# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/61 "2025-07-31T22:07:29Z")
No mention here of **Lighyear.** I guess the Buzz on that one was pretty weak. ---
**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 31, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/62 "2025-07-31T22:16:38Z")
You might even say that it had no Woody. ---
**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 31, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/63 "2025-07-31T22:29:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If a film has a major gay character- unless it is an adult drama- it will be review bombed by bigots. I was thinking of ways to get around this and I think it would be helpful if there was a tag on review sites indicating that property had been review-bombed. Then you would take the overall rating with a grain of salt. I was disappointed by _Strange World,_ which also had a gay character. In fact that whole movie was woke enough to validate conservative paranoia. It had gay teens, people of color in interracial relationships, women in political power, and the plot was a climate crisis metaphor. So I should have loved it! The premise was wonderful and inventive, and there were so many weird creatures to marvel at! But the story and characters needed a lot more development. Bummer. ETA: That was Disney Animation Studios too, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/64 "2025-08-01T02:13:10Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I was thinking of ways to get around this and I think it would be helpful if there was a tag on review sites indicating that property had been review-bombed. Then you would take the overall rating with a grain of salt. IIRC one company did this and other just remove or freeze reviews. There was a Brit cop show called “Cuffs”, not great but entertaining, on Prime. But one main character was gay, so many many 1\* reviews. Amazon had to cut off reviews for Rings of Power. So, yeah, I can see review bombing for Pixar, it already happened with the Live action Mermaid. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/65 "2025-08-01T12:42:51Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > No mention here of **Lighyear.** > > I guess the Buzz on that one was pretty weak. Go to your room and think about what you’ve done. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/66 "2025-08-01T14:43:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > I feel it may have been the death of Joe Ranft. (He died in a car accident in 2005.) > > That may be part of it. I think too that it was more attuned to quality when it was at least nominally independent. It was acquired by Disney in 2006. I know someone who works at Pixar who was never happy about the deal with Disney and was looking forward to getting out from under their thumb. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/67 "2025-08-01T16:53:37Z")
I’m pretty insulated against advertising, running ad blockers and not watching regular tv, but I’ve never heard of _Elio_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/68 "2025-08-01T20:40:43Z")
We watch probably too much TV and altho I have heard of it, that’s about it. No ad campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/69 "2025-08-04T20:12:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I may be the only person in the world who doesn’t like **Inside Out**. Another one joining you here. I just kept thinking “that kid is having a nervous breakdown”. I noticed the lack of quality (IMHO) after about Up, thought Brave was the first to actually disappoint me, but I thought it was because I was Scottish and despite liking the actress/actors, it never clicked with me. Ignoring the sequels which are always based on whether you LOVED the originals, such lows as Cars 2 and Lightyear do show they can chuck out the really bad, rather than the bland. I actually liked The Good Dinosaur, and Coco was good for me, but it kind of flipped on its head halfway through (and I was comparing it to The Book Of Life, which I thought was superior). Luca, Soul, Onward were all meh and man I thought Elemental was just weird (“fire, you will die if you go with water, DIE!”), Turning Red was interesting but the tagline of being a Pixar movie has long since worn out for me, I assume it was related to the turnkey nature of being owned by Disney. It certainly seemed so to me, ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/70 "2025-08-04T20:34:29Z")
I checked- of the last three Pixar films, _Inside Out 2-_ was a hit, _Elemental_ was a ‘sleeper hit” and _Lightyear_ did not do well. Soul did very well, but Luca not so much. I dont see any evidence of a decline. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/71 "2025-08-04T20:38:14Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Another one joining you here. I just kept thinking “that kid is having a nervous breakdown”. Well, yeah, that was kind of the point. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/72 "2025-08-04T21:07:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I dont see any evidence of a decline. They started out where their first ten releases were hits, then every second release was a hit, and now it’s every third one. It’s not a disaster, but it’s a step down from their heyday. Disclaimer: _on average; approximately; quoted numbers all made up by me_ ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2025, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/73 "2025-08-04T23:23:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Luca not so much. It’s worth noting that _Luca_ did not have a real theatrical release, going straight to Disney+ due to Covid. Same with _Soul_ and _Turning Red_. _Luca_ is fantastic, FWIW. My then 4-year-old wanted to watch it over and over, and I didn’t mind at all. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/74 "2025-08-05T00:13:09Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s not a disaster, but it’s a step down from their heyday. Except that movie theater attendance has gone way done since those first ten films. > [@garygnu](#): > > It’s worth noting that _Luca_ did not have a real theatrical release, going straight to Disney+ due to Covid. Same with _Soul_ and _Turning Red_. Yep, great points, and note that Soul was still a big hit. Turning Red had such limited release, I think Pixar was okay with the small box office. I will have to get ahold of _Luca_ on DVD or Cable, thanks for the recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431/75 "2025-08-05T01:04:39Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > They started out where their first ten releases were hits, then every second release was a hit, and now it’s every third one. It’s not a disaster, but it’s a step down from their heyday. You could say the same about any movie studio out there. Theatrical release as a long-term measure of a movie’s success has come and gone. As much as I love the big screen experience, the blood bath is coming. My guess is that 10 years from now, we’ll see half or less of the big screen releases we see today - partly because there won’t be theaters available to show more than that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-slow-downfall-of-pixar/1021431.md?page=3)