#Pixar movies are always such a treat for me

[oh-katsuki]

Pixar animation is so astounding to me. they animated an ENTIRE film with one of the main characters using (and manipulating) water physics to give his movements character and personality. ofc that’s rly what Disney/Pixar does best with its animation (character through movement, physics, and design), but it looks SO GOOD in elemental WOWZERS. same with using fire physics to give their main character SO MUCH personality wow it was such a joy to watch.

[bbqhooligan]

i cant speak my thoughts so take these three images instead

*incoherent mumbling and hand gestures* you get me?

JUST so you know? "big resolution moment is seeing the humanity of kids (1)once" characters ALSO dont see children as people👍

[quantum27]

To whom it may concern - the mutuals, the fandom-in-laws and the average movie goer. I would like to explain the plight of the Tron fandom.

The sequel announcements Disney pulled this year (2024) are insults to anyone who enjoys movies. There's nothing wrong with sequels, don't get me wrong, but to have a catalogue that has only 1 original movie announced is truly saddening, especially to those who love animation.

Then there's also the fans of Tron.

Tron (1982) was the first major motion picture to use CGI extensively for it's settings, vehicles, and many more things. Many of it's animators would go on to work at Pixar and pioneer CGI there. It was so early that it was rejected at the Oscars for special effects because it was considered "cheating" essentially. This isn't a post about the history though I recommend learning about it if you're interested in the medium of animation.

Tron was an average boxoffice movie. It made back it's money and that was it. However it became a cult classic. It's a strange movie- a bit hard to get into- I only fully understood the plot the second watch, even though it's not that complex.

It would spawn a video game sequel, Tron 2.0 (2003). Years later, in 2010, another sequel would come out, setting the current canon timeline (think of a Star Wars legacy canon and disney canon or Star Trek alpha or beta timelines- that's how the fans treat it) Tron: Legacy.

There were also other supplements, the ever mourned, cancelled after one season cartoon midquel Tron: Uprising- tie in video games and comics and a complete ARG before the release of Legacy. Then there was the planned third movie. It languished in development hell, canceled and uncanceled. (There's more complexity there, involving even, Tommorowland (2015) and of course money.)

Now what we're getting is Tron: Ares. A movie that doesn't even feature the actor for the character Tron, Bruce Boxleitner. There's also the fact that Cindy Morgan who starred in the original movie and original video game sequel was always ready to come back has now passed away. Jeff Bridges is set to return in some capacity, the most well recognized actor from the franchise to the point people assume he is the actor who portrayed Tron.

The first short trailer shown for Tron: Ares shows fundamental flaws in misunderstanding the concepts in the prior works, watering it down to an aesthetic. Most fans I've spoken with have little hope for a good movie at this time. It even stars the controversial actor Jared L*to as it's main character! All of these are red flags.

So, to those who read, please know, after waiting for a decade, Disney has decided to shill out a product with less love than any prior element in the franchise. And I mean even less love than the tie-in movie games for Legacy, of which are of varying quality. This is likely due to the opening of the US version of the Tron rollercoaster. The rollercoaster has more love and attention in it than the trailer shown. And with complete love to it and what I've seen of it- the movie should be a higher quality than a rollercoaster in terms of story and lore.

Our only current hope is for more visual novels after Tron: Identity was released in 2023. And I suppose the NIN fans will get a soundtrack.

Disney does not care about it's audiences. But it especially does not care about Tron fans.

[latteandjacks]

Oh but Anxiety being the antagonist for Inside out 2 is so real honestly

As someone who had incredibly untreated anxiety problems (And still has but I can control myself better now) at 13, and was always either told Anxiety was the worst thing in the world and my fault AND people who told me I should fully accept it as it is and that is a part of me that doesn't need any changes is SO relieving seing Anxiety treated as it is, is a part of you, yeah, but if it takes too much control over you and bottles up other emotions your life becomes a mess, you can't eat properly, can't sleep properly, can't work properly, etc

"Riley needs more sophisticated emotions on her life" ALSO REAL, when you're a teen it feels like being happy, sad, angry, scared or disgusted is childish, you feel like you need to be more mature, to suffer like an adult and that shit sucks, you bottle up everything, you try to fit in, and when anxiety takes over you you become a mess like Riley

And it's also good because we know Anxiety is going to understand that Riley doesn't need to feel anxious all the time, that other emotions come first

And it will be really interesting, yeah Riley can feel moments of Joy or Sadness without them in the first movie, but if they're not there she CAN'T actually stay that way, she can't feel excitement, she can't feel guilty, she can't enjoy things properly, she can't feel empathic

And now she will not experience any of the main emotions, no joy, no sadness, no anger, no disgust and not fear, actually is just worse, in the moments she should feel a bit of fear she's going to be controled by anxiety or even ennui, she will only feel bot extremes instead of simple fear and you know how much that actually sucks? Riley is going to feel horrible

I wasn't expecting much because of how sequels have been turning out for Pixar and Disney (and even OTHER studios) but now I really want to see it

[that-random-outsider]

Just got back from seeing inside out 2, I knew it'd hurt me but when anxiety showed up that was it. Bro I could feel the tears spoilers for my thoughts

THEY REPRESENTED ANXIETY SO WELL

Like tge way she would keep telling herself this is for the greater good. Like if she changed everything about herself to fit in then Riley would be happy. She wasn't feeling joy, she was feeling relief when she would smile. And anxiety thought she was helping but all she was doing was teaching Riley she wasn't good enough the way she was before. All she could think was "I have to do better, I have to do better" I was genuinely feeling every emotion Riley was feeling watching the show and it broke me because it was like looking back at myself back then.

The panic attack seen was a work of art. Anxiety kept saying "I can fix it" but Riley didn't need to be fixed, she needed to know that she was fine the way she was. All she could think was she needed to be better but all she needed was to be Riley. She could only see the bad "I treated my friends like shit, I missed the goal, I messed up, I always mess up" and it hurt to watch because I knew that feeling so well. It's so scary when you feel so out of control and yet you're still feel like everything is you fault and they depicted it perfectly. It's been seven years and yet inside out still feel so real. Seeing every emotion made so sentient and human forces you to come to terms with them in a way that's unlike any other. Pixar really did do their research with this movie and for that I have to give them their props.

[reblogalanaartdream]

If you want to see animation flim but can’t afford it and you’re in a hard place

Or live in part of the world that flim will never air?

