concern for pixars next movie

[Strain42]

I'm really excited for Brave, but I understand why people wouldn't be. I'm also ignoring anyone who says something along the lines of "It just doesn't look like a Pixar movie." because I remember people saying the same thing about The Incredibles and look how that turned out.

I will say this though (off topic rant coming)...Pixar broke my heart. They don't know it, but they did.

I'm a film student (transferring to SCAD actually), I'm working towards getting my bachelors (specifically specializing in screenplays), and I'm applying for Pixar internships. Basically it is my dream job to one day work for Pixar. I would love that more than anything.

For the past two years I've been putting together a story. I won't go into too many details, but it was about a murder mystery centered around Dia de los Muertos. I'd been working on characters, rough drafts of screenplays, even re-wrote the entire third act. This was a project I hoped I could one day pitch to Pixar if I ever got the chance. I really feel like I've never worked harder on anything in my life.

But when I went to their wikipedia page a few weeks ago, what did I see on their list of upcoming projects?

"The Untitled Pixar Movie About Día de los Muertos"

Needless to say I was crushed. I honestly didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand I was thinking "Well...maybe great minds think alike." It made me feel for a split second that maybe I would work well there.

...but then my other thought was just a long list of swear words and trying not to cry

I will never get to pitch my story to them now. Their movie will probably be done before I ever get a chance to, or at least pretty late into development stages.

Sorry, it's 4:30 in the morning and I'm tired and sad...

 

[Evil Smurf]

I'm actually looking forward to this one, even if it doesn't wind up being a masterpiece it'll be nice for young girls to have a strong female protagonist to look up to, instead of the regular princesses and damsels and such.

They have Tangled for that, and Shrek and Mulan

what do you mean by that?.."we shouldn't make too many movies with female protagonists?"

then gain mabye less movies where "IM A GIRL AND I'M BEING OPRESSED" is such a big deal/drving plot point

on the OTHER hand, why not? I like that theme

True, You just sounded like you had no idea of the movies I suggested. Sorry if I offended you

 

[Strain42]

snip

Write something new, something even better. You'd be surprised how many artist's works following great failures end up becoming the greatest pieces they ever created.

Just don't ever stop.

[sub]CAPTCHA: zombie attack.[/sub]

Thank you. I needed to hear that. And trust me, I am. While it still hurts to put my first project aside, there is a wonderful feeling that comes from constructing something brand new.

 

[mParadox]

I was surprised that it was being made by Pixar. Seemed more like a route Dreamworks would take since the animation looks very consistent to what 'How to train a Dragon' was. :O

And while I don't hold that high of hopes for this one, mostly because it has failed to earn my interest, I can still see loads and loads of children dragging their parents in to see this as soon as possible. I mean, come on, it's Pixar.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I was thinking about Brave earlier today while I was at work in conjunction with thoughts of Wreck it Ralph. It seems like Disney and Pixar got each other's project with these two movies, ya know? Disney does Princesses (I thought, while stocking the latest Princess merchandise) while Pixar does the more out-there things (living toys, living vehicles, etc). A part of me is even wondering if there's some kind of internal bet between Pixar and Disney to see how well the one can do at the other's preferred type of movie. I'm really excited about both though and can't wait to see them.

 

[Harkonnen64]

The joke will probably have something to do with bears.

Maybe everyone in the movie turn into bears? What if the king and queen of a country turned into bears?

I dunno...

Anyway, I'm still interested in that movie.

After seeing the three little brothers and the giant of a father, and then seeing three little bears and the one big bear, I have the same suspicion.

 

[Eamar]

If I recall correctly, there was similar scepticism before Up came out, and (to a lesser extent) before Wall-E before that, and most people ended up loving them. I certainly remember being unsure about both movies, since they looked so different from the Pixar movies I grew up with (Toy Story, Monsters Inc etc). So yeah, unless they pull a Cars 2 I reckon it's highly likely most of us will end up liking it.

what i mean by this is that every pixar movie has had a joke that held everything together, be it toy stories "what if toys were alive?" to cars' "what if the world were nothing but cars?" or even the incredibles "what if super-heroes had to be ordinary?" from each of the questions framing the movies they take the setting and then create the story out of it. in brave i cant think of what it could be, but it may also be that pixar never revealed the jokes before release and i never noticed it since this is the first time i'm anticipating a pixar movie.

the one thing i did contemplate is maybe the joke is simply "what if the main character was a girl?" but that almost seems weak for a setup

As others have said, those things aren't "jokes," just concepts. Pixar movies have rarely been pure comedies, they've usually been pretty heavy, actually, with clear moral messages. The laughs are fantastic, of course, but they're not what make the movies great.

