@Fizza
I'm so happy to hear you liked Luca that much. It warms my heart.
I agree with everything you said, especially about the animation. Pixar has always been stellar when it comes to animation, but they began to feel a bit samey in style. Luca's animation is very different and feels much more anime in style. More Miyazaki, less Disney.
@seaboyluca You know what the style reminds me of to a tee? Mario & Luigi art.
I suppose it makes sense now that I think about it given the setting. There's even a Vespa in Mario Kart Wii!
@Fizza I'm glad you enjoyed Luca so much. As someone who's mother's side is part Italian, I can appreciate the setting for Luca a lot. Mom actually had fun watching the movie when I finally got the Blu-Ray/DVD copy of it. I originally saw the movie with my friend at his house.
The resident Trolls superfan! Saw Trolls Band Together via early access and absolutely loved it!
Since I got in the mood to talk about Pixar after my conversation with seaboyluca and Sunsy at "General Chit-Chat", I thought I would look back a little at my favorite animation company and one of my top 10 films of all time, Pixar's Toy Story 2.
I remember when I was younger, maybe around 2009 or even 2010 when Toy Story 3 came out, I used to ask myself just why was it that I loved Toy Story 2 so much, why it remained so memorable for me after all those years. And then I remember coming across this quote by Drew Magary on the Internet where they said, "You went to go see a comedy about toys. You ended up halfway through flashing back to sitting at your grandma's bedside as she passed away."
Yeah. That about sums it up nicely. Amazingly thought-provoking stories in a children's cartoon with talking toys, amnesiac fishes, talking rats, and monsters hiding in your closet.
I remember that for the longest time, I used to think that Jessie's arc in Toy Story 2 was about abandonment issues from a child's perspective. But when I think about Drew's quote above, it feels like you could apply it from a parent's perspective too, when their children grow up and drifted away from their life. "When She Loved Me" reduced me to a bubbling putz, even till this day. And I love how stories like Jessie's could really offer perspectives about real life when, again, it's a cartoon about talking toys. "YOU. ARE. A TALKING TOY CARTOON." lol
And Jessie's arc wasn't the only one either. Woody's whole dilemma was to consider whether to live a sheltered life of immortality or a risky but meaningful life of love and loyalty. I think it was when I started to notice these themes that I started to realize what an amazing company Pixar was to have incorporated such complex themes in a family animated movie, asking questions that expanded our perspectives on life itself. God, that sounds pretentious, but it's the truth. It was thanks to Pixar that made me passionate about storytelling, what it can do to show people the different facets of life you wouldn't normally think about. Movies in particular are a window to the human soul, and I quickly became an enormous film buff around 2010, watching all the highly acclaimed films throughout history I could get my hands on. And it's all thanks to a humble animated movie studio who just wanted to tell heartfelt but intelligent stories for the young and old.
But man, it's not just Toy Story either. Remember Ratatouille? You know, from the guy who made the underrated masterpiece, The Iron Giant? Ratatouille, the movie that humbly reminds us that talent could come from anywhere, not just five star restaurants or big Hollywood studios? Let's face it, it might as well be an allegory for art and artists. "Anyone can cook" could easily be interpreted as "Anyone can be an artist." I loved Ego's speech in particular. I would prefer to just paraphrase it since it's a rather long speech, but I feel like the entire context of it is significant to show you why I love it:
"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, "Anyone can cook." But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere."
Amen.
As someone who watches as many films as I do, I know that I could be a rather verbal critic in my movie reviews as well, so I guess Ego's speech did humble me when I heard it. And it still does today, challenging my perception of art, storytellers and how I have often limited myself in pursuing great art and great stories from unlikely places. I think it was when I started to realize this - and it wasn't immediately, not till I rewatched Ratatouille a few years after its release - that I started to read visual novels. I used to find them boring because I have a very short attention span (possibly to some undiagnosed attention issue I'm not aware about), so sitting in front of my computer and reading huge chunks of text was challenging for me. But I persevered and discovered some of the finest stories ever written from Japan. Because remember, not everyone can write a great story, but a great story can come from anywhere.
I feel like Ratatouille encouraged me to give more things a chance, and not just in terms of story mediums but also the kind of games I play (turn-based combat, a genre I used to find off-putting, leading to my discovery of SMT) and the TV shows I watch. TV shows were a big turn-off for me because I felt like I didn't have the time to watch entire seasons of TV shows. But over the past five to six years, I pushed myself to watch classic shows everyone loved to see what the big deal was, and now I'm on the 2nd season of The Sopranos and The Wire, and I'm glad I pushed myself because I found these great shows that really blew me away with their amazing drama.