Ok I get it go pirate that movie 🍿

If it’s a Disney Disney animated movie

Yeah go pirate that flim they can afford a lost and they’re not always known for treating their creators and animators well (( find ways to go support their creators and animators and artists wherever you can please))

But if you can afford to pay to see your animated movies and you want them to do well and you know maybe keep on going you better NOT be the asshat who pirates that animated flim

You go watch it in theatres and buy the dvds for it

Do NOT be a cheap if you can afford it

Because unlike Disney

Animated companies like Sony; Studio Ghibli and Dreamworks had to work sooo long and soo hard

Against Disney just to get to where they are today

Heck once Pixar was against Disney but then being as 3d animation costs a hold lot more to make than 2d and requires a hold lot more people to make they nearly went bust but the Disney bought them and Disney had less competition

Also dreamworks started being as Disney didn’t want to invest money into 3D animation after how much it cost to pay 3d animation & animators for treasure planet movie and their piss off the animators so bad they got together a team of their own and started dreamworks animation team away from Disney to compete with them

Also if you’re saying oh but dreamworks a big animated movie company now

Let me remind you of the movie

Rise of the guardians

The one with the Jack Frost character so many of you like to ship with Disney’s frozen Elsa character

Do you know even though it was such great well received movie it couldn’t get it’s story continued

In fact it’s 2nd movie got canceled

As you see here it didn’t make it to getting more movies 🍿

Because not enough people went to go see it

It was the most pirated movie when it came out

It didn’t make the gross it needed to prove people would watch it’s story to continue so it got canceled

Shrek

Kun fu panda

How to train your dragon those movies got the funding it needed for their stories to continue but never rise of the guardians

Dreamworks isn’t Disney they cannot afford to keep doing stories that will not make profit

Disney can afford to lose to dreamworks

But Studio Ghibli and dreamworks can’t lose to Disney

So when studio ghibli and dreamworks make an animated film and you can afford to go see it and to get the dvds please don’t pirate it

There’s a hold team of animators / writers and artists working on their movies who you are stealing work from when you pirate animated films

Plus someone needs to go against Disney

Disney needs to be taken down a few pegs

Because Disney has taken awards it didn’t deserve to get when they should’ve gone to studio ghibli and dreamworks as well

Heck man I know Sofie from howl’s moving castle

And Branch & poppy from trolls

Would want you to be more supportive of animated films (( within reason))

I just don’t want what happened to rise of the guardians to happened to any other animated flim that isn’t Disney one

Don’t let Disney keep on winning it doesn’t deserve it

Look I get it if you cannot afford or movie not available where you are I’m not attacking you

I’m mad at those who can afford it that pirate

Animated films (( wish they did it more to Disney films to be honest; because Disney can afford it let’s be honest here; plus Disney has a lot of dark history on not treating their writers/ animators/ artists/ actors all that great that people seem to ignore because oh it’s *Disney* witch isn’t ok for Disney to keep getting away with))

Look if you can’t afford it or it’s not available to you or you don’t have the time or just waiting for the dvd

Of it to come out cool

But please if you can afford it please go see the movie and not pirate it (or get it when it’s on dvd)

Just don’t do Disney a favour by stealing from studio ghibli / dreamworks thank you

[lolotheparagon]

One of the dumbest things I think you've ever said was that cartoon fans hate children because they don't like how certain child characters are written or because they think a reboot of a kids show is badly written. Like, you do understand there's a difference, right? Yeah, I totally want children dead or something because I children's entertainment can be better than those soulless, ugly nursery rhyme compilation videos that children are addicted to. Logic.

Cartoon fans always have a warped idea how children actually are. Because they forget WE WERE kids. Whenever they see a little kid character who is slightly overbearing and overenergetic, yknow what a little kid IS, the fandom calls the character "annoying", "brat" etc. And god forbid if a teenage character was their point of contention

I remember watching Transformers Prime and I thought Miko was my fave out of the human teens the Autobots looked after. Yet Ive seen so many fans complaining she was a rude, impulsive, bratty bitch and found her excitable attitude around the Autobots "annoying" because how DARE a 14 year old acts stupid and is excited to hang out with giant robots.

And this stems to how cartoon fans view children who are fans as well. I was in the brony fandom and I noticed whenever the show introduced more characters or spin offs for the sake of toys, a lot of bronies groaned how its so "girly" and "not what the show is" aka anything remotely marketable and feminine whatsoever. And they got mad when kids loved it cos it reminded them they're watching a girl's show. They outright pilloried G3 fans for liking such a baby's show when Friendship is Magic is literally no different than g3 outside of more consistent characters and its funnier. Heck, even when G5 came along and there was a poll of who their fave main character was and Pipp, the most feminine of the group who was a social media savant, had the least votes. Whereas Izzy, the g5 Pinkie Pie, was at no. 1. (which goes to show how cartoon fanbases are extremely biased to wacky comic relief characters with quasi-neurodivergent traits) Also I was exposed to a lot of fucked up shit, the porn of this fandom was unfiltered and incredibly easy to access on youtube and google. (this was before youtube kids was a thing) This is the same fandom that brought us Cupcakes and Fallout Equestria and Rarity's New Designs. All from a show thats about horse puppies being friends. And as for the little kids who were surrounded by this content, no wonder they grew up traumatised. Cos bronies didnt give a single pissing shit about the children. Look up brony horror stories. You'll see why.

Cartoon fandoms have this preconceived notion to muscle children out of the picture as possible so they can feel more secure watching kids shows without their parents judging them. They hate being reminded that the stuff they watch IS FOR KIDS IN THE FIRST PLACE. But the problem is 75% of media out there is made for children in mind. Star Wars, Disney, Pixar movies, Dreamworks movies, Batman, Spiderman, Marvel, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Transformers etc.

As for the bad reboot angle, I always firmly believed the phrase "This X REBOOT RUINED MY CHILDHOOD" is always a defensive way of saying: "THIS CHILDRENS PROPERTY IS NOT IMMEDIATELY CATERING TO ME >:(" Like they treat a reboot like its an act of betrayal when its just a piece of media changing and evolving with the generations to appeal to the newer ones. If you want the same show you watched as a kid, just watch the original thing on youtube or collect dvds and merch of it. But if you want to watch this reboot, you've got to realise change is what reboots do and if you get mad at the small/big changes a reboot makes...

You're literally Patchy in this scene

As long as a show doesnt push racist/sexist/bigoted or any problematic themes in their faces, its fine. If the kids love it, the reboots done its job.

And as for the quality of children's entertainment, I dont really give a shit what soulless nursery rhyme collection or sanitised fluff kids watch. We all had our mindless fluff we watched as kids and we didnt get scarred for life because of it.

Just...leave the kids alone. Just act like adults and manage your shit carefully. Let the kids enjoy what they enjoy and for the love of god DONT GET SO FUCKING DEFENSIVE OVER LIKING A CARTOON AIMED AT BABIES. ITS ONLY WEIRD WHEN YOU MAKE IT WEIRD.

[alpaca-clouds]

Musing about Dreamworks

I have recently rewatched a lot of old Dreamworks stuff and I realized something: The way a lot of Dreamworks stuff breaks with the hero'e's journey is actually a really good thing.

If you watch Dreamworks movies and compare it with Disney or even Pixar, there is the quite obvious difference that for the most part Dreamworks heroes and heroines are underdogs, while Disney heroes most of the times are not. It is also the reason I think that a lot of queer folks found themselves in a lot of the Dreamworks stuff early on. I for sure can say I did. It is super easy to read a queer subtext into quite a few Dreamworks movies.

Compared to Disney there is also the fact that Dreamworks seemingly never felt the need to use their protagonist's marginalizations, when there, as a way to advertise. It was simply something that was there...

