I've been reading some reviews of Inside Out 2 and critics keep on harping on Pixar's creative decline like Turning Red (one of Pixar's best films), Coco, Lucca, Soul, and Onward (yeah, I'll go to bat for it) didn't come out within the last 10 years. The Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, while unnecessary, we're still pretty entertaining.
@Tim_Eagon I loved Onward. I even bought the ttrpg they produced for it. It's pretty good!
I cry every time I watch it. I had a decent relationship with my dad (er, have, he's not dead, but as a kid I mean), and the thought of my kids not getting that makes it hit pretty hard.
I don't identify with the kids, but with the mom and dad, and even the step dad, despite that never having been an experience I've had.
Solid movie, good storytelling, rife with TTRPG inspiration. 8/10 in my book.
@Tim_Eagon I do think Pixar is in decline, but it's also somewhat normal. As near as I can tell Disney waxes and wanes. They hit a period of creative bankruptcy where the corporate leadership runs things into the ground and then they buy a fresh injection of creativity (Pixar or perhaps Lucas Films being the last such injection).
@Tim_Eagon I think from 2000-2012 you could see the Pixar name and go "yea, that's gonna be a hit" before you see the trailer. Right now it feels closer to a 50/50 chance, perhaps in part from studio politics. I think Disney Animation and Pixar don't have the best organizational dynamic.
@Archy If anything, Pixar's creative decline would be between 2011 and the first half of 2017, ending with Coco. There were plenty of OK/good films, but only Brave and Inside Out stand out IMO.
@Tim_Eagon Out of the recent-ish movies, I would say Lightyear was awful. The script just does not work for me. I have not seen Elemental, though I've heard it wasn't great. Onward was an OK movie, but I think it does come up short on the average Pixar movie quality. Toy Story 4, was not fond of either. Nor Cars 3.
Inside Out, Finding Dory, Coco, Incredibles 2, Luca, Turning Red, all were extremely good.
@Archy I haven't seen Lightyear or Elemental yet (well, I've seen parts of the latter), but I was surprised to see so many people online going to bat for Elemental this morning in various comment sections.
@Tim_Eagon And there's 2011-2017 would get you Cars 2, Brave, Monster's University, Inside Out, Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, and Cars 3.
Not a great era either. Inside Out was amazing, Cars 2 was passable. I'll be the contrarian and say I liked Brave. Finding Dory was good. I have no idea what they were thinking when they made Good Dinosaur.
@Tim_Eagon I haven't seen it in ages. I remember it felt to me like someone did a tech demo "how GOOD can we make something look" and then a CEO walked in and said "oh good, finish the movie you're making."
@FlockOfCats The discourse around that film that it is hard to relate to drives me bonkers. I even read a similar opinion today about it in an Inside Out 2 review that appeared in an ostensibly left-leaning publication. I’m neither of Chinese descent, Canadian, a teenage girl, the descendant of recent immigrants, a lycanthrope, or a fan of early 2000 boy bands and I found plenty to love and relate to in it.