Not exactly saying don't chase your dreams, but perhaps don't let your dreams and ambitions turn into dissatisfaction and alienation from all the good things in your life.
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:03 (three years ago) link
Also, achieving that one elusive goal will not instantly transform your life and your fundamental being.
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:04 (three years ago) link
― Boring United Methodist Church (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:05 (three years ago) link
moodles i think you summarized the themes of the movie very well, so ... was it truly muddled?????
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:06 (three years ago) link
moodled
In some way it's the opposite of the Randian message of "The Incredibles." Instead of "I am special and unique and that makes me better than others," it's a gentler (and imo more reasonable) "not everyone has to be special and unique and better than others to make life worth living."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:09 (three years ago) link
moodles so otm
― k3vin k., Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:10 (three years ago) link
Muddled because it has to invent a whole elaborate and confusing cosmology and various wacky scenarios to get him to that point, and even then it's not really clear why.
― Mr. Cacciatore (Moodles), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:16 (three years ago) link
Let me rephrase:
The movie spent so much time painting and reinforcing Joe's disillusionment with his life that his final acceptance rang hollow and came across more like "just kidding, we meant THIS all along" rather than feeling like an actual arc of growth or realization, particularly since he never saw 22's connection with his student (whom he dismissed with "oh she always does that" when 22 tried to describe the interaction), he mostly glossed over 22's growing enchantment with life on Earth, ignored all the auditors when they congratulated him on getting 22 to have a spark, mostly ignored 22's anguish at giving up their pass to be born, and seemingly had no idea, purpose, or drive left after not feeling a sea change in the wake of getting his dream gig until an old White dude spinning a sign told him "but hey, you're alive"
― Totino's Fortnite Training Room (DJP), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:17 (three years ago) link
The more I think about this movie, the more I hate it actually.
― Totino's Fortnite Training Room (DJP), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:18 (three years ago) link
hm ok! what felt forced and hollow to you went unnoticed by me
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:19 (three years ago) link
imo joe is inadvertently being a teacher to 22 throughout the movie but ends up learning more from 22 which is yet another stray theme they packed in
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
I think this is what I meant by "loved the human parts, iffy on the rest"
― stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
i do think the afterlife bureaucracy doesn't really make a ton of sense but... this is also fine for me, it's just a theoretical construct lol (which the movie's self-consciousness of i found charming but others may find cheap, and i'd get that)
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:23 (three years ago) link
like i feel like in any version of this scenario there'd be a ton of 22s, they wouldn't be a special case
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:25 (three years ago) link
The afterlife bureaucracy was the best part of the movie, mostly because it wasn't the part where they had Tina Fey playing a Black man.
― Totino's Fortnite Training Room (DJP), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:26 (three years ago) link
Admittedly, I would likely feel differently about a lot of this movie had we not just lived through 2020 and an armed insurrection at the Capitol largely predicated on White people's fear of being supplanted by non-White people
― Totino's Fortnite Training Room (DJP), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:28 (three years ago) link
i def agree that was a choice that could've been avoided xp
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:28 (three years ago) link
and it's not a point i'd disagree with anyone's dislike of this movie on
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:29 (three years ago) link
A stronger movie would have included some discrimination and forced a conversation between Joe and 22 where 22 incredulously asked why Joe was working so hard to get back to Earth in the face of all of this and Joe argues that experiencing the bad parts of life are worth it for how wonderful the good parts are and then both that choice would have been defensible AND the entire movie wouldn't have come across to me like a fable that people shouldn't try to explore and use their talents, particularly Black people.