But there is this other big thing.

Disney movies for the most part very clearly follow the Hero's Journey, but in a way that they are so very married to the Status Quo. You know, often in the Hero's the Hero returns home - which Disney usually takes as "the hero returns to the Status Quo". The hero changes, but the world around them doesn't. Because Disney usually says: "The world as it is, is alright."

I could probably go into the depth of the MCU here, but to stay with animation, let's talk about Disney's one real underdog story: Aladdin. The central conflict arises in the first place because Aladdin is of a much lower status and hence cannot court Jasmin. This is basically what leads to the inciting incident and everything. So, the solution in the end is? Well, Aladdin gets a free pass. But in general there is nothing much changed about the class structure of the world.

Meanwhile almost all Dreamworks movies involve the world around the heroes changing. In Shrek the world has to learn to accept ogers. In Kung Fu Panda more than anything it is Shifu who needs to learn the lesson. In Megamind the way that the populus of Metro City treated Megamind was the issue. And most notably probably How to Train Your Dragon, where the vikings needed to learn to work with the dragons.

One can almost make the argument that Dreamworks movies in general reject the status quo. In fact, heroes that want to re-establish the status quo will need to learn that it actually was not a good thing. Be it the animals in Madagascar returning to the zoo and finding it was not at all what they remembered, or be it Puss in The Last Wish learning that his status quo (him having the many lives) was not good for him.

I can very much say that starting in my teens, when I became more interested in animation, I always liked Dreamworks Animation better than the other animation studios in the west. And yes, I quite early learned about the queer readings of Shrek for example. And I was able to well realize that Dreamworks was better in a lot of their messages than Disney was (and clearer).

But I actually never pinned down, why Dreamworks felt so much more progressive until I started to think about this recently. That Dreamworks actually allows for the world around the heroes to change and in some cases address systematic oppression.

And don't get me wrong. Like from a production side and behind the scenes, there is still a lot wrong with Dreamworks as well. They absolutely tried their best together with Disney to keep down the pay for animators and stuff. There was definitely also some cases of discrimination and bad conduct. But just from the side of what the movies themselves say? Yeah, no, I see myself a lot more in the Dreamworks stuff than anything Disney ever made.

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Which Disney movies do you like most?

Zootopia is one of my all-time favorites, the way the fur is animated, the way they updated everything it looks so clean and polished and the story was absolutely important for the times and there is so much opportunity to expand this world.

Elemental covered this later on in Pixar's side Elemental covered the personal side while Zootopia showed the whole societal effects of racism and judgment especially within a police force which back in 2016 was a huge debate as George Floyd had just happened and it still is to this day with the Black Lives Matter Movement and Free Palestine

Another one that completely changed my life was Meet the Robinsons, the quote that ran through the movie, Keep Moving Forward, that's actually my motto,

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”- Walter Elias Disney

It is such a poignant quote that everybody forgets,especially in a world where we can easily stagnate and stay in one place thinking the same idea over and over. It developed into my belief

Keep moving forward for tomorrow is going to be a better day. Tomorrow is going to be better, and I have lived by those words since I was 8 and saw this film,

This film also showed me what a family really should be, that despite your quirks and how weird you may be they don't flinch they don't get angry

yeah your parent may get annoyed if you time travel when you shouldn't, but you know there's a logical reason behind that haha

I didn't have the best family growing up I have an amazing mother and father now but back then I didn't know what a healthy family looked like until Meet the Robinsons showed me which is why it's so dear to my heart nowadays.

Brother Bear is another one that I absolutely loved as a kid and especially as an adult from the visuals to the story

Brother Bear is another one like Zootopia that has a poignant message for everyone in 2024 look through another's eyes before you judge them and do something that is irreversible that you may regret especially if that person has done something to you and you don't know the full story.

Walk in another's shoes before you scorn them, even though it may be the most exhausting Journey you've been on, you still come out of it, understanding a little bit more about that person

And the visuals of this film are still some of the highlights of Disney the Transformation scene between the music provided by the Bulgarian women's choir and the absolutely stunning animation from Disney come together in a spectacular Feast for the viewer it's a scene I watch repeatedly.

Treasure Planet is near and dear to me as someone who grew up with a single mother I know Jim's mother's frustration and just trying to make it I always felt heartbreak for her when she lost everything,

I saw my own mother in her when she had to let her baby go to go on this journey hoping that it may be what he needs to grow.

And Jim's song I'm still here I was raised without my father my biological father he's a sweet man but unfortunately my stepmother it's a classic Cinderella tale she runs the house and treats us his biological kids like shit,

And so I used to listen to I'm still here on repeat because I related to that, especially as my stepdad came into my life my mom found her happiness finally and I didn't know exactly how to react

all the men in my life had been bad and here was this man reaching out with a gentle kind hand and I didn't know whether to bite at him or allow him to get close for fear of being hurt again.

This movie weirdly mostly helped me through a lot, understanding that it's okay to heal and move on, that there was nothing you could do, just be grateful for the parent or parents you do have.

Shout out to Onwards for having a similar effect with me. Especially at the end, I cried with the stepdad because all I could picture was my own stepdad, who is just as big a goof as the police chief is.

Atlantis the Lost Empire is another one I just like watching because it's funny and it's one of my favorite films visually and story wise. It was so unique and out of the box that this is one of the rare films I really do hope they take to live action, especially my most favorite scene out of every single Disney catalog which is The Crystal Chamber Scene

That scene still gives me goosebumps that moment where Kida walks on the water and says Matem fun fact I can actually say her full name

The way Milo's head slightly nods when she says what she says you think as a kid he really didn't catch it but as an adult you catch that moment and you realize he did he just lied to Rourke

The lighting, the animation and the music oh the music is powerful It's haunting it's ethereal this to me is Disney at its Peak right then in there in that moment

The jokes of this film are top notch and again the animation is just so unique and stunning

[oddygaul]

Elemental

Eh, my expectations weren’t exactly high going into this - it landed about where I though it would, pleasant but not mind-blowing.

There’s an old internet joke that Pixar movies are just ‘what if x had feelings’ - toys, bugs, monsters, et cetera. Now, there’s some truth to that, if you just take the elevator pitch for their concepts, but I think what separates the good Pixar movies from the mediocre ones is that they genuinely engage with the setting and imagine what life there would look like. Toy Story, due to its small scope, shows the toys as essentially a small tribal community, with limited knowledge of the outside world that is expanded only through exchange with traveling outsider toys. WALL-E is ‘what if robots had feelings’, sure, but fully leans into its post-apocalyptic, consumerist nightmare of a setting. Finding Nemo has a few puns like the fish going to school together, but other than most of the food chain sharing a common language, it still feels like a sensible undersea culture, with all the conflict, interactions and apocrypha that would entail.

And then Cars happened*.