So for what it's worth, the concept for Brave is "what if the fairytale princess acted more like a fairytale prince." Or something. Admittedly it's not an entirely original concept, but hell, I'm pretty sure other people had thought about toys coming to life before Toy Story came out. Just look at The Nutcracker.

 

[Galletea]

For some reason I thought Brave was a DreamWorks movie : \

It does look like one doesn't it?

I have to admit, it doesn't interest me at all. But that might be due to the dreamworks look, and I haven't found a Dreamworks film I really liked yet.

 

[Sparklyfingers]

There's an article in this months' EMPIRE about Brave which really got me interested in the movie. I was skeptical before, but I think hearing a bit about the themes and research behind the project was really good.

The girl is a teenager rebelling against arranged marriage and from there takes her bow and horse and runs away. Maybe not traditionally Pixar as it's more of a coming-of-age story and takes a lot of culture and folklore into account when develping the story (or so it seems), but why is that bad?

It always surprises me how whiny people get when someone is trying to reinvent or try something new. We don't like it when everything always stays the same, right?

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I only take issue with how they are advertising it.
First teaser trailer. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYg0VgPy6Uk] Looks like a dark and mysterious fim.

Newer trailer. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHWDA_6e3M] So it's a super-kid friendly movie with regular Disney themes?

Like compare that to the Incredibles teaser [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU6Djgf0gNo], trailer 1 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwHlyurv-0U], trailer 2 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbzbC9285I]. All of these give the same impression to me.

 

[TheDarkestDerp]

This isn't the first Pixar film I haven't cared a jot about. That dubious honor goes to Cars 2. This is the first Pixar movie I'm actively disliking and am disappointed in. Pixar has always been, if nothing else, imaginative and fun. From the struggling Dad and his super-family in The Incredibles, to the cautionary tale/quirky romance of WALL E, to the heartbreaking tragedy and triumph of UP!, Pixar has cut their own cloth and sewn it.

Brave is shite. Utter and total tripe from the Disney school of 'generic heroine who wishes for something more out of life than stereotyped life A'. It's been done a dozen times before by Disney's team of hack writers, it's sure to be done again and again, but dammit, why did it have to be Pixar this time...? Yeah, I know. *sighs* Paper stuff... it's green...

Every trailer I've had to sit through, waiting for the movie of the evening to start, all I can hear is Dot Warner singing "The Generic Heroine" song on Animaniacs... That, at least, gives me a giggle...

 

[Mikeyfell]

Seriously?
Don't get me wrong I usually love Pixar but I usually love their movies after I've seen them.
Toy Story, Walle, The Incredibles, Up. They're all great movies but I never actually "wanted" to see any of them until after reviews or they're out on DVD or I want to see it just because it's Pixar.

Brave is the first one that I actively want to see, regardless of reviews or branding

Also I think "joke" is the wrong word OP. I would have gone with "concept" because in the case of Walle "What if every aspect of human life was controlled by machines" and Up "What does a man do when he has nothing left to lose?" or Cars "How do we increase our profit margin by 200% this fiscal year?" they can get very depressing.

 

[Dragonclaw]

Pixar never fails to surprise me when I start having lower expectations. I really had ho interest in Cars..."Oh look, we've taken the Chevron commercial toys and recast them into the Michael J Fox movie Doc Hollywood"...seriously, it's almost verbatim plot point for plot point...but I ended up liking the heck out of it. I had zero interest in UP, but it ended up being a great, even if sad, flick. Wall-E is probably my least favorite Pixar movie, but I think Brave will do OK and I'm not going to give it a shot.

 

[drummond13]

I think you're confusing the word "joke" with the word "premise".

And I wouldn't say Finding Nemo had a "joke", other than the fact that fish could talk to each other.

 

[Mikeyfell]

That women can be warriors.

Let's ask an expert on the subject.

Spoiler

And I'm sorry if you haven't played Dragon Age Origin, because if you hadn't this wouldn't be funny at all, and I would have wasted both of our times.

