[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

Time Magazine also had The White Ribbon in their top 10, which kind of makes up for it.

[Mistle]

Pixar is in a downward spiral until they release another 90%+ RT rated film and everyone says they're back before actually seeing it.

This. Pixar talk on gaf as of late mostly makes me want to pull my hair out. I think I'll pass on this thread so I don't end up banned.

[vferrel]

WALL-E was one of the two best animated movies of the 2000s, along with Spirited Away. So I have no problem if Time put it there.

[MIMIC]

I don't know about the rest of you, but unlike all of Pixar's other movies, I don't give a fucking SHIT about "Brave"

[jtb]

Pixar can't be on a downward spiral because Pixar was never leagues ahead of Dreamworks or anyone else like the internet likes to posture (with typical hyperbole). The Incredibles is a perfect film, so is Toy Story 2, but even stuff like Monster's Inc and Finding Nemo are good, not great, films. Which isn't a crime, mind you.

Of course they're bound to get high RT scores (they're likeable... and certainly better than garbage like Shark Tale), but they're sitll often flawed films. I find that Pixar has had pretty terrible third acts for a lot of their recent films, Up, TS3, Wall-E - so this mythical standard that people hold Pixar to is... exactly that: A myth. I liked How to Train Your Dragon and Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs (dif studios, I know) more than Pixar's recent output, and hell I liked Shrek more than the stuff Pixar was putting out at the same time, so I probably have horrible taste. Whatever.

As for Cars 2 - clear cash grab. Simple as that.

[Amir0x]

Without seeing Brave, I think they've started spinning their wheels a little bit.

I think part of the problem is that they're still trying to find a way to integrate Disney's legacy into Pixar's DNA, and it's not always a comfortable fit. I think a secondary problem is that they seem compelled to always make every product strictly consumable for children. Even though these things are bright and sell toys, their products would immediately have their shackles removed if they were less concerned with how something would play with the eight year olds and more concerned over how something might play with an adults.

Up was tonally quite somber early on and in little deposits throughout, but it was stuck between the thematically incoherent kiddie flick and an adult film genuinely ruminating on what it's like to lose a life partner.

Anyway, I still love Pixar, but I definitely think recalibration is going to be required if Brave isn't good (I don't know)

[vferrel]

I don't know about the rest of you, but unlike all of Pixar's other movies, I don't give a fucking SHIT about "Brave"

I agree. Something about it just doesn't make me think it's going to be a must see like their other films not named Cars. I'll still see it, but I'll probably wait until a home release.

[Bgamer90]

Pixar has always been incredibly over rated. I think people have just stopped feeling compelled to pretend children's CGI is worth watching as an adult.

LOL What???

Oh wait, I'm on Gaf...

[Dany M]

LOL What??? Oh wait, I'm on Gaf...

Exactly, this thread is ludicrous

[dead souls]

They do. First half is absolutely amazing then te second half is when things go down the drain.

Yep. Wall-E absolutely craters once the humans show up.

[EliteArtist]

I wouldn't necessarily call two decent films a downward spiral and honestly it's too early to tell. Make this thread again in... 4 years and we'll see.

And I typically really enjoy Pixar films, but Cars, Cars 2 and Finding Nemo are the exception. Which were just alright all in all.

[grimshawish]

Since MI has infiltrated the thread all I'll say is; there is only ONE Mission Impossible film. The rest are spin offs in my eyes.

[sky]

Well, you can't win 'em all.

Almost everything up to (and including) Wall-E was great.
Since then, just pretty good.

[Scullibundo]

Christopher Nolan should become part of the Pixar brain trust.

[GloveSlap]

Christopher Nolan should become part of the Pixar brain trust.

No, only Whedon can fix this.

[Replicant]

Never thought they were that great in the first place. I love Toy Story trilogy and their other outputs (Finding Nemo, The Incredibles) are okay. But I don't think they're God's Gift to Humanity that others think they are.

Ditto with Christopher Nolan and his films.