Now look, Cars is a fine movie. But it takes a fundamentally different tack with its setting - rather than take the premise and imagine how and why the world would be different, they basically reskin our world with superficial retouches for cars instead of humans. And I get it, it’s a kid’s movie - it doesn’t have to be that deep, and it leads to a lot of fun visual gags, like the cars going to sleep in their garages, or how they have to do a three point turn to turn around. But the verisimilitude of the world is abysmal - once you start to question anything the floodgates open. How did things get like this? Did humans build the cars, die out, and now the cars live in the desolate shell of human civilization? Did the cars somehow evolve independently, and just so happened to create a society and infrastructure exactly like ours? How do they perform complex tasks that would be required for their own maintenance and production? Do they got thumbs in there somewhere? And so on, and so on.

It’s not necessarily a worse approach - it’s a kid’s movie, after all, and I get the appeal of treating your premise this way - but it’s definitely not the approach I prefer. The problem is, after Cars, Pixar movies have leaned more and more into this ‘set dressing’ approach to worldbuilding, and it always comes off as lazy. Onward, despite its solid character arcs and charming writing, was the apotheosis of this to me - you’re telling me this culture, consisting of dozens of mythical species and which literally has magic, still developed into a bureaucratic vision of suburban middle America, replete with high schools and minivans? fuck off.

*You could argue Monsters, Inc. kind of started this trend, what with the business suits and corporate mundanity of its titular monsters’ society, but I give it a pass because human society exists in that world and the monsters developed in parallel with it. It wasn’t convergent evolution that inexplicably ended up the same as human civilization, it’s just one corner of the wider world, leaving the monster society as more of a dark reflection of humanity’s ills than anything.

So anyway, I went in expecting Elemental to be one of those, and it is. Despite the world consisting of, y’know, sentient clouds or flames or whatever, they all live in a recognizable, modern, city, where everyone still takes the bus around, which still has skyscrapers, still has a town hall, still has convenience stores. They’re dressed up - the bus is a boat that glides along a city-wide aqueduct, and the skyscrapers have some creative flair to fit in with the aesthetic - but it still leaves a lot to be desired from a worldbuilding standpoint. And the writing is along the same lines - rather than a genuinely thoughtful take on what a world made up of primordial beings might be like, Elemental uses it primarily as a visual metaphor to explore ideas of racism, immigration, and assimilation. Which, to be fair, it does pretty well - it just doesn’t feel especially novel. Particularly when (since it is, after all, a family movie) it’s done with the subtlety of a brick - I laughed out loud when, during one of the establishing scenes on the bus, the flame mother character gets dripped on by a water fellow, only for the father to look over, shake his fist and angrily growl “Waterrrr….”.

From an aesthetic perspective, I also surprisingly wasn’t that into the character animation, particularly the fire and water folks. They feel like they’re kind of in this limbo between being fully free-flowing elemental particles and solid physical beings. Look at Wade, for example. The very top of his head is constantly dripping and flowing, like he’s composed of free-flowing water. His body, though, is just a solid shaped blob with a water effect over it. Sure, when the scene calls for it he’s extremely malleable and can do whatever - but when standing relatively still, he feels somewhat contradictory.

There’s also something to be said for their interaction with the lighting. 3D animation, at this point, can absolutely nail lighting on realistic forms - even if the design is super stylized - which leads to a great toybox/macro lens effect. This happens with the backgrounds here, and with some of the elementals: take Claude, for example. He’s a goofy lil mossy orb with eyes. BUT, he’s composed of solid matter that’s realistically lit by things around him, so he looks pitch perfect. The fire folks, on the other hand, since they’re… made of fire… have to have their own built-in lighting, and as a result, their forms don’t react much based on their surroundings, leaving them feeling somewhat disconnected and not grounded in the space. Meanwhile, due to the expressions needing to remain legible, there’s a hard limit on how much their faces can really distort or be animated, and the end result feels like a stiff video game character rig rather than a flickering flame.

Halfway through the movie, I thought about how absolutely killer these designs would have been in traditional 2D animation and got kinda bummed out. Instantly, the lighting problem would be gone - you color them in flats instead, and then you’re free to go wild with constant movement, highlight the ethereal nature of their figures, exaggerate every movement to emphasize different expressions… ahh, man. If only.

All this aside, it was enjoyable enough, and there were some highlights for me.. I thought it was pretty daring for a family movie like this to, structurally speaking, be a whole-ass romcom. Normally these movies will have some romance bits, but they’re usually a subplot: the characters usually bond over the course of whatever dangerous, heroic quest they’re on, rather than making relationship-building the centerpiece. In Elemental, there’s no bad guy, no villains, no evil plot… just a meet cute and some good old fashioned dates.

Also, as you can probably tell already, despite it feeling fairly surface level, all the background and landscape work is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. The green / eco-futurist architecture is all beautiful - they feel like the kind of designs you’d normally see relegated to concept art and deemed too abstract for the final product, yet here they are. Seriously hats off to everyone that worked on the environment art, I'm eating that shit up.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Currently frustrated at people conflating DreamWorks leadership making decisions that affect the lives of their staff and the perceived quality of some of their post-PUSS IN BOOTS 2 offerings. (Including the ones they didn't even oversee, like MEGAMIND TV Pilot Thing.)

It's also kinda unusual that "animation fans" are certain that the future outsourced DreamWorks Animation movies that'll be made at Sony Imageworks... Ya know, the main vendor for most of Sony Animation's movies? The SPIDER-VERSE movies, especially?? Will somehow look terrible in comparison to what were already partially-outsourced, sub-$100m productions? I thought you were outraged for the animators there that allegedly got exploited during the making of ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE? Now you're saying they're going to deliver subpar work on future DreamWorks movies??

No-no-no-no, the real issue here is animators in Canada being exploited and underpaid, animators on the American West Coast being put out of a job, and the bean counters trying to make animation into this assembly line thing when *gasp* you have to have the teams and resources, and you HAVE TO BE PATIENT AND PAY THEM.

I'm very upset about what's happening to animators and artists at the main DreamWorks campus in Glendale. I think it's super fucky how they've been treated lately... I was also upset when they laid off animators every time a movie of theirs flopped, pre-Comcast acquisition. Even HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, which went on to make a lot of money in 2014, lead to layoffs after its opening weekend gross turned out lower than expected... And I was especially upset when they shuttered Pacific Data Images, over a movie that didn't even lose money... DreamWorks has a sorry history of this kind of stuff, and yet... The artists there. The real deal... They're the ones who continue to make exemplary stuff.

Even if the movie in question isn't really to our liking, the hard work is always there.

But the YouTube Animation Opinion Industrial Complex and baby-brains online have to turn it into "This is why KUNG FU PANDA 4, TROLLS 3 and the high school sea monster girl movie suck! DreamWorks, why haven't you made PEAK In Boots again???"

Watch, when THE WILD ROBOT comes out... That'll be an "exception", somehow. No, you just liked that movie. That's what. Made under the same circumstances as the last two or so pictures, they were all in development around the same time.

For me, this whole ordeal stings because DreamWorks is turning 30 and they're one of the BIG American animation studios. The work was done in-house and at PDI for sooooo many years, and now that's just... Not going to be a thing anymore. I'm sure there will be future movies of theirs that I like/love, but it's sad that it's all down to outsourcing and an unwillingness to make these movies relatively fairly. It's capitalism, it's Hollywood, it's the biz... Eventually, it was gonna really clamp down hard on the animation industry again, like it usually does... And it always sucks to see.