 

[lRookiel]

It's Pixar I'm sure they can pull it off, they have never disappointed me before so I'll remain optimistic

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

Hmmm... Interesting thought about the "jokes", or rather concept questions, that Pixar seems to base their movies around.

Now I find myself trying to find the other concept questions that the other Pixar films were possibly based around. "What if a rat was a brilliant cook?" for Ratatouille. I'm assuming Up's would have been something along the lines of "What if an elderly man became an adventurer again?"

What would have been Finding Nemo's? Just... what if fish talked? The setup is very simple. I don't really see a concept question behind it that drove the plot forward.

Anyway, Brave hasn't come out yet, but I love the Celtic setting and the characters I've seen. So whatever. I'll wait til I see it to make any judgement calls.

 

[MyNameIsNowNotMyName]

Brave is probably the first Pixar movie I'm not even remotely interested in

You too, eh?

I love the way Brave looks and what it appears to be thus far. Actually, I wouldn't say I hate all other Pixar movies. Or that this is the first Pixar film I'm interested in. I love Finding Nemo. But this looks like the most promising Pixar film thus far.

As a fan of RPGs and fantasy fiction, Brave is right up my alley. I'm certainly not a violence nut, but it is refreshing to see a "warrior" theme, come out of Pixar. Being films primarily directed at children(much like My Little Pony and animation in general, sadly), you cannot expect much violence out of them. And luckily, you also can't expect much pointless violence for the sake of violence exploitation flick crud either, luckily. It's a good tradeoff. Then there is, of course, a strong, female protagonist like I've been dying for more of film forever. Oh, and I love Celtic culture, too.

I think they're going to handle this really intelligently. And for the first time ever, I'm super hyped up for a Pixar film. It might actually drag me out to the theater.

Good lord, did I misread.

Well needless to say, the person I'm quoting is not a "you too, eh?". Considering that Brave is the first time I've been interested in a Pixar film in years. While the person I am quoting, appears to only disinterested in this one. We're opposites.

Holy crap! You're alive! no hard feelings... Right?
On-Topic: Meh, I'm not too interested in it, but then again when I always eventually see Pixar movies on ABC Family, I'm always like, "Holy Crap! How did I miss this?!"

 

[Sean951]

Brave is probably the first Pixar movie I'm not even remotely interested in, even less so than Cars. I don't what it is about it, it just doesn't look the slightest bit interesting to me.

The others were comedies, this is not.

Remember, Disney now owns Pixar. They were bound to make more "disney style" movies, and we know these days Disney is trying to make "serious dramas with some laughs" for kids.

Disney has always owned Pixar, and John Lasseter (Founder of Pixar) is now the top guy in charge of all animated movies by dinsney and pixar, so even disney movies independent of Pixar still have that pixar touch.

lol, history fail. They only bought it 6 years ago.

"The precursor to Pixar began in 1974 with the initial hire of Ed Catmull at Alexander Shure's New York Institute of Technology to lead a team of researchers tasked to apply computer technology to automate the process of graphic animation. The team was eventually absorbed in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the computer division of Lucasfilm before it was acquired by Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006 at a valuation of $7.4 billion" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar

Now 2006 is an important date. Before that date you have Toy Story, A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, the Incredibles, Cars. All stories that focus on fun and comedy. Now lets look post 2006, WallE, UP, Brave, Toy Story 3, Cars 2.

Notice that except for the two continuations of old franchises, the other 3 movies are the ones sighted in this thread as having a different tone? That's the Disney influence on the company.

I trust my point is now made and next time you will research before you put forward your guess as a fact.

Brave is probably the first Pixar movie I'm not even remotely interested in, even less so than Cars. I don't what it is about it, it just doesn't look the slightest bit interesting to me.

The others were comedies, this is not.

Comedies? In the Greek play sense, of having a good ending for most protagonists, maybe. Did you not notice the most heart-wrenching eight minutes in cinematic history at the beginning of Up,

Up was not one of the movies that had been mentioned as a comedy. It's part of the post-Disney productions;

But weren't all the previous films done in conjunction with Disney? Why else could I find Toy Story stuff in the Disney Store when I was 7 and OMG TOY STORY!

 

[Raven's Nest]

Ouch, I feel sorry for Pixar. Most of you recognise that they have produced some outstanding films over the last 15 or so years but they still get second guessed over a trailer? C'mon guys, wait till the films out to judge it. They've earned that surely?