― Totino's Fortnite Training Room (DJP), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:32 (three years ago) link
afterlife bureaucracy
It's kind of interesting that this is such a reoccurring concept in movies. Defending Your Life, Beetlejuice, Matter of Life and Death, Here Comes Mr Jordan, Kore-eda's After Life ... I know there are plenty of more.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 13 January 2021 16:55 (three years ago) link
Dan, i dunno if you stuck around for the credits, but here's the star heavy and occasionally confusing council of "cultural music and faith based" advisors they worked with to presumably think about some of your concerns:https://pixar.fandom.com/wiki/Soul_Credits#Cultural.2C_Music_.26_Faith_Based_Advisors
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 13 January 2021 17:13 (three years ago) link
Its wonderful to me to see a movie that isn't like, uh, The Wrestler or Whiplash or A Star is Born or all these other terrible toxic artist myths, and is more realistic but still positive about being an artist. (Though I DO still like The Wrestler and Black Swan.)
moodles i think you summarized the themes of the movie very well, so ... was it truly muddled?????― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, January 13, 2021 11:06 AM (one hour ago)
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, January 13, 2021 11:06 AM (one hour ago)
In some way it's the opposite of the Randian message of "The Incredibles." Instead of "I am special and unique and that makes me better than others," it's a gentler (and imo more reasonable) "not everyone has to be special and unique and better than others to make life worth living."― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, January 13, 2021 11:09 AM (one hour ago)
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, January 13, 2021 11:09 AM (one hour ago)
― Nhex, Wednesday, 13 January 2021 17:47 (three years ago) link
some interesting thoughts about why Soul (and Coco, which I didn't know!) did well in Chinahttps://musingsonmouse.substack.com/p/movie-equations-souls-win-in-china
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:34 (three years ago) link
another reason?
Soul was one of the most unexpectedly Buddhist films I'd seen in a long time.― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Saturday, December 26, 2020 11:15 PM (three weeks ago)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Saturday, December 26, 2020 11:15 PM (three weeks ago)
Coco is very Mexican (I mentioned on here it's probably the most Mexican movie I've ever seen) but the way it treats the afterlife in a very non-JudeoChristian manner could be another reason why Coco resonated more in China perhaps.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:38 (three years ago) link
This has been on Netflix for a while and we've put off watching it for reasons that now seem lame... but this was fantastic. Hands down the most unabashedly (capital M) Mexican film I've ever seen from Hollywood. Seems like this stands up to rewatching so we will watch it next time in Spanish (also on Netflix!) Def. echoes of Spirited Away & Mulan (note: Coco is 100000x better than Mulan, which desperately needs a reboot/reimagining). Loved the allegory of the border (replete with bureaucratic red-tape) between the living & the dead as well as the border between memory-conditional legacy/impermanence.― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, September 30, 2019 11:08 AM (one year ago)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, September 30, 2019 11:08 AM (one year ago)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:39 (three years ago) link
you can discover if you are correct by clicking the link!
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:43 (three years ago) link
(note: Coco is 100000x better than Mulan, which desperately needs a reboot/reimagining)
So, uh, how'd you think this one came out? (note: I only saw about the last ten minutes when my son watched it last month, thought what I saw was slightly better than what I'd expected, but not enough to make me want to start it over)
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:46 (three years ago) link
@forks: nothing in the article addressed any culture considerations.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:46 (three years ago) link
whoops one brief aside:
focuses on cherishing family members, both alive and those who have passed.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:48 (three years ago) link
What changed in-between the first and second week for Coco to soar that much? Word of mouth, good reviews on Chinese sites like Douban Movie, and a cultural connection to the film helped spur it into Pixar’s most successful title ever in China, and Disney’s second most successful animated film behind Zootopia ($236.1 million). The Qingming Festival is one of the most celebrated in China, and focuses on cherishing family members, both alive and those who have passed. Coco’s message, about that exact thing, likely resonated well with Chinese filmgoers, Stanley Rosen, a political science professor at USC’s US-China Institute, told The Wrap in 2017.
China may be thousands of miles away from Mexico, but the film’s embrace of Mexico’s Dia de Muertos and honoring the dead have resonated with Chinese audiences who have similar traditions, said Stanley Rosen, a political science professor at USC’s US-China Institute.One of China’s biggest holidays is the Qingming (which roughly translates as “tomb-sweeping”) Festival. The Chinese mark it by celebrating family both living and dead: Loved ones travel together to graves to pray and offer food and drink.“There have been films in the past that Chinese audiences have embraced for their message about family,” said Rosen. “What we’re seeing with ‘Coco’ is similar to what we saw with ‘Dangal,’ which was about the first women wrestlers to compete for India and their father who trained them. That film also had a strong message about putting family first and became a huge hit in China.”
