When talking about animated movies, the first name that usually comes up is Pixar, which has brought a number of now-classic animated stories, and while it continues to produce movies, the reality is that Pixar has struggled to move beyond its first phase for years. Although there are different studios that constantly bring new, family-friendly animated movies, Disney and Pixar are always the two names at the top of the list, and while these names usually go together, Pixar’s first phase happened before Disney acquired the studio, though they were already working closely together as one of the most powerful collaborations in the film industry.
Pixar’s first movie was Toy Story, released in 1995, which was a critical and commercial success, and continues to be considered one of the greatest animated movies ever made. Since then, Pixar has produced over 20 movies, with sequels to its biggest titles (such as Toy Story and The Incredibles) and even stories inspired by legends and more, as is the case of Brave. Through the years, Pixar has maintained its popularity, in big part, thanks to the so-called “Pixar formula”, and even its least popular movies have been successful, but as the studio continues producing new stories, it becomes increasingly evident that Pixar keeps struggling to move beyond its Phase 1, which has been its most successful one to date.
Pixar hasn’t stopped bringing original movies in recent years and has plans to continue for, at least, three more years, with plans to branch out to streaming as well, but the shadow of Phase 1 can still be felt, affecting the performance of the studio’s most recent movies. The problem is not that Pixar’s stories have become boring, but that the studio has shown it can’t be consistent in quality and has relied a lot on its Phase 1 content to keep its relevance in the animation world.
Pixar's First 10 Years Of Movies Defined The Studio
The first 10 years of Pixar movies are the ones that defined the studio’s style and narrative tone, and of course, they’re the ones that put Pixar on the map. During this first phase, Pixar was an independent company but made a deal with Disney to produce three animated movies, the first being Toy Story. The Mouse House was in charge of distributing (which is why Toy Story and many others are often mistakenly assumed to be Disney movies rather than Pixar ones), and it was during this collaboration that Pixar brought A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars. Although there were some rough patches during this first phase (such as A Bug’s Life, considered by some critics as Pixar’s “sophomore slump” and becoming one of the most forgettable movies from the studio), these movies are the ones that defined Pixar and gave the audience iconic characters that to this day continue to be popular with viewers, and as expected, they spawned sequels and franchises that further established Pixar as a powerhouse in the realm of animation and storytelling.
Pixar's Original Movies Have Been More Hit/Miss In Recent Years
Pixar’s next phase began once it was acquired by Disney in 2006, with Ratatouille being the first movie released after the deal was complete. Pixar then brought WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University, and Inside Out, all of them continuing the studio’s streak of successes – for the most part, as Cars 2 wasn’t the critics’ favorite, to the point where it became the first Pixar movie not nominated for an Oscar. However, the real downhill for Pixar began in 2015, with the release of The Good Dinosaur.
Directed by Peter Sohn, The Good Dinosaur took viewers to an alternate version of history in which non-avian dinosaurs never became extinct and thus shared Earth with humans. The story centers on Arlo, a shy Apatosaurus who becomes friends with a human boy while traveling through a mysterious but dangerous landscape. The Good Dinosaur became Pixar’s first box-office bomb, and while it got positive reviews, critics pointed out that its storytelling wasn’t up to Pixar’s standards. The studio went back to its tracks with Finding Dory, hit another minor bump with Cars 3, and got a lot of praise for Coco, The Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4, but since then, Pixar’s movies have been hit-and-miss. Onward was the studio’s second box office failure, though that was in part due to the coronavirus pandemic, which led Disney to make some major changes to the release schedule of the movie, while critics found it to be entertaining but not outstanding like many past Pixar movies.
Next was Soul, the first Pixar movie to skip a theatrical release and go straight to streaming on Disney+, but that wasn’t an impediment for it to become a critical success, with most praise going towards its existential theme. Pixar’s latest project is Luca, which was also sent to Disney+ due to the pandemic, and while it got positive reviews, it wasn’t a hit like many of its predecessors. Pixar, then, has shown it isn’t the consistently great powerhouse it used to be, and instead of figuring out where it has been failing at, it’s going back to old formulas with well-known characters – from Phase 1.
Upcoming Pixar Movies & Shows Suggest It Still Can't Move Past Its Phase 1 Films
As mentioned above, Pixar has plans to keep going for at least three more years, and while it has plans for a movie in 2023 and two in 2024, the only two confirmed projects coming up are Turning Red and Lightyear. Turning Red is directed by Domee Shi and it’s set in the 2000s in Toronto, Canada, and it follows Mei Lee (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old who suddenly starts transforming into a giant red panda whenever she’s stressed or excited. Turning Red is scheduled for a March 2022 release and still very little is known about it, and all eyes are now in Pixar’s second 2022 project: Lightyear.
Directed by Angus MacLane, Lightyear is a prequel to the Toy Story films as it tells the (fictional) origin story of Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans), a young test pilot who went on to become the Space Ranger everyone now knows so well and who inspired the famous toy seen in Andy’s room next to Woody. In addition to that, Pixar has produced various Toy Story shorts, a Monsters, Inc. spinoff series titled Monsters at Work, and is now working on a TV series from the Cars universe titled Cars on the Road (which will also include characters from Planes). Pixar, then, is relying on characters and settings from its Phase 1 movies as they have proven to still be profitable, mostly as the audience is already familiar with them and thus are more likely to turn their attention to them. However, it’s hard to say how much longer this plan can work for Pixar, as no matter how popular Toy Story, Monsters, Inc, etc. are, the audience will eventually grow tired of Pixar not bringing original content anymore, so the studio should pay more attention to its recent failures and successes to find what works and what doesn’t, and that way, it can finally move beyond its Phase 1 and keep the interest of the audience.
