I feel like sequels get a bad rap in animation because of the “Era of Disney making crappy sequels to everything” and many a crappy sequel to films targeted at children, but it seems unjustified when put against the entire history of film if you ask me. I mean, what about some of the great classic film franchises? The first 3 Star Wars films were all classics. The Muppets has had 8 theatrical releases.
Harry Potter? Lord of the Rings? The Godfather? And have we already forgotten how amazing Toy Story 3 was? Were those “selling out?” What about Marvel having an entire cinematic universe and it actually getting better reviews than the days where each of their films stood alone?
What if according to some of the staff they WERE made for the money? What if they were made to make money and were STILL creatively done because even the most talented people need to eat and fund future original films that are more risky than proven franchises? Isn’t that the most horrific thought ever? That a film can have both a strong creative team and strong reception from average filmgoers? PIXAR only even made Ts3 because otherwise Disney was going to. How does that make you feel about the film? Do you automatically like it less for that, even though it ripped everyone’s heart out and ended the trilogy perfectly?
If we say that sequels to animated films are always going to be bad/sell outs, we’re doing the same thing we get so upset at mainstream film critics for doing - we’re assuming what a film is going to be because it’s animated. Heck, we’re assuming that DESPITE Pixar’s history. Toy Story 3 was amazing. MU was a wonderful film. Cars 2 I personally enjoyed, but even people who didn’t have to appreciate the amount of time and effort put into the visuals.
It’s not just Pixar, either: Dreamworks has been making some amazing sequels. HTTYD2. Kung Fu Panda 2. This is not the '90s with direct-to-video disasters, my friends. We’re returning to a age of planned franchises - planned QUALITY franchises - than used to be a widespread phenomenon.
Do any of you write fan fiction? Do you buy that fan fiction writers are just too lazy to create original concepts? Or do you know that writers sometimes have sometime to say in fan fiction that wouldn’t resonate the same way in an original story because it’s special and unique to those characters?
I’m all for criticism and discussion, but comments that Pixar has been ruined or no longer having integrity every time a new sequel that isn’t “The Incredibles 2” gets announced is really frustrating and seeing the glass as half empty when it’s been more than half full time and time again. It’s like Pixar is never expected to make sequels ever, and that’s just not realistic. Every film studio has their trusty franchises that work as a shield against potential box-office bombs. Sequels can not only be great, but they bring in the cash that gives studios the creative freedom to create more offbeat original works like Inside Out.
Seriously guys - I love y’all, but you’re really quick to yell “RUINED FOREVER!!!”
^And I can see your point within that explanation right there, Netbug009. People should not be comlaining so much about animated sequels, ever. It’s like they’re either being too picky about what they let their kids watch, or are too busy facing the past. And it seems most people who don’t want animated sequels only seem interested in R-rated films.
And yes, SpaceSheriff, I am sure that Finding Dory will go the same route as Toy Story 2 had already done. And are you saying that Monsters University doesn’t hold a candle to Monsters, Inc. because, in the original film, Mike mentions to Sulley that he has been jealous of his looks “since the 4th grade, pal”, yet in the prequel we suddenly find out that they didn’t actually meet until college? (And by the way, there is a deleted scene about them meeting in grade school.)
And by the way, despite original plans for what the movie was going to be about, Pixar has already had to change the plot because of Blackfish.
Check that, I can’t wait for this movie to come out in general.
Obviously the docummentary is real. I mean the supposed leaked story about the ending of Finding Dory being changed because of the documentary. I never read an official statement, so maybe it’s a rumor.
What I’m asking is if said official statement exists and I’m simply not aware of it.
Out of all of Pixar’s followups (prequels/sequels), the only one which I found was disapointing was Cars 2. TS2, TS3, and MU were all great films. So I can see this going either way, but I have faith in Andrew Stanton. He wants to protect his characters, and I’m sure he wouldn’t return to the film unless he saw it something worthwhile to make.
He’s come right out and said that the only reason the sequel exists is because they want more money and that he doesn’t actually want to make the thing.