[akachan ningen]

yeah, ratatouille was the last good one

[TAJ]

I'm more referring to the OP who used RT to make his point. I haven't seen Brave so I can't say if it's amazing, OK, or bad. I would hope that the OP would watch the film and form his own opinion instead assuming it's bad because others said so.

I'll see it when it hits Redbox.

[gutter_trash]

fart jokes and burp jokes in the Brave trailer turned me off from watching it.

Heck, I can make a montage of friends doing the same jokes and wouldn't make a CG movie out of it

[Kusagari]

Burton will direct the next Pixar movie in stop motion.

[Black-Box]

Ratatouille and Wall-E were back to back perfection for me personally. I loved the opening to Up, but then it introduced annoying characters. I appreciate Toy Story 3 and understand that it's an animated masterpiece, but I just haven't been swept away with whimsy by anything Pixar has done since that lonely robot found someone to love a whole life long. 4 years. Monsters University looks like it's going to taint a classic that I love. Here's hoping Brave is good! My opinion on current Pixar might change in a few hours!

THANK YOU FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

I liked Toy Story 3, but I just couldn't enjoy it like everyone else did.

thought I was the only one



also, I did wish Brave was going to be a dark, no comedy..or dark comedy film.

[Black-Box]

Pixar has always been incredibly over rated. I think people have just stopped feeling compelled to pretend children's CGI is worth watching as an adult.

Pixar doesn't make movies for one group. and Children CGI? Pixar is the best of the best

[3N16MA]

I haven't seen Brave but I wonder if some of the harsher reviews come from disappointment rather than the film actually being that bad. No doubt that anyone who knows anything about Pixar most likely walked into this film with high expectations. It's fair to have those expectations considering Pixar's history but not fair to be overly harsh because it does not meet them.

I believe this is actually happening with Prometheus right now. Expectations were not met so instead of seeing the film for what it is (good but not great) some viewers act as if it is complete trash.

It's either:

A) Amazing classic (met my expectations)

B) Complete trash (did not meet them)

[Ghost_Protocol]

I was just getting ready to ask if anyone else is noticing how little anyone seems to care about Brave. I didn't even know it was coming out anytime soon, and I don't care.

[Izick]

What seems to be Brave's problem(s)?

[Scullibundo]

I haven't seen Brave but I wonder if some of the harsher reviews come from disappointment rather than the film actually being that bad. No doubt that anyone who knows anything about Pixar most likely walked into this film with high expectations. It's fair to have those expectations considering Pixar's history but not fair to be overly harsh because it does not meet them. I believe this is actually happening with Prometheus right now. Expectations were not met so instead of seeing the film for what it is (good but not great) some viewers act as if it is complete trash. It's either: A) Amazing classic (met my expectations) B) Complete trash (did not meet them)

My review of both Brave and Prometheus didn't fall into either of these categories.

[tino]

Toy Stories 3 was swan song.

[Franklinator]

They make mostly terrible movies for children; the only surprising thing to me is how well received most of them are.

I wasn't going to post in this thread until I read this post. You could not possibly be more wrong.

Anyhoo, I don't think this is anything to worry about, they'll probably bounce back.

[Kai Dracon]

Never thought they were that great in the first place. I love Toy Story trilogy and their other outputs (Finding Nemo, The Incredibles) are okay. But I don't think they're God's Gift to Humanity that others think they are. Ditto with Christopher Nolan and his films.

What Pixar has always been truly 'godly' at is pure craftsmanship. I think it's hard to argue that they haven't been at the forefront of computer animation and storytelling with CG. Their movies are exquisitely constructed and usually visually lush. Their focus after all was on getting CG taken seriously for quality animation.

Past that, Pixar's actual content is simply good stuff, but they're not supernaturally great. It's a bit like the Harry Potter effect... it's not that Harry Potter is high literature but it blew people away because of how long it had been since there was simply a well-told story with vivid characters that actually got the fundamentals right.

That's what Pixar does. They get the fundamentals right and make quality animation of the type that the west lost its touch with for decades.

But none of that means their films (aside from CG craft) are godlike. Some are better than others. It's why in another thread I said we're now living in a post-Cars 2 world - where people are starting to realize that Pixar is just making solid, quality animation that is good fun and doesn't have to blow up all of filmmaking. And there's actually a negative reaction to that, people trashing them for betraying their previously "godlike" status.