Again, DreamWorks has been in similar jams. The post-RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, pre-COVID days were particularly rough with all the layoffs, all the movie cancellations (still not over the partially-finished LARRIKINS getting canned just like that), PDI being shut down after 35 years of work and pioneering... The craft of the storytellers will eventually shine on.

Disney Animation has done it plenty of times, all the way back to the 1941 Disney strike days and the animation unit being severely downsized following SLEEPING BEAUTY's 1959 release, Pixar sometimes cuts down, etc. Lots of companies tried to get in on the animation game in the '90s following the Disney Renaissance and Don Bluth's one-two punch of Spielberg-produced movies... Only to fail, and it resulted in studio shutdowns (such as Fox Animation after the disastrous showing of TITAN A.E.) and lots of layoffs. 2D being shown the door lead to layoffs and cutbacks, too. It just happens all too frequently in animation-land...

... But first and foremost, I hope the animators and crews are okay. And that they find work, security, etc.

As for the movies, which is secondary to me... Well, the writer's strike ended, so I'm sure the storytelling end of things could go more swimmingly. (I'd like to think a lot of KUNG FU PANDA 4's production was affected by that and the actors strike.) While still understanding that these things are all subjective. TROLLS 3 and RUBY GILLMAN were largely locked before the strikes began, but you still had internet weirdos calling them a comedown of sorts from THE LAST WISH. That's irrelevant.

The animators strike, I feel, is what we should want. How it changes things going forward, I do not know. I don't think DreamWorks in particular will re-staff the California campus, as the damage has been done and that Sony Imageworks making their movies is their future for now. Maybe I'm wrong. But this strike has been a long-time coming, especially with what's been going on post-COVID outbreak. Animation was one of the few things that could resume production during lockdowns and make Hollywood money while everything else was on hold, and yet this is how the industry treats the medium? Yeah, something's gotta give...

I'll take that conversation over "waaah KFP4 Trolls 3 Sea Monster Girl MID, what happened Dreamworks you used to be soooo awesome ?!??"

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #211

Are you an only child? Nope.

Do you like the color pink? Pink is my favorite color. I love basically any shade of it.

Do you take vitamins? Not necessarily vitamins, but I take daily fiber pills.

Where was your last kiss? Girt's car when we got home from Charlotte. He was too exhausted to come in.

What health problems run in your family? A fucking lot. High cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, heart issues, cancer, asthma, some mental health issues (I think depression is most prominent), and I'm sure I'm forgetting more.

Ever have an eating disorder? Not exactly. I do have binge-eating tendencies, but not with a frequency where I think it's an actual condition, but I could be wrong.

What’s your favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream? Phish Food.

Do you have a cat? Yes, named Roman.

Do you like polka dots? Yeah, I just like circles because I find them aesthetically pleasing.

Have you ever had surgery? Yes, I had tubes put in my ears as a baby and in my early 20s I had a pilonidal cyst removed.

What are you best at? I think my best skill is probably writing.

What are you worst at? Lots'a contenders here, lol. Catastrophizing. Social inadequacy. Overthinking in general.

Do you like men in suits? are you seriously asking this, I am but a basic bitch

Which of the seven deadly sins fits you the best? Sloth.

Do you go hunting? Absolutely not.

Have you ever wanted to be a ballerina? No.

Are you in a band? No.

Where did you last have sex? I've never had actual penis-in-vagina sex because of a combination of living with parents and my boyfriend has absolutely crippling performance anxiety that makes it kinda impossible right now. I last did sexual stuff in my boyfriend's bed.

Did you ever want to be an astronaut? No.

What’s the last party you attended? My niece's bday party.

Do you have your own computer? I have my own laptop, yes.

Are you trick or treating this year? No, I haven't done that since I was a young teenager.

What month were you born in? February.

Do you like where you live? No, this place drives me insane.

Do you get along better with your mom or dad? Mom.

Do you read classic literature? I've enjoyed classics I've read. I don't read them exclusively or necessarily favor them.

Do you have a deviantART account? I have two active ones; my main one is for photography, and the other is for mainly drawings.

Are spiders scary? They can startle me, but I'm not exactly afraid of them. I love them, even if I can be jumpy around certain types. I actually tend to be much more comfortable with tarantulas; I say that because I know for most people, that's their nightmare spider, but they're in my top three or four favorite animals.

Cheetos. Poofy or regular? Crunchy. The poofy ones get so stuck in your teeth. I mean I'll eat them and enjoy them, but I will always prefer crunchy.

What’s a total deal breaker in a potential bf/gf? A history of getting violent when angry is one. I will NOT fuck with that. But I honestly have a lot of dealbreakers.

When you read a book, do you use a bookmark or simply dog ear/fold the top of the page? I've used a bookmark since I got a meerkat one from my Australian friend Shaz! She sent me a meerkat postcard and included the bookmark.

Have you ever seen a panda in real life? Where was it? I have not.

Does it snow where you live? Not often and not a lot of it generally, but yes.

Have you ever been bitten by a spider? Not to my knowledge, anyway.

What movies did you watch a lot as a kid? The first two The Lion King films, Finding Nemo, Milo & Otis, Napoleon, Homeward Bound, etc. Mostly Disney or Pixar movies.

Do you like cucumber? Yeah, it's a vegetable I actually find fine. I especially like them with salt and vinegar.

Do you have milk in your fridge right now? What kind? Yes, I think it's 2%. I think Mom also keeps almond milk for herself, I don't pay attention back there.

When was the last time you were hungover? Never.

Do you know anyone who is anorexic? I don't think so.

What's the last insult someone said to you? Idk.

How much did your car cost? I don't have a car.

What is the last picture you received on your phone of? uh good question

Who did you last share a taxi with? I've never been in a taxi.

What do you hear right now? "They Don't Care About Us" by Beast In Black. Girt's got me obsessed with them.

Do you do anything to help the environment? We recycle. I take spiders outside (I know that sounds very minor, but come on, they serve the environment). I wouldn't even dare to litter.

What do you think of people who complain about Valentine's Day? I honestly totally don't get it. "You should celebrate love every day!!!" well no shit but what's the harm of having ONE day specifically dedicated to it???? I love Valentine's Day.

Have you ever had to get stitches? Twice that I remember.

Is your tongue pierced? It's not anymore; I had snake eyes years ago and it was my favorite piercing. I took it out however because I'm sure it was damaging my teeth when I would accidentally chomp down on it when eating and stuff.

Do you think that you have a pretty smile? No, I think I look high when I smile, especially with my mouth closed.

Are you keeping a secret that would shock people if they found out? I don't think so.

Are you scared to lose the person you fell the hardest for? I already did.

Do you have any friends that actually model? No, I don't think so.

Are you for or against gay marriage? jump off a bridge if ur against it <33333

Do you know anyone who’s committed suicide? An online friend named Journee when I was a teenager, at least to my knowledge. I guess since she was an online friend I never truly met, I really have no ACTUAL way of knowing, but I definitely believe she did kill herself. It affected me more than I even realized at the time, and I felt it then, too.