Films are bizarrely, ridiculously, frighteningly expensive to make. Stanton understands this completely. Given has last film was a financial and critical flop, and he’s now the VP, he understands he has to make a film that is guaranteed to make money. Which is what he’s saying here, any sequel of Finding Nemo would be a guarantee to make money. However in the same quote he said, “we’d like to release something we actually want to make” and looked at a timeline perspective. So while a Nemo film may not be Stanton’s first choice, he recognizes doing it is a necessity, and found a story that is worth investing in.
I know that animated films are horribly expensive (200 million I believe is the common amount for Pixar and Disney), and I know what he’s saying. That was the point of the post; that Stanton came back to the series because because maintaining a constant string of hits that subsequently spawn billion dollar toy empires isn’t profitable anymore, apparently (yeah, quite frankly the whole idea that they somehow need near constant sequels after ten years without them isn’t something I swallow).
The way I read that sentence “We’d like to make something we actually want to make” referred to other movies. “Tell us when the sequels need to come so we know when we can make things we aren’t forced into”. It’s…kind of ambiguously worded, now that I look back at it.
Either way, the fact remains, he went back to the series for money. Him finding a vaguely decent plot to go with doesn’t remove that.
Upon the announcement of the film, I was initially skeptical and thought it was just another example of Pixar putting out more sequels. After seeing the trailer though and some screens, maybe this could be promising. Let’s be honest here, as interesting as Dory is, we barely know anything about her past. This will be an opportunity to explore her character more.
Only thing is I was hoping for was Nemo having aged a little more, but other than that it’s looking solid.
Have you all seen the new characters from “Finding Dory?” They are too cute for words. Otters, and beluga whales, and octopuses…oh my! Read up on the new voice cast by visiting [url]seeheresthething.com from the pop culture blog, See Here’s the Thing.
I’ve seen the new characters on some articles on my Facebook feed. I am very excited to see the new film with its new cast of characters. Saw a trailer a while ago and Destiny the Shark made me giggle a little.
However, I am really hoping that Finding Dory will answer a question that has lingered in my mind (and probably in the minds of many fans) for years…
[spoil]Did Gill and the Tank Gang get out of their bags and make it into the ocean?[/spoil] (though this depends if Mr. Stanton wants them to make a comeback or not)
Now I don’t really mean to offend you guys, but I just want to point something out 'cause it’s rather more serious of a problem than what you would previously think before. I do not know why, but there is some kind of a rumor going around that the couple in that latest “Finding Dory” trailer is Lesbain. I, for one, do not believe that rumor, as they are supposed to be a straight (like all other previous Pixar couples)–and believe that the whole runor itself is just another threat to the entire fandom, at which point people will start coming up with a bunch of negative excuses to not see “Finding Dory” in the theaters, therefore causing a possible box office failure along with those other articles I’ve found about marine biologists constantly worrying about threats to real life ocean fish that will come from watching the movie. (And this is just a prediction. I really wish people would just STOP bashing against all of Pixar’s latest films–especially “Cars 2”!–and then just accept the fact that even those movies are supposed to be for entertainment. Not for actual education which far too many of today’s parents seem to be so stuck with. But you know what else they need to stop saying? Oh, something about loss of quality and money-grabbing. Why can’t they just see it as just a good story with some much-needed life lessons, huh?)
NOTE; Sorry about the whole rant just now. I seem to do that a lot. But as a true Pixar fan myself, I have to defend every single one of them movies. And hope that “Finding Dory” does not cause fans to come up with more of those insane Pixar-related theories–because those, too, also need to stop as well. End of post.
evspixarfan2012: I have heard about that rumor, actually. I can see why people would think it [spoil](one of the females in question in the trailer has mannish-looking hair)[/spoil], but for now, it is just a rumor as far as I can tell. Also, it appears that those are just background characters unimportant to the story.
As a Christian myself, I would only be against the movie if [spoil]male-male and/or female-female attraction was a main plot point or somehow essential to the story.[/spoil] So at this point, it’s nothing to really worry about.
