New Pixar Movie Previews

[Drtooth]

I'm very glad that Pixar didn't pull a Newt with Coco and didn't dump it because it would have been too similar to Book of Life (which is a good movie in its own right, and the director has been working on that one longer than Pixar was on Coco). I just hope it gets better reception and manages to break free of a Minority Show Ghetto (TVTropes' term, not mine).

I still don't know what to think about TS 4. I really, really liked what Pixar was doing with the shorts and specials, continuing the story and the characters without having to produce a full hour and a half long movie. And it's not like the universe wasn't expanded and characters weren't developed. The Halloween special had a great character piece about Jesse and her claustrophobia due to being boxed away for years. The Time Forgot special gave third movie's secondary character Trixie some much needed character expansion. Small Fry even expanded on the abandonment issue with the most expendable kid's toy their is, the fast food premium. All without being Toy Stories 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Now, I really think they could make this a half hour Valentines special and it would still work, and if it really needs the full kid's movie length to work is to be seen.

As for Cars 3, I really want them to go back and do what made Cars 1 special. There's no doubt this is because the cars are perennial best sellers, but the second movie had pretty much a Saturday Morning cartoon plot. Visually, I find it superior to the first movie as they were no longer limited to a rundown town and had to be clever with the alternate sentient car timeline architecture. As for the plot, I think they pushed it as far as they could with a simple "should have been an episode of the cartoon show" plot. They made it a nice Mater piece, and threw in some delightful oil company conspiracy, but overall the film didn't play to anyone that wasn't a fan of the film or anyone over the age of 9 (generously). Hopefully they'll get a more sophisticated story for the third one, making it the Iron Man 2 of the franchise. I do enjoy Cars unironically, knowing full well it wasn't Pixar's best work, but also knowing Pixar shouldn't have to make all their films tearjerkers. In fact, after Up's devastating opening and TS3's so beautiful you can't help cry ending, it was refreshing to not come out of a Pixar film choking back tears. Then Inside Out came and brought that feeling back again.

 

[The Count]

You have a point that I might agree to that TS4 could probably work better as a half-hour Valentine's special like Toy Story of Terror or Toy Story That Time Forgot. But mayhaps they want the full film length to properly flush out the backstory of why Bo Peep was absent for TS3, though what with the whole incinerator sequence at the junkyard towards the end I feel it was a good choice that Bo wasn't with the main group of characters then.

What I love about the footage of Coco that was shown is the entire "how the dead party" vibe it has. There's even a mariachi band of skeletons, one turns around and its the human protagonist in disguise whose mask falls off. One of the other skeletons gasps to the point his jawbone drops off... And another skeleton's reaction is to just shrug it off and keep playing. Rully looking forward to this one and Disney's Night on Bald Mountain live-actioner as well.

 

[Drtooth]

You have a point that I might agree to that TS4 could probably work better as a half-hour Valentine's special like Toy Story of Terror or Toy Story That Time Forgot. But mayhaps they want the full film length to properly flush out the backstory of why Bo Peep was absent for TS3, though what with the whole incinerator sequence at the junkyard towards the end I feel it was a good choice that Bo wasn't with the main group of characters then.

I'd say there's probably enough of a movie going on Woody's heartbreak over Bo Peep being sold (still wonder why a boy was playing with/had access to a porcelain doll anyway). That was probably the only thread they had to work as another movie left during the third film. I do think there's a nice story there, but somehow it feels like it could either be too short for a movie and too involved for a half hour special. But, by all means, they found a way to continue the story that actually has a valid point to explore and exploit. It may not quite defeat the beautiful ending to the third film yet.

That's kinda why Monsters Inc 2 was more Monsters INC -1. The concepts for a sequel, minus Boom's outstanding, yet unfortunately non-canonical comic sequel, were just lame and took away from the ending of the original. Monsters University may not have been its best work (though it in no way deserves the crap it gets, it was far better and more entertaining than Brave was), but it did give some delightful world building that makes MI stronger.

 

[The Count]

Monsters U is the only Pixar film I've yet to see, I strongly suspect it'll be ABC Family's centerpiece debut for either this year's 13 Nights of Halloween or 25 Days of Christmas campaign or somewhere in between. And I've come to like what I've read at the Pixar Wiki from my incessant monster research. It kind of feels like the Monsters Inc. version of An Extremely Goofy Movie, the sequel to A Goofy Movie. And yet, Monsters U does lay the groundwork towards the end for what we have at the beginning of Monsters Inc with the Floor F teams of scarers pretty much being all the MU graduates. Don't know about Boom's! sequel comic, will have to search that next.

 

[mr3urious]

Even though a half-hour Valentines special on TV would be a better fit for TS4, I also don't see how it would work as a feature film. Maybe make it an anthology like Pulp Fiction, with multiple parts focusing on different characters?

 

[Drtooth]

Monsters U is the only Pixar film I've yet to see, I strongly suspect it'll be ABC Family's centerpiece debut for either this year's 13 Nights of Halloween or 25 Days of Christmas campaign or somewhere in between. And I've come to like what I've read at the Pixar Wiki from my incessant monster research. It kind of feels like the Monsters Inc. version of An Extremely Goofy Movie, the sequel to A Goofy Movie. And yet, Monsters U does lay the groundwork towards the end for what we have at the beginning of Monsters Inc with the Floor F teams of scarers pretty much being all the MU graduates. Don't know about Boom's! sequel comic, will have to search that next.

The comic was basically an after story where Randall and Waternoose were trying to sabotage the new humor based Monsters Inc, thus bringing back the scream power to their financial gain and revenge. Not saying too much more, but the story connects with another Pixar movie, but it's non-canonical of course. To Boom's credit at least they did what I hoped TS3 did and added a Buzz Lightyear of Star Command character as a toy. In this case, Booster.

 

[MuppetSpot]

I heard from the D23, that a new Inside Out short will come on the DVD called Riley's First Date.