So obviously, Pixar films meant a lot to me because of these life lessons and life perspectives they offered me, even their less well-received films too like Cars. I thought the first Cars was decent. Sure, it had a rather generic main character whose "jerk with a heart of gold" storyline has been done to death, but I felt like its "Our Town" music sequence was brilliant. I'm obviously not an American, but even I understood the pain of seeing industrialization take over smaller towns and washed away all the native charm that used to be, with the tight-knit community and neighbors greeting each other. And taken on its own, it could be applied to other contexts too, like the loss of something or someone you love, how the cruel flow of time changed everything you once remembered. "Main street isn't main street anymore. Lights don't shine as brightly as they shone before. It's hard to find a reason left to stay, but it's our town, love it anyway." Those last few verses of the song hit hard. I remember when I first heard it, I found myself reminiscing some parts of my life I used to love, how they've changed for the worse over time. But as the song says, "Come what may, it's our town."
As I got older over the years, I started to appreciate the message that musical sequence had to offer too. "Cars didn't drive on it to make great time; they drove on it to have a great time."
I'd think back to that scene sometimes because it reminds me to slow down and enjoy the scenery of life. Eventually, I got to a point where I really want to just take my life one step at a time, enjoying the sights and just appreciate what it has to offer, rather than put myself under all this stress of lofty ambitions and unrealistic goals. I started to just enjoy life as it is, and I think that Cars, for all its flaws, had such a poignant message within its soul.
Man, this was a long one. I didn't expect to ramble on so long about Pixar. lol But I'm not surprised either, considering how much I love the movie studio. I could probably talk about Pixar all day if you let me (don't let me).
With this rediscovered love for Pixar films though, perhaps soon enough, I'll get myself to watch some of their more recent films again. Looking back, especially with the case of Cars, I feel like I was still able to discover amazing stories within even their most flawed films. I don't know. Maybe if I just set my expectations a little lower, I could learn to enjoy their other films too. I did come to appreciate Cars in hindsight after all.
The studio means a lot to me as well. They're the primary reason I'm subscribed to Disney+ and I keep revisiting their wonderful stories time and time again. Most of their movies I can't get enough of.
They make excellent family entertainment that both young and old can enjoy, which is very hard to accomplish. Especially the life lessons and perspectives they put in their films - which you so beautifully described - is something that very few other animation forces manage to do on such a consistent basis. Miyazaki - and Ghibli at large - has managed it, as does Cartoon Saloon.
Recently, there seem to be more creators stepping up trying to do similar things. Disney's latest animated movie 'Encanto' was a big step up for them when it comes to interjecting emotional beats and meaningful messages in one of their movies. Even Sony Animation has made some great movies as well lately with Spider-Verse and Mitchells vs The Machines.
There is a positive trend going on in animation. Studios besides Pixar are realising animation isn't just for kids. And I for one am very hopeful this will lead to many more amazing animated movies to come.
@seaboyluca Encanto got ruined for me because people kept doing clickbait videos about it, with "funny freeze frames" with arrows pointing as the thumbnail.
@seaboyluca Thanks for the compliments. Much appreciate it, and I'm glad you liked my essay. lol
Hearing you mention Ghibli, Cartoon Saloon (the latter of which I'm unfamiliar with unfortunately), and even Mitchells vs. The Machines, it reminds me how long it has been since I've devoted myself to exploring movies. Nowadays, it's more about the small screen for me, which is fine and all, but even with my TV shows, it's challenging these days to find time just to watch a single episode, let alone an entire season.
But you know what? I think I want to get back into movies in the near future, the way I went film-exploring in the early 2010s. I want to just indulge in the simple joy of appreciating a film again. Just sitting there and go on a journey of exploring life's myriad values. And since I have an audience in you, seaboyluca, who liked what I have to say about movies, I might start writing essay-length reviews again like in the old days. lol Just be warned - they're still not very good despite my years of writing experience. I haven't written a real essay for a long time now that I think about it, unless you count my forum posts. Hah.
I do think animation is definitely in a great place nowadays than they were decades ago. It's now much easier than ever to pitch an animated movie to Hollywood executives regardless of what the plot might be, mature or family-friendly. I think it's a great way to explore good stories too because animation has great potential to show any kind of world or characters you could imagine. Sure, we have great CGI nowadays, but compared to drawing from your imagination, they're still rather limited IMO. There's a certain artistic aesthetic of drawing that you couldn't replicate in live action. For example, a dark mystical portal could be drawn roughly on paper to symbolize the rugged, bestial nature of whatever's behind that portal. With live action, it just translates differently. It has its place for sure, live action, but it can't replace animation's charm.
Looking forward to talk more about movies with you guys in this forum in the future. I'm thinking that for my first review, I might want to write about one of my favorite animation, Dreamworks' "The Prince of Egypt." I feel like it's not talked as often as it deserves because it truly had the combination of great filmmaking aspects all around: the voice cast, the music, the script, the art department, the CGI, the epic scope of it all, etc. But I'm getting ahead of myself. lol
@Snatcher I need to watch that one some time. I only remember some vague memories of it from my childhood involving Tim Curry as the Butler. He was good and charismatic in it, as I remember.
