Pixar itself must be a bundle of emotions as the animation studio tries to reclaim its former glory!
You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of Inside Out...
Yes, ironically the studio which claimed it would never make a sequel got sidetracked
by them. In fact, Pixar has a dicey history with sequels, as it was the threat of making
Toy Story 2 without them that forced the then fledging animation studio to stay in business
with Disney even though the two companies weren’t getting along. Eventually in 2006,
Disney fully acquired Pixar and even though Pixar insisted it was still semi-autonomous,
it became sequel-centric after the acquisition. Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Monsters University!
And coming soon, Finding Dory, Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2! The box office numbers
for these sequels have been impressive, with Toy Story 3 Pixar’s most successful film
ever. But their new focus on sequels has cost Pixar some of its prestige, allowing its step-sibling
Disney Animation to make some big moves. Frozen and Big Hero 6 not only dominated at the box
office, but also won the last two Best Animated Feature Oscars. In fact, Frozen surpassed
Toy Story 3 to become the most successful animated film of all time. But while Pixar
sat out 2014, Disney Animation is sitting out 2015 - giving Pixar just the opening they
need. They’re releasing TWO original films this year - The Good Dinosaur for Thanksgiving
and this summer, Inside Out. In true Pixar fashion, Inside Out is an ambitious project
that hopes to be both intellectual and mainstream - ironically calling to mind some of the classic
animated shorts from friendly competitor Disney Animation on how the mind and body work. And
let’s not forget that the sitcom Herman’s Head already laid the groundwork for this
idea as well. Speaking of television, Inside Out is a little light on star-power for a
Pixar film, going with mostly TV talent. There’s former Saturday Night Live performers Amy
Poehler and Bill Hader, The Office’s Phyllis Smith and Mindy Kaling - now over on Hulu
with The Mindy Project, plus Comedy Central’s Lewis Black. And alas, it would seem that
even here sequelitis is at work, as Pixar already has a short planned for the Blu-Ray
release of Inside Out entitled “Riley’s First Date”. But while everyone might be
able to relate to being highly emotional, will these personified versions of emotions
ironically keep us from making an emotional
connection
with
Riley herself?