Have you ever imagined how it would feel kissing a certain someone? lmao yes

Is there anyone who doesn't like you? Multiple people.

What was the last thing you cried about? When we were in Charlotte, I had to walk much farther than my body could handle; frequently I felt like I was going to crumble onto the sidewalk. I had to cry a little bit in the bathroom when we got to where we were going because I was stressed, overwhelmed, scared, and mad at myself.

Do you have nice eyes? Meh. I wish they were bluer.

What are the bad things you've heard people say about you? I would much rather NOT do this to avoid falling into a self-loathing trap lmao

Have you ever caught a friend cheating on their bf/gf? My sister's friend, anyway.

Have you ever kissed someone that was high? No.

Do you think Jersey people are annoying? No. Making blanket assumptions about people depending on where they're from is dumb as hell.

How many exes do you have? If you include everybody that had the title of boyfriend or girlfriend, four, or five if you consider Girt an ex since we technically dated before this go-around.

Does your mom think you’re a virgin? Yes.

Is there someone that wants you to give them a second chance? shrug

Did anyone give you anything last Valentine's Day? Yeah, Girt got me flowers.

Do you keep condoms in your room? Not right now. We did in the past, but after failed attempts to even have sex, there's none left right now and since it's pretty clear sex is probably never going to happen until we live without our parents, we just. Don't keep any here.

Is there a secret you've never told your parents? Yes, but it's nothing important. Just things I keep private that affect nobody.

Does the person you last kissed still like you? Yes.

Are your parents still together? Hell no.

Do you have a large dog? If not, are you afraid of them? No and no.

Has anyone ever told you that they loved you, and you didn’t say it back? Yes. That's when I decided hey, maybe flirting with your best friend's boyfriend behind her back isn't a great idea.

Who is your favorite photographer? Anastasiya Dobrovolskaya.

Were you shy in high school? No, not really.

Do you know anyone autistic? Me. My niece Aubree. Pretty sure more.

Do you like your girlfriend’s/boyfriend’s parents? I love his mom. Never met his dad, he's dead.

Do you like Polaroid photography? Yeah!!!

Who was the last family member of yours that died? My maternal grandma, I think?

Would you be upset if you caught your boyfriend looking at porn? No.

Who of the opposite sex has seen you at your worst? Honestly, probably Girt. He's the one that came to the ER after I tried to kill myself, when I'd completely given up on life. But I suppose maybe it's Jason, who saw me basically fucking insane with heartbreak after he broke up with me. Idk. I lean towards Girt.

Were you raised by someone other than your parents? No.

What’s the last chore you did? Refilled Venus' water dish.

Is your father injured? He's had issues with his back forever. I think he recently had a leg problem, too.

Are you part Native American? No.

What are your pets’ names? Roman, Venus, Cookie (not exactly mine, but).

Have you ever worked two jobs? hello I'd rather die

What are the names of all the dogs you’ve ever owned? Trigger, Angel, Teddy, Dale, Cali, Delilah, Bentley, and Cookie. We had one more dog very briefly but I can't remember what Mom named her.

What is the cruelest thing a person has ever said to you? I'm a weak-willed deadweight that lies about being traumatized. Love you too, Sara.

Who have you most feared in your life? My dad, honestly.

What one natural thing would you most like to see? Aurora borealis.

Do you like the game Tetris? No, it stresses me out.

What’s the most rebellious thing you’ve ever done? I dunno.

Have you ever wanted to be a model? No.

Who was your first online friend? I think it was actually a girl named Kat, but it may have also been Mazzy. I met a lot of people around the same time when I joined the MM forums.

Does your mom dye her hair? Yes, the gray makes her self-conscious.

What’s the best kind of video game? (Adventure, shooting, etc) Horror.

Have you ever tried to break up anyone because YOU liked the guy/girl? I wanted to when Jason got a girlfriend after me, but I just barely managed to have at least SOME respect and left their relationship alone.

Do you draw fanart of anything? Not really. I've drawn meerkats from Meerkat Manor and portraits of celebs, but this isn't something I do regularly. I'm far more likely to draw meerkat OCs, if I'm gonna draw.

What was the last music video you watched? Did you like it? I think it was "Bleeders" by Black Veil Brides. It was fine, I mainly clicked the video just for the music.

Which one of your parents do you think is smarter? Oh, my mom by a trillion miles, I'll be real.

What band has the power to make you cry by splitting up? Oh Rammstein easily, they've had the same lineup since they started and they're like brothers so if they split I'd be devastated. I'll very likely cry when they simply retire, lol.

Can grills be sexy on a guy? Grills are sexy on literally nobody.

What’s your favorite comic book/graphic novel? I don't have one.

Do you prefer original or sour Skittles? SOUR

Do you find it easy to pass the time or do you get really bored? One of my most prominent depression symptoms is anhedonia. I'm always bored out of my mind.

Have you ever been in a Catholic confessional? Yes, I was forced to go to a Catholic church as a child and also was occasionally brought to confession. Don't do this shit to your kid, btw.

Who was the last non-relative you rode in a vehicle with? My boyfriend.

Do you expect to be married in the next 2 years? I have a feeling we'll at least be engaged.

Have you ever had an allergic reaction to an insect? No.

Who IMed you on Facebook last? Girt's sister Ashley.

What flags do you have in your room, if any? None. I'd like at least a small LGBTQ+ one, though.

If you’re not straight, who was the first person you came out to? Sara.

Who was the last person to add you as a friend on Facebook? I think it was Ariel, whose horses I photographed towards the end of last year.

[beardedmrbean]

Hey it was me huey zoomer who pointed out the child predator shit in different cultures and economies systems

Oh and well…might save my rant for later

Sorry socialists, I prefer being bezos bitch for 10 hours for 4 days then being force to reproduce with up to 5 female slaves starting at 15!

Ugh sorry I don’t want to use my enslaved ancestors as a crunch. I just want to point out the hell my ancestors went through prior to industrialization

Also this thread have a clip from a video I watch that pointed issues I have

https://x.com/lavenderghast/status/1771018961968157013?s=46

And incase you wonder what type of “consultants” devs are going to

One is the bitch that shit over Akira early black designs

At least he approved on his black characters

Also there a FUNDAMENTAL difference between Pixar getting Mexican and African American consultants so they can be authentic to the cultures their using

Then using the black American activists that thinks skintone=entire personality

Because I just realize something with Killmonger

Black activists can’t separate the difference between a common thug vs a Navy seals cia agent that purposefully trained in destabilizing countries and treated wakandans like shit

“He was a victim of systemic oppression!” And who joined the cia that been used as the basic for

Wait wait

Holy

Fucking

Shit

Are you telling me

These late 20’s-30’s

College educated

Narracists

Didn’t pick up on the huge middle fingers Vietnam vets or friends did to the cia in the late 70’s-00’s media did they?