Hell, if anything it should be looked at the other way around - Pixar doesn't let anything fall below certain minimum standards. Despite how some people try to paint certain Pixar films as "horrible", they're not actually horrible. Nothing they've made is horrible. Everything is solid storytelling with solid characters. That doesn't have to mean every film is something special.

[Scullibundo]

What Pixar has always been truly 'godly' at is pure craftsmanship. I think it's hard to argue that they haven't been at the forefront of computer animation and storytelling with CG. Their movies are exquisitely constructed and usually visually lush. Their focus after all was on getting CG taken seriously for quality animation. Past that, Pixar's actual content is simply good stuff, but they're not supernaturally great. It's a bit like the Harry Potter effect... it's not that Harry Potter is high literature but it blew people away because of how long it had been since there was simply a well-told story with vivid characters that actually got the fundamentals right. That's what Pixar does. They get the fundamentals right and make quality animation of the type that the west lost its touch with for decades. But none of that means their films (aside from CG craft) are godlike. Some are better than others. It's why in another thread I said we're now living in a post-Cars 2 world - where people are starting to realize that Pixar is just making solid, quality animation that is good fun and doesn't have to blow up all of filmmaking. And there's actually a negative reaction to that, people trashing them for betraying their previously "godlike" status. Hell, if anything it should be looked at the other way around - Pixar doesn't let anything fall below certain minimum standards. Despite how some people try to paint certain Pixar films as "horrible", they're not actually horrible. Nothing they've made is horrible. Everything is solid storytelling with solid characters. That doesn't have to mean every film is something special.

Yet Tangled has much more impressive CG animation than Brave.

[3N16MA]

My review of both Brave and Prometheus didn't fall into either of these categories.

I have no doubt that many viewers that have reviewed these films are doing so fairly and are not letting their disappointment get in the way. However after seeing Prometheus myself and reading many reviews that seemed to be filled with nothing but hate, I believe what I posted above is true for some.

[Replicant]

What seems to be Brave's problem(s)?

It looks kind of boring? At least from what I can get from the trailer.

I have a choice between seeing this OR Snow White and the Huntsman this Saturday. I chose Snow White because after seeing trailers for both films, I figure at least I'd get some nifty FX and get to oogle Hemsworth and Theron in Snow White. Whereas with "Brave", I'm not sure if there'll be anything that appeals to me there.

I mean I'll see Brave eventually.....when it hits DVD rental.

[Scullibundo]

It looks kind of boring? At least from what I can get from the trailer. I have a choice between seeing this OR Snow White and the Huntsman this Saturday. I chose Snow White because after seeing trailers for both films, I figure at least I'd get some nifty FX and get to oogle Hemsworth and Theron in Snow White. Whereas with "Brave", I'm not sure if there'll be anything that appeals to me there. I mean I'll see Brave eventually.....when it hits DVD rental.

You made the right choice. Snow White is a lot more fun and imaginative than Brave. I really enjoyed it.

[Sp3eD]

Brave didn't look interesting to me from the start, but getting ~70% gives me hope that it may be fairly decent.

As for bad Pixar movies, Cars 2 is a given, but I cannot STAND Wall-E. People always jerk off over the first half of the movie and then give the preachy hippy 2nd half a pass because of it. One of the only movies I ever felt like getting up and leaving the theater for (but I did sit through it). I have never met another person (other then my gf at the time that sat next to me during it) that agreed with that though...

[GG-Duo]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that didn't enjoy Up

[Inflammable Slinky]

Yet Tangled has much more impressive CG animation than Brave.

Tangled's narrative and subtle storytelling utterly outclasses Pixar's entire catalog.

For example.