One of China’s biggest holidays is the Qingming (which roughly translates as “tomb-sweeping”) Festival. The Chinese mark it by celebrating family both living and dead: Loved ones travel together to graves to pray and offer food and drink.
“There have been films in the past that Chinese audiences have embraced for their message about family,” said Rosen. “What we’re seeing with ‘Coco’ is similar to what we saw with ‘Dangal,’ which was about the first women wrestlers to compete for India and their father who trained them. That film also had a strong message about putting family first and became a huge hit in China.”
― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 21 January 2021 20:49 (three years ago) link
watched this without really knowing what to expect beyond thinking it was going to be something about about jazz and the power of music starring jamie foxx. was definitely not prepared for it to be mostly about the complicated rules of new age afterlife with the black character on the poster voiced by tina fey and jamie foxx voicing a wacky cat sidekick, with music by beloved jazz duo trent reznor and atticus ross
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Thursday, 21 January 2021 21:05 (three years ago) link
DJP heavily otm here, tbh im kind of shocked this movie isnt getting dragged like crazy for its tone deaf racial stuff (unless it is?)
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Thursday, 21 January 2021 21:10 (three years ago) link
Here's one review that talks about the issues with the movie:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/soul-feels-like-pixars-first-black-movie-made-with-whit-1845956107
― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Thursday, 21 January 2021 21:30 (three years ago) link
Also here:
https://colorwebmag.com/2020/12/28/mo-reviews-soul-disney-pixar/
― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Thursday, 21 January 2021 21:37 (three years ago) link
This one is less about the racial aspects and more about the message, which I agree mostly settles on "why bother having dreams":
https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/soul
― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Thursday, 21 January 2021 21:41 (three years ago) link
with music by beloved jazz duo trent reznor and atticus ross
Doing their ambient thing, but Jon Batiste handling all the jazz.
I thought some of the comments on the gizmodo post provided good food for thought.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 21 January 2021 21:50 (three years ago) link
yes, i noticed his subordinate credit of "jazz compositions by", right after the "original score" credit for reznor & ross. i guess his jazz compositions werent original enough to get equal credit
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Thursday, 21 January 2021 22:00 (three years ago) link
imagine hiring a jazz person handle the original score for a jazz movie without the steady hand of two white goth dudes to guide him
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Thursday, 21 January 2021 22:04 (three years ago) link
Yeah, I don't know how that works. But I guess they can be seen as "original songs" whereas the stuff Nine Inch Nails did was the main score?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 21 January 2021 22:05 (three years ago) link
Eh, that's semi-expected re: the difference between a movie's score and the songs/soundtrack used within it. Theme/incidental music vs actual full-on songs written for the movie happens all the time, see for example the Moana soundtrack where the first disc is all of Lin-Manuel Miranda's and Opetaia Foa'i's songs and the second disc is all of the connecting instrumental music Mark Mancina wrote.
― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Thursday, 21 January 2021 22:12 (three years ago) link
Re: the comments on that Gizmodo piece, I am reading this one and wondering how high this person was before watching the movie:
Joe had to stop being Joe to appreciate his life because he only wanted his life back so he could return to not living it. The transformative nature of him being put into a cat doesn’t remove his blackness because the center of the movie is still a black man’s voice and a black face onscreen almost 100% of the film.I view it as a dialogue between the interiority of Joe’s blackness in the form of a cat viewing the world disconnected from it and the physicalness and presence of his black body interacting with that world from the perspective of someone who has absolutely no experience with it. Joe gets to filter his own world through his own understanding without being trapped in the person-ness of reacting like Joe.This paradoxically uplifts and emboldens the black voices AROUND him. When Joe leans back, black men and women in his community talk that much louder and we actually get a movie with MORE black experiences than just the one. We get the specific voiced perspectives of a single black mother, a black barber, a black woman who’s an expert at Jazz, all of these other people expressing themselves and explaining themselves as black people rather than just riding along with one man imposing himself on the narrative single-mindedly with nothing to play off of. If Joe KNEW what he had to know without learning, then he’d possibly fall into the black mentor trope instead of being the one who needs to grow and experience an arc.And at that point Soul becomes a movie about BLACK COMMUNITY instead of simply middle-aged black maleness. The idea that the movie can only progress and grow by Joe learning from even more experienced and diverse black voices than his own is something I found really precious and valuable as a black audience member.And I think one thing missed in a lot of reviews is what 22's role actually is. She’s not just an obnoxious kid who doesn’t like to learn even though she has the smartest people. She’s specifically a kid stuck in the education system that inner-city children are most susceptible to — rote learning and recitation with no experience or exposure. The experiencing and participating is something schools are paring down and throwing away.It’s not subtle that Joe is specifically a music teacher at a time when schools in his neighborhood are likely experiencing cuts to music classes and extra-curriculars. He’s a man with a huge opportunity who doesn’t realize how much he contributes to that world and how hard these kids are struggling and how much they need him. And Joe is also a black music teacher trying to explain why music is good to someone who can only THINK about music but can’t actually feel music like a human being through real experience.This felt really rewarding in a way. It’s probably the first Pixar movie in a long time I felt actually GOT its material and knew what it was trying to say. And it did it patiently and thoughtfully in a way I really enjoyed.
I view it as a dialogue between the interiority of Joe’s blackness in the form of a cat viewing the world disconnected from it and the physicalness and presence of his black body interacting with that world from the perspective of someone who has absolutely no experience with it. Joe gets to filter his own world through his own understanding without being trapped in the person-ness of reacting like Joe.
This paradoxically uplifts and emboldens the black voices AROUND him. When Joe leans back, black men and women in his community talk that much louder and we actually get a movie with MORE black experiences than just the one. We get the specific voiced perspectives of a single black mother, a black barber, a black woman who’s an expert at Jazz, all of these other people expressing themselves and explaining themselves as black people rather than just riding along with one man imposing himself on the narrative single-mindedly with nothing to play off of. If Joe KNEW what he had to know without learning, then he’d possibly fall into the black mentor trope instead of being the one who needs to grow and experience an arc.
And at that point Soul becomes a movie about BLACK COMMUNITY instead of simply middle-aged black maleness. The idea that the movie can only progress and grow by Joe learning from even more experienced and diverse black voices than his own is something I found really precious and valuable as a black audience member.
And I think one thing missed in a lot of reviews is what 22's role actually is. She’s not just an obnoxious kid who doesn’t like to learn even though she has the smartest people. She’s specifically a kid stuck in the education system that inner-city children are most susceptible to — rote learning and recitation with no experience or exposure. The experiencing and participating is something schools are paring down and throwing away.
It’s not subtle that Joe is specifically a music teacher at a time when schools in his neighborhood are likely experiencing cuts to music classes and extra-curriculars. He’s a man with a huge opportunity who doesn’t realize how much he contributes to that world and how hard these kids are struggling and how much they need him. And Joe is also a black music teacher trying to explain why music is good to someone who can only THINK about music but can’t actually feel music like a human being through real experience.
This felt really rewarding in a way. It’s probably the first Pixar movie in a long time I felt actually GOT its material and knew what it was trying to say. And it did it patiently and thoughtfully in a way I really enjoyed.
This would have been a fantastic reading of the movie had Joe the Cat actually spent like one iota of time listening to and learning from his black community. All of the lessons this person is ascribing to his growth were given to 22; it's explicitly how they developed their spark.
― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Thursday, 21 January 2021 22:21 (three years ago) link
i dunno, that comment seems on point to me! Joe (slowly) figures it out by the end
― Nhex, Friday, 22 January 2021 02:46 (three years ago) link
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/pixars-troubled-soul
(copy the URL and paste this to the end of it if you want to annoy sic: ?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker&utm_social-type=earned&fbclid=IwAR0ondKr-iZh840L7Z--kNoqfvJGw2ZTlrPz5sJzJrMxH6uBlC9Lm44IqhA )
― Hello Nice FBI Lady (DJP), Monday, 25 January 2021 14:54 (three years ago) link
that’s fantastic
― trans-panda express (m bison), Tuesday, 26 January 2021 02:28 (three years ago) link
i enjoyed this movie a lot when i watched it but djp’s critiques and others’ (and now this) have made me look at this film differently
― trans-panda express (m bison), Tuesday, 26 January 2021 02:29 (three years ago) link
Looks lovely -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYfJxlgR2jw
― chap, Tuesday, 4 May 2021 12:15 (two years ago) link
The look of these things freaks me out now. I thought soul looked almost like a real life new york with 3d cartoon characters walking around in it.
― I was born anxious, here's how to do it. (ledge), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 08:15 (two years ago) link
Luca is visually lovely, but slight, and a bit of a cheat: it sets up a queer metaphor that it is not quite willing to go all in on. Still, it is inspiring some great review titles; I can't decide if I prefer Calimari By Your Name (AO Scott) or Call Me By Your Nemo (someone on letterboxd).
― edited for dog profanity (cryptosicko), Monday, 21 June 2021 20:08 (two years ago) link
Only just caught up with Onward which was better than I was expecting. Not top tier but solid, and did get the waterworks going a bit.
― chap, Monday, 21 June 2021 21:09 (two years ago) link
Luca felt like it was on Onward's level, but with a much more visually appealing setting
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 21 June 2021 21:32 (two years ago) link
ums otm, that's about where I'd land. quality wise they felt pretty similar, but the visual charm of Luca pushed it over the edge.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 21 June 2021 21:55 (two years ago) link
Yeah, I'd rate Onward and Luca about equally. Definitely liked both better than Soul.
― edited for dog profanity (cryptosicko), Monday, 21 June 2021 22:07 (two years ago) link
Soul was aiming higher than Onward but didn't always get there.
― chap, Monday, 21 June 2021 22:09 (two years ago) link
chap otm - Onward had more modest ambitions but really hit its marks. Soul may have had the higher highs but the arc and consistency were a bit more of a mess. also find it weird that 2 of their recent-ish films both revolve around music and the afterlife (though Soul and Coco are very different from each other to be sure)
Will watch Luca with the kids this weekend.
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 17:33 (two years ago) link
my son has already watched luca 5 times
― class project pat (m bison), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 17:44 (two years ago) link
LS otm, Soul did have some incredibly beautiful moments but it didn't hold together nearly as well as a whole.
Luca really felt like a pre-2010 sequel era Pixar film, but even better to look at.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 17:48 (two years ago) link
in general my daughter seems to be more entertained by the "lesser" Pixar movies in recent years
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 23 June 2021 17:57 (two years ago) link
makes sense - the "lesser" movies have entertaining kids as their prime directive, whereas the big important statement ones have to try to do more to meet expectations of audiences of all ages
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Wednesday, 23 June 2021 19:40 (two years ago) link
This seems almost like a parody, but ... Buzz Lightyear prequel?
To infinity and … 🚀 Experience the origin story of a Space Ranger in Disney and Pixar’s #Lightyear, in theaters Summer 2022. 💫 pic.twitter.com/B8kRwSDYSO— Pixar (@Pixar) October 27, 2021
Finally we will learn how Buzz Lightyear became Buzz Lightyear.
But more seriously, isn't the whole appeal of these Toy Story characters how they interact with the real world?
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 27 October 2021 14:53 (two years ago) link
Part of the appeal is that yes
Part of it is Pixar hasn't really done much with outer space and kids love space shit
― a (waterface), Wednesday, 27 October 2021 14:56 (two years ago) link
We got the whole woody backstory in 2, makes sense to do buzz
― a (waterface), Wednesday, 27 October 2021 14:57 (two years ago) link
Finally, and I admit slightly reluctantly, got round to Luca - and I loved it! Comfortably preferred it to Onward and Soul, so charming and bright and stylish, and refreshingly low key.
Admittedly spending some time in fantasy 50s Italy is an easy sell when you're isolating with covid in the English winter.