Or how cops in shows LOATHE working with the cia

They’re crooked too

But it ain’t rocket science who gave the narcos and cartels military grade weapons that no regular American can buy much less third world citizens

Oh and the CIA/FBI FUNDED CRACK AND COCAINE EPIDEMIC

I mean if I was a rookie cop that say low thugs have military weapons my station don’t have. I would be wondering how the fuck they got it here in the USA?

Sorry it always been a issue, but Killmonger shows how twisted they see black and white

The fucker made a deal with the devil in his current suit. Yet he the victim in everything?

don't think that even really registered with that one, was wearing out about then, changed the tag on it

Sorry socialists, I prefer being bezos bitch for 10 hours for 4 days then being force to reproduce with up to 5 female slaves starting at 15!

Oh I don't know, that could be fun......... (kidding, I'm all for monogamy)

Also this thread have a clip from a video I watch that pointed issues I have https://x.com/lavenderghast/status/1771018961968157013?s=46 And incase you wonder what type of “consultants” devs are going to One is the bitch that shit over Akira early black designs At least he approved on his black characters

A lot of Hollywood stars, the big ones, have people that go over their scripts for them and get changes made so that they fit in with the persona of the actor, it's why you pretty much always know what you're going to get with a Will Smith movie, people went through and did rewrites to make sure his lines sound like Will Smith lines.

Video games using established characters should look into that apparently, so the stars of the game don't just become (more?) generic, which would suck.

Also there a FUNDAMENTAL difference between Pixar getting Mexican and African American consultants so they can be authentic to the cultures their using Then using the black American activists that thinks skintone=entire personality

Disney in general is pretty good about that and getting better, Pixar has always been over the top about it which shows.

But it ain’t rocket science who gave the narcos and cartels military grade weapons that no regular American can buy much less third world citizens

Thanks Obama. Next we'll discuss the policy he put in place that lowered civilian deaths by listing anyone in the blast area of a drone strike as a terrorist.

Oh and the CIA/FBI FUNDED CRACK AND COCAINE EPIDEMIC

Mostly FBI, it's insane how after all that and things like the Tuskeege syphilis experiment how many people in the black community trust the government, oh it's just the cops that are bad, na fool the Fed is directing it all.

Though it did result in black Americans having a lower covid vaccination % than any other demographic IIRC.

I mean if I was a rookie cop that say low thugs have military weapons my station don’t have. I would be wondering how the fuck they got it here in the USA?

That's why we need more gun laws, if it's illegal to have those I'm sure the various gangs and such will turn theirs in.

Sorry it always been a issue, but Killmonger shows how twisted they see black and white The fucker made a deal with the devil in his current suit. Yet he the victim in everything?

Still haven't seen the movie, but ya by my understanding there was no nuance there at all.

Hopefully they learn better when it come to making a villain.

[aleppothemushroom]

Elemental is fine

It's not one of Pixar's greatest, but it's still treated with the care of love they give to most of their projects. I was heavily invested in that romance. If this was any other movie, I would've gotten mad when they threw out logic and touched each other with either one getting hurt. Because I want them to touch. I want them to be together. They are both exactly what they need and movie makes me care so much about them and how they both help each other do things the other has always wanted to do. It's incredibly moving. And they fact that they come from different background, in terms of both element type and childhood, makes it all the more sweet.

That being said, there's one big change I would make to the movie: Change the world to be fantasy-like. While we get good interaction and world-building from the movie, most of it's based on the real world making it feel...generic. (We get it. Monster's Inc. and Zootopia are good movies. We do not need every animated movie to be "hypothetical society as a city!") Again, this isn't a "bad" thing. The movie sets out what it wants to do and does it well, which is why I'm being nicer on it than other people.

It still would be nice to have "Element World" rather than "Element City". A totally imagined world about "how and why" rather than "what if." What does fire world look like? What does water world look like? How do these humanoid creatures co-exist and interact with each other? How do these creatures function? Heck, you could even do the whole movie without dialogue at that point.

Again, the movie's fine, but I crave something different. Something new. And if anyone should be doing something different and something new, it should be Pixar.

[world-cinema-research]

Toy Story

Choosing Toy Story as my film this week, I was left with the same feeling of awe washing over me like each time before. The reason for these strong feelings remains the same as well: the movie overflows with emotion. Though the human aspect is what I, and probably most viewers, cling to, the technical aspect of the film plays a significant role in its charm and success. When it comes down to it, though, I loved the idea of my own toys coming to life when I wasn't around, and even more so if they had personalities like the characters in the movie.

What really makes the movie unforgettable for me has always been the voice acting. The range of emotions you saw and heard from the characters was something I don't remember noticing in any other movie or show I saw as a kid, especially Woody the Cowboy.

Some research into the film's conception and production helped put why I'm so attached to the animation and voice acting into perspective. Not only was Toy Story the first fully computer animated movie, the voice cast was comprised of popular actors like Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Wallace Shawn to name a few. Coupled with Disney's financial backing, the film had a lot going for it right from the get-go. Making close to $400,000,000 worldwide, the movie made more than ten times its budget of $30,000,000, Toy Story became a critical success. The film's unique approach in using a new medium, perfectly capturing facial expressions and movement, was one of Pixar's main selling points. Blending the possibilities of animation with a hyper-realistic look and feel drew in both adults and children, including the film's actors themselves.

Produced at the beginning of the 90s, technology was quickly evolving and the entertainment industry was quick to take advantage of the progress. With breakthroughs like Galileo reaching Saturn the same year the film released, Pixar saw and took action on these fast developments, ultimately setting the precedent for future computer animated shows and films.

Although a kid's movie from Disney, meaning it's pretty conventional by playing out with a happy ending like most would expect from a film like this, watching it as an adult is a different experience. Having kids as its main demographic may have kept adults from seeing it at the time and may be true now as well, but taking a closer look at the characters shows their not just there to keep the movie going. Re-watching it this week, rather than focusing on the story itself I was more drawn to contrast between the film's main human characters Andy and Sid.

Andy, the younger, caring child whose attention Woody fights for most of the film, and his next door neighbor Sid, older and sadistic toward his own toys. This contrast is shown throughout the film not only in the way each of the boys treats their toys, but also in their environments and even their respective family. Andy's introduction at the beginning of the film is colorful, cheerful, full of imaginative interactions with all his toys, complete with Randy Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me" as an accompaniment to further drive Andy and Woody's bond.

On the hand, Sid's introduction has the viewer looking at him from a safe distance, looking down from Andy's bedroom window. The music is darker, and barely audible, with his version of "playtime" consisting of taping explosives to his toy watching it explode. Considering how human Andy's toy feel up to this point in the film and quickly accepting their very much alive and capable of feeling emotions, this scene has always disturbed me a bit. Very visceral feeling seeing the toys limbs flying. That said, Sid is also alone in his backyard, without supervision, unlike the interaction Andy has with his mother at the beginning, setting a feeling of her presence even though her face is barely shown throughout. Along the same vein, Andy also seems close to his baby sister while Sid's interactions with his sister, Hannah, feel more violent. Lastly, Sid's disconnect from his family is further shown with the absence of his mother. We hear her voice, but she's never seen. All this to say that despite the contrast and the goal of cementing Sid's role as the antagonist, the stark differences between him and Andy made me realize that there's more to him than just being the bad guy. Approaching it from this perspective got me thinking "maybe he's mean to his toys because he lacks the connections and support Andy has with his family, and that's reflected in the way he treats his toys.

