# The slow downfall of Pixar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, disney-hulu\ **Created:** [July 28, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431 "2025-07-28T16:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/21 "2025-07-28T20:34:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, how was Inside Out 2? I thought it was pretty good and comparable in quality to the first one. I would rate both of them as a solid B+. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/22 "2025-07-28T21:04:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I dunno, it seems unlikely to me that we just happened to be alive during the couple of bright decades when it was briefly possible for humans to write engaging stories that seemed new. No, but maybe we were alive during a period when the market was just right for animated blockbusters, and we’re now in a low tide. In part we hear these days about production companies or directors or series “failing” when they do not keep delivering massive numbers. And that puts the studios in a spot, because of course new-original-different = risk, and investors will be looking for something they think will be a _sure_ thing. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/23 "2025-07-28T21:10:53Z")
The problem is our culture has lost the skill to form reasonable expectations. About everything. I don’t know if it’s because advertising hype is ubiquitous, or if it’s because we’re too quick to be critical. Pixar is, for the most part, _too_ original. They make movies that deviate from the standard, but then get punished for it. Anyone remember _ **The Good Dinosaur** _ (2015)? It’s a classic Western where the people are dinosaurs and the protagonist interacts with a wolf portrayed by a human. It’s unique, yet bombed in the theaters because Westerns aren’t popular these days and those who like Westerns don’t like nonstandard choices. Most people don’t want truly original stories. And they don’t want stale stories either. The middle is vague and hard to satisfy. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/24 "2025-07-29T05:26:36Z")
I thought _The Good Dinosaur_ was the worst Pixar I’ve ever seen - if it failed I’m not surprised! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/25 "2025-07-29T05:31:49Z")
I have liked about half of their output of the last 15 years. I may be the only person in the world who doesn’t like **Inside Out**. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/26 "2025-07-29T06:16:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > may be the only person in the world who doesn’t like **Inside Out**. You’re not. However, I do agree with AFAICT the rest of the world, except maybe the OP, that Coco was an excellent and captivating movie. And I liked Elemental considerably more than most people seem to. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/27 "2025-07-29T18:28:21Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > I wouldn’t say not original, I would just say not particularly good, except Coco, which was excellent I just watched this yesterday with my five year old son (second time for me seeing it.) It was fantastic. My son watched with nary an interruption (unusual for him) and afterward got upset he couldn’t actually meet his ancestors like that. I guess he really wanted to pierce the veil between the living and the dead. But I told him necromancy is for older kids. > [@Chronos](#): > > So, how was Inside Out 2? My students all insist it was excellent, but then, teenagers don’t always have the best taste. It’s great. A- from me. It takes the original premise in new directions, and it tells a moving story of adolescence that avoids all the obvious clichés. I cried. The _Inside Out_ movies seem to hit me particularly hard now that I’m a parent. The instinct to protect my son from painful experiences is so strong, even if that pain is necessary and inevitable. I don’t know that box office performance is the best measure of whether a movie is good or not. Are we talking about Pixar’s performance at the box office, or whether it’s actually making good movies still? My favorite ever Pixar movie was made in 2021: _Encanto_, which I spent all of yesterday singing and periodically I just watch songs from it on YouTube (including [my favorite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQwVKr8rCYw&list=RDtQwVKr8rCYw&start_radio=1)) because it’s that good. It’s Lin Manuel Miranda good (I’m not really a Hamilton fan, but the music in _Encanto_ exudes talent.) _Coco_ is kind of a forbear (heh) of that movie. You can see elements of _Coco_ in _Encanto_ but _Coco_ doesn’t have the slammin’ soundtrack. Still makes me cry though. I will concede that Pixar is no longer delivering continuous hits with no clunkers, but obviously they are still making great movies. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/28 "2025-07-29T18:54:21Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > My favorite ever Pixar movie was made in 2021: _Encanto_ I am…not a fan of that one. > [@Disney's "Encanto" (OPEN SPOILERS after first post)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disneys-encanto-open-spoilers-after-first-post/956601): > > Disney’s 60th animated motion picture, Encanto, dropped today on Disney+ after being out in theaters for about 30 days. I watched it and it was fantastic. Perhaps my favorite Disney film since Tangled. So let’s talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/29 "2025-07-29T19:13:01Z")
Nitpick: Encanto is not a Pixar movie. It’s Disney Animation Studio. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/30 "2025-07-29T19:29:16Z")