In Finding Nemo you have the emotional scene where Dorie confronts Marlin and spends an emotional couple of minutes announcing how she feels and how she needs him.

versus

The dialogue-less emoting between the king and queen in Tangled as they release the lantern to mourn their daughter. There is a subtlety to the craft of Tangled that is simply beyond Pixar's abilities.

vvvv the director was essentially forced off the project due to creative differences

[zaccheus]

I saw Brave. It was pretty mediocre. It felt very "Tangled" and disney to me.. every loose knot was tied up, and the story was nicely put together in a little bow. If i were like, 12 I think I would've digged it. But as an adult, I didn't get that emotional fulfillment that I did from other pixar movies that hit emotional cords that adults and children enjoyed alike.

The rumor is that the original director, Pixar's first female director, left the project mid way for whatever reason, so Disney offered some story people to come help finish the project. A lot of my female friends said that the film seemed like a "boy's point of view of what a girl wants out of the world".

[Scullibundo]

. There is a subtlety to the craft of Tangled that is simply beyond Pixar's abilities.

:lol :lol :lol

I love Tangled, but you need to get your head out of your ass.

It ultimately comes down to the director, not the animation studio. Ego's revelation tasting in Ratatouille trumps Tangled.

[Odrion]

If you separate yourself from your adoration of the previous Toy Stories, the third one wasn't that good either. A straight forward prison break film, with a bad and childish romance (sub... plot?) with an admittedly good junkyard scene.

Wall E is rather "eh" too.

[ViewtifulJC]

Tangled's narrative and subtle storytelling utterly outclasses Pixar's entire catalog.

I'm gonna say this as maybe the biggest(uh, I guess the second now) Tangled fanboy on GAF, but I believe I speak for everyone when I say this:

LOLWAT

[3N16MA]

Tangled's narrative and subtle storytelling utterly outclasses Pixar's entire catalog. For example. In Finding Nemo you have the emotional scene where Dorie confronts Marlin and spends an emotional couple of minutes announcing how she feels and how she needs him. versus The dialogue-less emoting between the king and queen in Tangled as they release the lantern to mourn their daughter. There is a subtlety to the craft of Tangled that is simply beyond Pixar's abilities. vvvv the director was essentially forced off the project due to creative differences

Please stop.

[Inflammable Slinky]

:lol :lol :lol I love Tangled, but you need to get your head out of your ass. It ultimately comes down to the director, not the animation studio. Ego's revelation tasting in Ratatouille trumps Tangled.

that scene has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Seriously, that's a straight-up eye-rolling moment. At least pick the aroma scenes for something unique from that movie!

[Odrion]

maybe he means that creepy theory that the film is about losing her virginity

[Biggest-Geek-Ever]

Tangled and Snow White masturbation on the same page? It's not even a full moon, GAF.

[Scullibundo]

that scene has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Seriously, that's a straight-up eye-rolling moment. At least pick the aroma scenes for something unique from that movie!

What was eye rolling or overt about it?

[Inflammable Slinky]

maybe he means that creepy theory that the film is about losing her virginity

Not what I was referring to. Her protectiveness of the handbag as an allegory to protecting her sexuality is a pretty blatant theme in the movie and one not exactly uncommon in a coming of age story.

[Replicant]

You made the right choice. Snow White is a lot more fun and imaginative than Brave. I really enjoyed it.

I hope so. Ticket prices are so expensive these days. So if I go out to see a film in cinema I expect to get something out of it at least. Whether from the story or from the visual.

[Inflammable Slinky]

If you separate yourself from your adoration of the previous Toy Stories, the third one wasn't that good either. A straight forward prison break film, with a bad and childish romance (sub... plot?) with an admittedly good junkyard scene. Wall E is rather "eh" too.

WallE is probably simutaneously my favorite and most loathed Pixar film. Never have a been so personally outraged at a second half of a movie, but watching walle made me question if it is better to be mediocre for 100% of the movie or flawless for 50% and then shitty for 50%.

Actually I lied. Up is most certainly my most hated movie of Pixar. What a shitty 90 minutes.

[Messofanego]

MI2 > MI > MI4 > MI3 MI and MI2 can flip-flop depending on mood.

WHAT IS GOING ON?!

[courage201]

I'm a sucker for disney princess movies--- I'm sure Brave will be just as enjoyable. But in fairness-- Cars as a franchise blows.