Roger Ebert summarized this, and my feelings about it, well with this quote from his review of the movie, "its conflict is between an old-fashioned cowboy who has always been a little boy's favorite toy, and the new space ranger who may replace him. The villain is the mean kid next door who takes toys apart and puts them back together again in macabre combinations. And the result is a visionary roller-coaster ride of a movie."

While I can watch this movie over and over with more appreciation for each time, the graphics always stick out to me a little more. Looking at more recent reviews, I'm not alone in feeling this way.

Sean Axmaker reviewed it with "the technical bar has been raised much higher in the subsequent decades and the human characters look creepy and primitive by today’s standards, but the film is far more than a technical achievement."

Even though Toy Story's graphics receive the most criticism, I agree that it's charm remains unwavering.

[andswarwrites]

It's the weekend!  Which means I am getting my word count the lazy way, by creating a ranked list of items.  So far it's just been movies, but I can go on and rank shows, albums, food, activities: my laziness and desire to categorize things will see me through many a weekend, I am sure.  We're going to see Elemental later today, so how appropriate for this week's list to be my personal ranking of Pixar movies. 

First, however, I have to explain that I have not seen:

Lightyear (2022) Turning Red (2022)

Soul (2020) Onward (2020)

Coco (2017) Cars 3 (2017)

As for the Pixar movies I have seen, I'm going to start with the most recent and move back in time.  I'm also grouping all the sequels together, and treating them as one story.  Here goes.

Luca (2021)

I was delighted with Luca.  On its surface the story seems very simple: a young sea monster meets a friend who introduces him to all these new experiences, and then they escape to a small village where they meet a girl who widens Luca's horizons even more, and the trio band together to win a race.  Pretty straightforward.  The subtle message, however, that always gets to me, every time I watch it, is (1) as parents, we cannot protect our children from everything, they need to live their own life and (2) don't call someone a "monster" when you simply don't know who they are.

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

This movie is a Western with dinosaurs.  There's the farm boy, there's the ranchers, there's the "native", there's the wild creature that befriends the hero, and there's the gang leader who has gone insane.  I don't love it, and I don't hate it. 

Inside Out (2015)

This is one of my all-time favorite movies.  It helped me, as a parent, to explain the different emotions to my child, and it helped my child learn how to convey to me what she was feeling.  I bought figurines of all the characters for her, and we would use them in our discussions.  Inside Out is not just an entertaining movie, it is a deep and wonderful lesson for all children (and adults) that their emotions are always valid, and should not be supressed.

Brave (2012)

I'm a mom.  I have a mother.  The mother-daughter relationship in this movie is so precious.  You see the conflict, and maybe at first the mother seems to be too rigid and uptight, but as the story progresses, you learn to respect her and cherish her, as her daughter does so as well.  Merida goes from treating her mom like the enemy, to seeing that her mom truly cares about her.  And Merida herself is such an appealing character.  You root for her, even when she is making mistakes, because she learns from them, and she can grow as a person.  What a perfectly delightful heroine.

Up (2009)

You know what I love best about Up?  It shows that a simple life with a loved one can be rich and fulfilling.  It also shows that after experiencing a devastating loss, you can forge new friendships and experience new things.  

WALL-E (2008)

Again, an all-time favorite movie of mine.  A teeny tiny robot, the last one still cleaning up the mess humanity left on Earth, is the protagonist who is primarily responsible for everything good that happens in the movie.  His simple friendliness breaks down barriers and inspires others.  To me, this story shows that no matter how humble you are, you can do good, just by caring.

Ratatouille (2007)

As someone who worked in a restaurant, the attention to detail in the animation of the kitchen blew my mind.  Right down to the fabric of the uniforms the cooks wear.  Honestly, if I saw a rat in a kitchen, cooking, I would be pretty grossed out.  But Remi is actually very hygiene-conscious: he washes his hands, he puts his fellow rats through the dishwasher.  "Anyone can cook" does not mean "everyone can cook"; it means give anyone who has a passion for cooking a chance to prove themselves.  That applies to other areas in life, too.  The more you think about it, the more profound the lesson is.

Cars (2006)

Cars 2 (2011)

I do not care for Cars 2.  I saw it once, and once is enough.  But the main reason I have affection for Cars is how much my dad loves that movie.  My dad worked in a garage as a vehicle inspector, so he is very familiar with everything from a sedan to a semi.  Whenever I watch this movie, I think about my dad, watching it for the first time, and hearing his delighted laugh at certain scenes.  He even has a toy Mater.  He lets my daughter play with it when she visits.  So I love this movie by proxy.

The Incredibles (2004)

Incredibles 2 (2018)

Until Iron Man (2008) came out, Incredibles was my favorite superhero movie.  And Incredibles 2 improved upon the first movie, balancing suspense with humor.  When I was little, sequels were disappointing most of the time.  Now, I view sequels, most of the time, as a continuation of a story I loved, that enriches and deepens the connection with the characters.  Incredibles 1 and 2 are just…incredible.

Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Dory (2016)

This is another story where the sequel improved upon the original story, adding depth and color, introducing new characters but also allowing us to enjoy the characters we grew to love in the first movie.  As a parent, myself, I love stories that show parents who will go above and beyond for their kids.  In Finding Nemo, that's Nemo's dad.  In Finding Dory, that's Dory's parents.  Both of the movies are so wonderful, they are precious to me, and I can watch them repeatedly.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Monsters University (2013)

Every child worries about the monsters under their bed.  Monsters Inc. teaches us that those monsters only care about fueling their cities, and they are fighting an energy crisis!  Seeing the monsters' side of the coin helps children to have empathy for these scarers.  Then, Monsters University shows that sometimes we have to give up on our dreams, but that doesn't make us failures.  So yes, the movies are whimsical and quite hilarious, but they have a point.

A Bug's Life (1998)

How many kids are fascinated by underground networks of burrows and chambers and the complex structure inside an ant hill or a rabbit warren?  Me, I'm the kid.  I loved anything that gave me a glimpse of small, hidden worlds.  One of my favorite books is Watership Down.  So I have so much nostalgic affection for A Bug's Life.  And another reason it's so compelling is the underdog tale it tells.

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Toy Sory 4 (2019)

The Toy Story saga.  I thought Toy Story 3 was such an effective conclusion to the trilogy, I almost skipped Toy Story 4.  A friend told me that instead of being about the toys' relationship with their kid, they go off on their own adventure.  So I watched Toy Story 4 and it is my favorite of all four.  The thing about this series is that each movie adds a new layer.  I can binge them all, happily.

So you see why I cannot "rank" these movies.  I love them all, in different ways.  Pixar must be treasured.  The tales they spin take us to new places, show us new things, treat us to a journey of laughter and whimsy, but they tell us messages, underneath it all, that we need.