― chap, Thursday, 16 December 2021 22:20 (two years ago) link
It's the most Ghibli-esque of the Pixars.
― chap, Thursday, 16 December 2021 22:21 (two years ago) link
Except for Soul, the last Pixar I saw was Monsters University eight years ago (!). What are the good ones? Now have covid-enforced time to catchup
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 14 March 2022 13:45 (two years ago) link
You've already seen Soul, which is one of the best recent one imho. After that I would say Coco, and Toy Story 4 of course. The others I could take or leave.
― joni mitchell jarre (anagram), Monday, 14 March 2022 13:50 (two years ago) link
hearing only positive things about turning red
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Monday, 14 March 2022 13:54 (two years ago) link
Turning Red is great. Watched it with my family and we all loved it.
― Cow_Art, Monday, 14 March 2022 13:57 (two years ago) link
One of my daughters watched it with her friend and said it was not bad but it was "weird" and didn't like it. We've been trying to watch it with the other one, but she refuses to watch it at all. Dunno what to make of any of that, given the positive response from critics.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 14 March 2022 14:03 (two years ago) link
I am extremely excited to see my old Toronto Chinatown neighbourhood in that movie, so definitely going to watch that one
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 14 March 2022 14:13 (two years ago) link
Toy Story 4 is fine and people should see it, but I honestly think Toy Story 3 wrapped up the series better and the extra film is like a long epilogue.
Coco and Inside Out both get better every time I rewatch them and are now among my favorite Pixar films.
otoh I was surprised by how much I liked Onward the first time I saw it, but that didn't sustain over follow up viewings.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Monday, 14 March 2022 14:21 (two years ago) link
Turning Red was very good but I was left slightly underwhelmed after all the gushing reviews.
― groovypanda, Monday, 14 March 2022 15:10 (two years ago) link
Inside Out, Coco and Soul were the best in that time frame. Toy Story 4 was a huge disappointment, a lot worse than the first three films imo, but I guess watchable
― Vinnie, Monday, 14 March 2022 15:22 (two years ago) link
Luca is somewhat underrated. I watched it while restricted to a single room because of you know what, and it offered an irresistible sun-kissed escape. Light but lovingly crafted.
― chap, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 09:12 (two years ago) link
Haven't seen it yet, but my first reaction to the trailer was, how do you take one of the 5 cutest things on the planet (red pandas) and make it so much less cute?
― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 13:26 (two years ago) link
Computers, iirc.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 13:38 (two years ago) link
Turning Red was good, best pixar in a while I thought (I didn't like Soul as much as most people I think). Kind of weird to see a "period piece" (no pun intended) set in 2002, I guess this is just one of those movies where cell phones would have ruined the whole plot.
― silverfish, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 14:47 (two years ago) link
Toronto setting was a novelty but 2002 setting was a bit strange, particularly as the 'markers' of it being set in a different time didn't really work...? Like, tamagochis weren't a thing beyond what, 1998? Hadn't boy bands pretty much died out by then? Would a bunch of junior high kids really all have flip phones in 2002? (I was in high school then and most kids didn't have phones, but maybe Toronto was more ahead of the curve than Alberta)
Anyway thought Turning Red was.. fine, I guess? It's no Coco.
― salsa shark, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 15:50 (two years ago) link
I have yet to see Turning Red, but I have had a lot of the same similar thoughts about the various anachronisms that I am aware of, especially the whole boy band thing. Like boy bands were still kind of a thing in 2002, but a lot of the major ones went on hiatus that year, with various members pursuing solo projects and those that did exist did not really sound like the ones from a few years before. Max Martin wasn't really dominating the charts, and wouldn't really come back till 2004 with Since U Been Gone. Most pop was either going in full on R&B direction, what with the Neptunes working with everyone, or in a more rock/pop-punk direction. The main boy bands I remember at the time was stuff like B2K or Diddy's takeover of Making the Band, which were firmly in the R&B territory. You had groups like Busted, but they were in that "We got Guitars!" cateogry and only ever had a tiny following here in North America, to the point that a bunch of their songs could just be recycled a few years later by The Jonas Brothers. I mostly associate that fall with the most popular group amongst young girls at the time probably being Good Charlotte, as well as an abundance of kids wearing ties ala Avril Lavigne. Maybe life was just different for people in Alberta? I too don't remember many kids having phones at the time either, but I was also living in small town and not a big urban center.
