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Credit: PixarAs Inside Out 2 performs well in theaters, the future of Pixar as a whole is contrarily looking a little bleak.
Even sequel hits like Inside Out 2 may be becoming a thing of the past, as Pixar’s recent brain drain and Disney’s newfound insistence on money-over-creativity leave the animation powerhouse at a crossroads.
For many years, Pixar Animation Studios has been a pioneer in the film and animation industry. Since captivating audiences with Toy Story (1995), which featured the involvement of Apple’s Steve Jobs, this animation powerhouse has consistently set the industry standard.
Related: ‘Toy Story 5’ Update: Pixar Unveils Big Announcement Amid Studio Struggles
Disney and Pixar: A Brief History
Recognizing their exceptional talent, The Walt Disney Company forged a groundbreaking agreement that made Pixar Animation Studios a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. This transformative partnership marked a significant milestone, solidifying their unmatched influence and dominance in the industry.
Pixar Animation Studios has established a dominant presence at prestigious events such as the Oscars and various awards ceremonies, especially in categories dedicated to animated works. Their accomplishments include an impressive array of accolades: 23 Academy Awards, 10 Golden Globe Awards, and 11 Grammy Awards to date.
That could all be changing, however, as the animation giant appears to be shifting its approach to making films following recent less-than-stellar movie receptions.
What’s Happening With Pixar Animation Studios?
Since the introduction of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001, Pixar Animation Studios has consistently earned multiple nominations, often outshining competitors like DreamWorks Animation, LAIKA Studios, Netflix Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation.
Notably, 11 of Pixar’s films have won this prestigious award, starting with Finding Nemo (2003) and followed by The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Brave (2012), Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), Toy Story 4 (2019), and Soul (2020).
Nearly all of those movies achieved the accolades they did, as well as recognition within the film and animation industry, through a carefully employed creator-led approach, where even the wackiest ideas held water. Think “rat wants to become Parisian fine-dining chef”, or “old man wants to visit South America via house adorned with balloons”.
Related: Disney and Pixar Join Mental Health Industry
Now, it appears that the heyday of Pixar Animation could be coming to a close, as Disney and higher-ups within Pixar Animation Studios steer the company away from those very same creative elements that proved so successful in the past.
On top of 2019’s brain drain seeing Coco director Lee Unkrich as well as Ratatouille and The Incredibles director Brad Bird leaving the company, both Pixar and Disney’s animation studios have also lost former lead Ed Catmull.
According to current Pixar president Jim Morris (via Bloomberg), the current strategy for Pixar, following Elemental (2023), Lightyear (2022) — flops in Disney’s eyes, according to Pete Docter — and a string of Disney+ releases Turning Red (2022), Luca (2021), and Soul (2020) conditioning viewers to see Pixar films on home devices, the studio will now try to “turn things around” by “balancing original movie ideas with sequels and spinoffs, the better to remind audiences what they once loved about Pixar”.
Allegedly, “every hit of yesteryear is being considered for a reboot” at Disney — especially tried-and-true franchises like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, which are being highly regarded for the sequel treatment. Or, in this case, sequel’s sequel treatment.
Get ready for The Incredibles 3 and Finding Marlin in the near future.
Why Are Fans Declaring Pixar Dead?
Following the Bloomberg article reporting on Pixar and Disney’s new approach, fans have not taken well to the news.
There has been significant backlash to Pixar Animation’s announcement, as the internet has become flooded with hot takes and video essays reacting (negatively) to this decision to steer away from directors’ visions and “autobiographical tales” — pivoting to “instead develop concepts with clear mass appeal”, particularly with “sequels and spinoffs”, as the studio puts it.
Case in point: YouTuber Schafrillas Productions‘ video essay “Pixar might be COOKED after this interview…”. The video creator highlights the disappointing nature of Docter’s comments and worries that Pixar will go the way of Minions franchise creator Illumination Studios and lean too far into making “mass appeal” films, forgoing making animation that focuses on bringing art to life and putting the story first.
With around 800K views and climbing, this growing public consensus is less than ideal for The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios, as the court of public opinion might not take too kindly to this shift — even if these money-minded changes do keep the beloved animation company from shuttering its doors for good.
Pete Docter, the visionary behind Pixar classics like Up and Ratatouille, ironically comments on how “the studio’s movies should be less a pursuit of any director’s catharsis and instead speak to a commonality of experience” now, saying:
I don’t think we can ever let ourselves off the hook of making sure that we deliver the best possible and most relatable films.
The irony is certainly not lost on fans, as user Katheryne Persik shared their sadness on X/Twitter about the future of the animation industry, now that Pixar looks to be abandoning original concepts:
lol the new bloomberg article about pixar made me feel like this is the most unlucky time to be into animation and get a whole ass degree for it
(continued) not to mention the person they interviewed is one of my biggest inspiration to pivot towards a more directoral approach into the industry
biggest bruh moment ever
not to mention the person they interviewed is one of my biggest inspiration to pivot towards a more directoral approach into the industry
biggest bruh moment ever
— Katheryne Persik 🌷🍞 WIDE Studio (@PersikKatheryne) June 6, 2024
Ariana Taller tells audiences to enjoy “Inside Out 2, Elio, and whatever Domee Shi is cooking up or the Win or Lose TV series” while they still can, before the inevitable. The prognosis is not looking good, as fans like Taller share how learning of this new “cash-grabbing” direction for Pixar made them “die on the inside”:
Honestly that Bloomberg article and the words that came out of Pete Docter’s mouth made me die on the inside. Personal stories are what made Pixar great to begin with. Now they’re going to run dry by turning into Illumination. (2/5)
Just another money pumping, sequel/cash grab making, “playing it safe” studio just to impress Disney’s shareholders. I honestly feel bad for everyone working there now. (3/5)
Honestly that Bloomberg article and the words that came out of Pete Docter’s mouth made me die on the inside. Personal stories are what made Pixar great to begin with. Now they’re going to run dry by turning into Illumination. (2/5)
— 🔥Ariana Taller: Story Artist Looking for Work!🔥 (@RedHotHead_) June 6, 2024
Will this sequel-heavy plan for the future pan out for Disney and Pixar Studios? Perhaps monetarily, and in the short term.
But as public goodwill and general perception erode over time, and the company and studio culture shifts to focus more on immediate profits over high-level innovation and ground-breaking creativity, the likelihood of this “quantity over quality” approach could very well come to bite Pixar and The Walt Disney Company in the behind.
Do you think Disney and Pixar are making the right decision to focus more on sequels and less on original, director-driven concepts? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
More on Pixar’s Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 is a coming-of-age animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Led by director Kelsey Mann in his feature directorial debut, the movie is produced by Mark Nielsen, with a screenplay written by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, based on a story by Mann and LeFauve.
This sequel to Inside Out (2015) once again features Amy Poehler as Joy and introduces new characters such as Anxiety, played by Maya Hawke, and Envy, voiced by Ayo Edebiri. Kensington Tallman voices Riley Andersen, a 13-year-old girl in whose mind the emotions live.
The cast also includes Liza Lapira as Disgust (formerly Mindy Kaling), Tony Hale as Fear (formerly Bill Hader), Lewis Black as Anger, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and new additions such as Lilimar as Val Ortiz, Grace Lu (Grace), and Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green (Bree) as Riley’s friends, and Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment.
Other characters include Yvette Nicole Brown as Coach Roberts, Ron Funches as Bloofy, and Yong Yea as Lance Slashblade. Riley’s mother and father are voiced by Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan respectively.