Next batch of Pixar films after the Monsters Inc. prequel

i wish i could see those escalator into the void scenes on a big screen :(

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

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

its love scene shots of NYC made me verklempt for pre-covid times

Dug the Prismo Picasso-esque Jerry, Jerry & Terry (especially when he was slinking around NY) characters.

yes the character design there was genius

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

pretty sure the cars sequels are bad

just wanted to echo the praise for this one, thought it was cool that questlove was in this

cars 2 was ok
cars 3 was good

I'm talking shit like those goddamn Ice Age movies, Dolphins Tale

I loved the human parts of this and was kind of ambivalent about the rest?

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.

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.

just realizing that the Prismo from Adventure Time was also a reference to Picasso

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.

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.

good catch on the pressburger and powell reference

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

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

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.

I mean it’s not even Pixar but don’t ask me what happened when I watched Big Hero 6 on an airplane

i bawled a ton during “soul”

I almost did! At several moments! But see above re: steeling myself.

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)

i cried at fuckin' Big Daddy on a plane one time

the part where 22 was a lost soul & all the mean voices were talking to her was when i became unglued

yeah, that killed me too

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.

I'd go further than that to say life is a horror movie now

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.

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.

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

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.

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

*Pixar top tier obv

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)

Brave is unmemorable.

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.

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.

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.

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

both valid points

i don't feel like the movie was arguing that teaching is for chumps

Yeah, maybe I need to watch it again, but I didn't catch that thread at all. DJP's first point 100% otm though.

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

yeah agree there

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.

Also, achieving that one elusive goal will not instantly transform your life and your fundamental being.

Also, achieving that one elusive goal will not instantly transform your life and your fundamental being.