― MarkoP, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 16:48 (two years ago) link
Must see: Inside Out, Coco, Toy Story 4 (I may be alone in liking it better than 3)
Decent: Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, Onward, Luca
Meh: The Good Dinosaur, Soul
I'm assuming Cars 3 is crap because the first two were crap, and I haven't watched the new one yet.
― Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 00:31 (two years ago) link
The original Cars was OK. The second and third ones were, indeed, crap.
I thought Toy Story 4 was surplusage, but then again, I thought Toy Story 3 was too. Ducky and Bunny were about the only real saving grace of 4.
Soul was pretty good. It tried for the emotional punch of Up but didn't quite connect.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 01:06 (two years ago) link
I didn't understand the world of Cars at all. Is this supposed to be a world where humans don't exist, and automobiles exist in their place? Why are the horseflies little trucks? Pixar is typically very good at presenting a thought-out logic to the relationships between objects (toys) or just non-humans (rats) and human world, but Cars didn't have any of that. Also, the plot was basically Doc Hollywood. I don't remember why I watched Cars 2, but it seemed to just double down on the Larry the Cable Guy character's bumbling idiocy, which I didn't find charming the first time around. Also, one of the worst end-credits songs in cinematic history.
I liked the antique-store setting of Toy Story 4 and I thought the film displayed more visual inventiveness than I would have expected from the series at this point. I totally get why people might think this series has run its course, though.
The rules of the afterlife in Soul were far too complicated--a peeve of mine likely acquired from having watched a lot of similarly convoluted afterlife-fantasies like Made in Heaven,Chances Are, and Heart and Souls when I was younger. It looked and sounded great, though; I appreciated that it took some visual inspiration (at least) from A Matter of Life and Death.
― Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 01:20 (two years ago) link
Read upthread for all of the stuff that pissed me off about Soul
― castanuts (DJP), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 02:51 (two years ago) link
I think saying boy bands weren’t cool anymore and about to split up may be missing the point of what a 13 year old girl likes or cares about in this fictional band who haven’t yet split to get sexy with the neptunes. Not everything has to be more music historian nerds. Same goes with the idea that a kid may play with a toy beyond its initial year of being massive.
Turning Red was great. It was hilarious and it’s really refreshing to see a take on becoming a teenager where the character stayed true to her spirit. Not the best Pixar movie but still has so much to enjoy.
― a hoy hoy, Wednesday, 16 March 2022 07:39 (two years ago) link
I've only just seen Onwards. My 8yo was loving it but clearly felt the end was frustrating (a while afterwards I found him crying and he said it was a stupid film that they never should've made). Would be interested in other kids' reactions... I enjoyed it more than I expected, but can see how the "promise" dangled throughout the whole movie being whipped away might be clever but didn't really land with my kid.(Plus I feel slight >:( that Ian realised he had someone for all that stuff all along... and the mother gets zero credit for bringing up two kids solo while grieving but it looks like I'm the only person who thinks that's worth mentioning....)
― kinder, Friday, 17 February 2023 18:17 (one year ago) link
ONWARD, not Onwards!
Pixar should focus on making actual good movies for the children instead of focusing on proselytism
― CerebralCaustic, Saturday, 18 February 2023 13:57 (one year ago) link
stop posting
― slai gorgeous-alexander (m bison), Saturday, 18 February 2023 16:17 (one year ago) link
look i know we’re all transfixed by barbenheimermania but not nearly enough people are talking about the fact that elemental features two shots showcasing unambiguous visual references to goatse
― rick semper moranis (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 23 July 2023 17:00 (seven months ago) link
that's because you're the only person who saw Elemental
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 23 July 2023 17:34 (seven months ago) link
and now i can’t unsee it
― rick semper moranis (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 23 July 2023 17:36 (seven months ago) link