Important point, actually. WDAS has also put out Frozen, Moana, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It Ralph, and Zootopia (in addition to the aforementioned Encanto) in the last 15 years. All are at least decent, I would say, and some were massive hits. During that same time period (2010+) I would really only put Coco and Inside Out at the same level as the Disney releases. Perhaps Brave? I enjoyed Onward and Elemental as well, but I don’t think they were considered successes. I think it’s actually more of a surprise the sustained run of very good (and hit) films Pixar had from 1995-2010. That’s 11 films over 15 years without a bad one (nor a flop) amongst them. Disney had a similar run in the early 1990s, but even their run didn’t last nearly as long as Pixar’s did ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/31 "2025-07-29T20:30:17Z")
Elio hasnt done badly, the issue is that it came out at the same time as _28 Years Later,_ and _How to Train Your Dragon._ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/32 "2025-07-29T20:45:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, 3 was bold enough to go where it inevitably had to, and did it well. 4, I would have rated as “cute, but unnecessary”, right up until the end, at which point it shifted all the way to “terrible”, with contradicting previous works and letting the villain win. I was going through my collection and noticed that I bought TS4 and have never watched it. Now you got me worried. I own, but have not seen, Incredibles 2, likewise. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/33 "2025-07-29T20:52:18Z")
Incredibles 2 wasn’t as good as the first one, but still pretty good. But if you have a hankering for more Toy Story, just watch the shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/34 "2025-07-29T21:00:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > a hankering for more Toy Story ISWYDT ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/35 "2025-07-29T21:27:25Z")
You do? Ah, good, yes, that’s obviously exactly what I meant… whatever it was. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/36 "2025-07-29T21:44:04Z")
The implications that you are hankering for Hanks (instead of a hunk of cheese). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/37 "2025-07-29T21:54:14Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I’d like to see anyone come up with 20 block-buster movie ideas in a row. “This time, someone new gloats at James Bond!” ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/38 "2025-07-30T00:44:06Z")
I don’t know, I think the idea of Forky was brilliant. What happens when a child decides that a plain household object is a toy? Does it suddenly gain a soul? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/39 "2025-07-30T01:00:18Z")
Forky didn’t originate in Toy Story 4, though. He was in the shorts before that. And in fact, that’s why I say that the ending of 4 defied canon: The shorts show Forky at home interacting with Buzz and Woody. At first, while watching the movie, I thought “Hm, I guess this must take place before the shorts, then”, but then they ended the movie with Woody leaving the rest, before they got back home ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/40 "2025-07-30T01:20:37Z")
Yes, I also enjoyed _Toy Story 4_ and am willing to give _5_ a chance on the strength of it. Besides the Forky character, I thought the movie had some good points, empathetically expressed, about the perils of perceiving the task of loving and supporting a child to be literally your only mission in life and your only source of true happiness. Sure, the basic _Toy Story_ premise is that that’s what toyhood is fundamentally about. You may _think_ you want to destroy Emperor Zurg, or to live a pampered existence as literally a museum piece representing an idolized TV star, but in reality **You. Are. A. TOY.** The essential purpose of your existence is to nurture and be loved by a child. From the get-go, _Toy Story_ has been kind of pushing back on that premise, in more or less subtle ways. What about when a child’s delight in toys is abusive and destructive? How do toys cope with the inevitable tragedy of their beloved child outgrowing them and no longer caring about them, or not in the same way? Do toys just embark on a form of “serial monogamy” in devotion to successive children, which never quite replaces the “one true love” image of the first child whose favorite they were? Can a toy have a meaningful existence outside of that “favorite toy” bond, that isn’t just making the best of a new attachment or whiling away the years in an owner’s attic? I admit I’d kind of like to see Woody restored to favorite-toy status with one of Andy’s own kids someday. Actually, that’s probably the toy version of the idealized social norm of traditional family life: you are little Betty’s favorite doll, and by the time she’s really outgrown you she’s probably about old enough to be married herself, so in a few years Betty will be passing you along to her own daughter, and mother and daughter will bond over sewing little doll clothes for you, and so on down the generations. But this ain’t _Little House on the Prairie_. What’s the real-life arc of a toy’s existence as a “person” in the _Toy Story_ world? I personally don’t feel I needed to consider that question completely answered once college-age Andy handed Woody and the gang on to little Bonnie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431.md?page=3)