That was really interesting, thanks for posting it! :)
For the longest time, Pixar really was making the most brilliant films out there, and it was because of their emphasis on original storytelling - there was real creativity in films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Ratatouille and Up. They still have a lot of that, but have started to churn out sequels in recent years, taking fewer risks - possibly because of the dire state of the economy, or possibly as Disney has exerted greater control over the company. They've also faced more robust competition from companies like Dreamworks and Sony, who've upped their game significantly with films like How To Train Yoir Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and the like. io9 recently speculated that Pixar's golden age is over, and that may indeed be the case. But it's reassuring to see that their staff are still bursting with energy, ideas and a love of what they're doing. They've given us some of the best animated films ever made, and I hold out hope that they will continue to do so for a long time yet :)
I agree. When I saw Toy Story 3, I proclaimed that this would mark the end of the Golden Age of Pixar we'll only see if my prediction is to be true 10 years later, but so far it's held true, sequels are dominating Pixar now and in the future, and in my opinion, Brave and Monsters U, looked visually stunning, but the story and the character development were not quite as strong, then of course there's Cars 2... ugh.
No matter what, the people that work there will be top talent, very enthusiastic and will do the best job they can, but it seems like Disney has taken the reigns and is more concerned with making money than to create original content.
With that said they are pumping out more and more content, they openend up a new Vancouver studio to make more shorts, so they are creating more jobs, hiring animators and artists to do what they love to do most.
Well see what the future holds, currently DreamWorks Animation employs more people and tend to be a bit more risky with their properties, they don't hide behind the fact they are very sequel-driven also, but they plan their trilogies ahead of time right from the get-go.
DreamWorks has hits and misses, but they are giving Pixar a run for their money, before Kung Fu Panda they were not even in the same League, but since that film, they've been close from time to time.
I was massively impressed with Kung Fu Panda, and I really hadn't expected to be, given Dreamworks' hit-and-miss history. And How To Train Your Dragon blew me away. Puss In Boots was also really good. And of course, back in the day, Shrek was a breath of fresh air. But they're still pretty inconsistent - the sequels are generally pretty tacky - Shrek 2 being probably the best of the bunch. I await HTTYD 2 with baited breath...
I was plaeasntly surprised by Disney's Bolt back in 2009 - and though I wasn't too fussed with Tangled, pretty much everyone else loved it. I will be interested to see what Frozen is like later this year. I rather suspect that Disney is pilfering Pixar talent and technology.
I've been making way through Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 75 greatest animated films for the last eight months, and the top twenty are almost all Pixar flicks. Tellingly, the only Pixar films NOT to make the list (at the time it was compiled) are Bug's Life and the Cars films. I'd be interested to see if Brave makes it onto the list in future. I'm damn sure Planes won't ;)
That was really interesting, thanks for posting it! :)
ReplyDeleteFor the longest time, Pixar really was making the most brilliant films out there, and it was because of their emphasis on original storytelling - there was real creativity in films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Ratatouille and Up. They still have a lot of that, but have started to churn out sequels in recent years, taking fewer risks - possibly because of the dire state of the economy, or possibly as Disney has exerted greater control over the company. They've also faced more robust competition from companies like Dreamworks and Sony, who've upped their game significantly with films like How To Train Yoir Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and the like. io9 recently speculated that Pixar's golden age is over, and that may indeed be the case. But it's reassuring to see that their staff are still bursting with energy, ideas and a love of what they're doing. They've given us some of the best animated films ever made, and I hold out hope that they will continue to do so for a long time yet :)
I agree.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw Toy Story 3, I proclaimed that this would mark the end of the Golden Age of Pixar we'll only see if my prediction is to be true 10 years later, but so far it's held true, sequels are dominating Pixar now and in the future, and in my opinion, Brave and Monsters U, looked visually stunning, but the story and the character development were not quite as strong, then of course there's Cars 2... ugh.
No matter what, the people that work there will be top talent, very enthusiastic and will do the best job they can, but it seems like Disney has taken the reigns and is more concerned with making money than to create original content.
With that said they are pumping out more and more content, they openend up a new Vancouver studio to make more shorts, so they are creating more jobs, hiring animators and artists to do what they love to do most.
Well see what the future holds, currently DreamWorks Animation employs more people and tend to be a bit more risky with their properties, they don't hide behind the fact they are very sequel-driven also, but they plan their trilogies ahead of time right from the get-go.
DreamWorks has hits and misses, but they are giving Pixar a run for their money, before Kung Fu Panda they were not even in the same League, but since that film, they've been close from time to time.
We'll see what the future holds.
I was massively impressed with Kung Fu Panda, and I really hadn't expected to be, given Dreamworks' hit-and-miss history. And How To Train Your Dragon blew me away. Puss In Boots was also really good. And of course, back in the day, Shrek was a breath of fresh air. But they're still pretty inconsistent - the sequels are generally pretty tacky - Shrek 2 being probably the best of the bunch. I await HTTYD 2 with baited breath...
ReplyDeleteI was plaeasntly surprised by Disney's Bolt back in 2009 - and though I wasn't too fussed with Tangled, pretty much everyone else loved it. I will be interested to see what Frozen is like later this year. I rather suspect that Disney is pilfering Pixar talent and technology.
I've been making way through Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 75 greatest animated films for the last eight months, and the top twenty are almost all Pixar flicks. Tellingly, the only Pixar films NOT to make the list (at the time it was compiled) are Bug's Life and the Cars films. I'd be interested to see if Brave makes it onto the list in future. I'm damn sure Planes won't ;)