@Kermit1
Lol, yeah Encanto got a lot of attention from YouTubers. And omg, I hate those thumbnails with tons of arrows pointing everywhere. 😒
@Maxenmus
I'm looking forward to your reviews, I think you have a knack for writing.
Also, please do yourself a favour and check out the movies from Cartoon Saloon. 'Song of the Sea' and 'WolfWalkers' in particular are all kinds of wonderful. They have a new one coming out this year on Netflix called 'My Father's Dragon' based on the children's novel. Don't know anything about it yet, but if it's anywhere close as good as their previous movies, we're in for a treat.
@Maxenmus Good essay, glad our chit-chat sparked something. The Ego bit, re-reading it hit home (also, Ratatouille was my first Pixar movie in a theater). I just never really been the critical type, I just love watching animated movies. I will admit, there may be somethings I didn't like if there is anything I didn't like, but for most of the part I just enjoy them.
The most recent Pixar movies I've seen were Luca and Turning Red, I enjoyed both, especially Luca. Onward surprisingly didn't interest me, and neither did Lightyear. Lightyear, while I know it's suppose to be the movie Andy seen as a kid, it just felt too different than Toy Story Buzz. I may wait to see it on Disney+.
There is a positive trend going on in animation. Studios besides Pixar are realising animation isn't just for kids. And I for one am very hopeful this will lead to many more amazing animated movies to come.
I agree with this, loved Mitchells vs. The Machines and Smurfs: The Lost Village. It's a shame the latter got overlooked in favor of being angry at the Emoji Movie, because Smurfs: The Lost Village did a good job capturing Peyo's original works and the classic cartoon in a modern CGI style.
I'll also add, I started watching more DreamWorks movies after Trolls, and I loved all of them so far. Even those that most DreamWorks fans hated, I actually liked Spirit Untamed and Boss Baby: Family Business. Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, were all great. There's also Shrek and Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but I saw those two before Trolls.
Actually, I finally checked out some of their traditional animated stuff with the original Spirit and Prince of Egypt. Sometimes liking one studio's movie can lead to watching their other stuff too.
The resident Trolls superfan! Saw Trolls Band Together via early access and absolutely loved it!
@Kermit1 Don't tell him... they have a Netflix Boss Baby show, lol. Like they did with Trolls, DreamWorks made a cartoon for a streaming service. I liked the movies when I re-watched the first. I loved the imagination Tim had in the first movie, and the second unironically became something to watch around Christmas time. I'm a sucker for Christmas movies.
How could I forget, The Bad Guys! That was a great movie DreamWorks made.
The resident Trolls superfan! Saw Trolls Band Together via early access and absolutely loved it!
@Kermit1@Snatcher Little piece of trivia about Clue's ending. During its initial theater run, the endings were separated. Some theaters got one ending, some theaters got another ending, and some theaters got a third ending. This way when people talk about the endings, it's confusing and has more mystery on who did it. The VHS release was when all three endings were together.
@Kermit1@Snatcher Little piece of trivia about Clue's ending. During its initial theater run, the endings were separated. Some theaters got one ending, some theaters got another ending, and some theaters got a third ending. This way when people talk about the endings, it's confusing and has more mystery on who did it.
I wish theaters continue to do gimmicks like this. I don't know about American theaters, but Singapore theaters never have these fun practices.
Like remember when the 1960's Scent of Mystery pushed a "Smell-O-Vision" during the film to enhance the plot? I guess that sort of thing might be expensive today to do so every screening, but still. I kinda want a filmmaker who tries to shake up the film industry by adding these interesting and unique elements to the cinema-going experience. It would be a great way to bring people back to cinemas anyway, now that streaming services have killed the movie theater.
Maxenmus
Switch Friend Code: SW-7926-2339-9775 | My Nintendo: Flare
@Kermit1 I forgot about the D-Box. We do have D-Box here in Singapore. I've never tried them before because I was never really clear what those things did (I remember at one time, I thought they were premium box seats you have to pay extra for). I might give them a shot someday.
But still, compared to William Castle's gimmicks, these D-Boxes and 3-D glasses feel like the gimmick of a movie gimmick. When you repeat a gimmick long enough - and let's face it, 3-D has been around really, really long - it ceases to be unique or interesting, merely a gimmick.
Also, I think the thing isn't just about having a unique gimmick, but also a filmmaker who cares enough to sell the gimmick in the first place. I love those old movies where Hitchcock and even William Castle appear prior to the film's screening to address the audience. You never see that anymore in films these days, and there's that lack of filmmaker-audience relationship.
Furthermore, I want overtures to be a thing again. Play overtures over the 20 minutes audience spend to slowly enter the theater. Overtures were an important film element that set the mood and tone for the rest of the film; bring those back please.
Thanks for introducing me to the channel btw. I've subscribed to him.
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