This is something I haven’t seen discussed very much here, but correct me if I’m wrong!
Since Pixar movies are so good, they’ve generated a large adult fanbase. (And if you need evidence of this, may I suggest you take a look at this forum and the fact that you are probably over the age of 13 and posting in it, and there you go.)
I don’t really know if I count as an “ADULT”, but I’m an older Pixar fan (older as in, over 13), and I’ve talked with a lot of older Pixar fans and a lot of them seem to think that Pixar movies have reached a point where they no longer appeal to kids all that much. (I’m more specifically talking about Ratatouille, WALLE and UP.) For each of these movies, I have heard people say they doubt kids will love the film as much as adults will.
Well, working at the Disney Store has shown me that… not only is that suspicion just flat-out WRONG, it’s kind of… stupid.
I can personally attest to the fact that kids ADORE these films. I’ve seen it less in Ratatouille, but WALLE is a prime example. A movie with ‘little dialogue’ and a ‘complex theme’… people weren’t sure if kids would catch on. But here’s the deal… WALLE is PERFECT for kids, because you don’t HAVE to understand English to understand WALLE. It’s a completely visual movie! And kids are such visual beings, it’s perfect. (Obviously WALLE does not appeal to EVERY kid, as all are different; but I see so many kids running into the Disney Store yelling “WAAAAAAAAAALEEEEEEE!!!” and attacking our toy shelves for that little robot.)
I think UP will be the same. It may star an old man, but Russel makes the perfect counterpart for Carl I’m sure not only in story but also, as a ‘kid-character’. The movie isn’t even out yet, and I’ve had kids come into the store, see our UP display and run around in circles babbling about how excited they are for the movie. And of course, the favorite among kids seems to be Dug.
I’m just wondering what everyone else thinks about this, and I’d love to hear any ‘kid-Pixar’ stories you guys have to share. Honestly, the kids are the reason I love my job at the Disney Store.
I don’t like to view a Pixar film as a kid movie, and I don’t like to view a Pixar film as an adult film. I like to view a Pixar film as a film that anyone and everyone can enjoy, and surely that’s true. I think if it wasn’t for appealing to both the young and the old, and the giant gap in between - Pixar would have never been as famous as they are today. That’s just what’s so amazing about them, because almost no other movie company out there seems to have the ability to appeal a single movie to everyone the way Pixar does.
All the kids. particuarly tweens, I keep in close contact with do quote the scripture - I mean, Pixar movies, which does include the more “serious” films such as Wall-E and Ratatouille. (Particuarly to the fact that I’m only willing to have conversations with kids that have the decent taste to appreciate a Pixar movie )
The fact is that kids are no less intelligent than adults - all they have is just a wider sense of imagination. In no way, in any way should we be dumbing down for kids - and most misinterpret that for the lame gags they pull out. Like Disney_Guy said, you can’t really label a Pixar film definitely kids or definitely adult - it’s called the family genre for a reason.
Well, as someone who works in the kids’ section of a shoeshop, I do come into contact with a lot of children and a lot of them do like Pixar films (according to their T-shirts and clothing and other such things, anyway). Cars is definitely the most popular one, especially with the boys, but I’ve also seen loads of kids wearing Toy Story clothes and WALL-E also comes up a lot.
I will say, though, I very rarely find girls wearing Pixar clothing. They seem to instead immediately head for the whole Disney princesses theme and seem to know a lot less about Pixar films.
Of course, this is just from my own observations. Ratatouille, for example, is a film that has always seemed to me to be, although appropriate for children, perhaps not as immediately appealing to kids in the way that some of the other Pixar films are, because it has continuously adult themes running right through it and it may be perhaps a little bit much for very young kids to understand all of the characters’ motivations and that sort of thing. With a film like WALL-E, even if a young kid doesn’t understand what’s really going on, it’s still enjoyable because it’s about robots and there are sad bits and funny bits, etc.
Once again, this is of course a personal opinion, but as a whole, I think Pixar films are perfect for children and although Pixar do have a habit of perhaps adding bits that children might not understand, I can’t see how a child couldn’t be entertained by their films.
Well I definitely agree that Pixar films should not be labeled as ‘kid’ or ‘adult’ movies, and that’s kind of the point I was trying to make. A lot of adults seem to assume that there’s no way their kids will understand these movies, but even if the kid doesn’t wholly understand, they get the gist of it and love the adventure. Pixar movies don’t pander to kids, but rather give a kid something they’ll be able to love as they grow older.
Lizardgirl- you’re right that more girls seem to latch onto the Princesses, but I’ve seen plenty little girls come in for the Pixar (‘boy’) stuff. One guest in particular had a daughter who loved WALLE so much that she actually held her hands the way WALLE does when he’s trying to figure out how holding hands works. It’s hard to explain and I wish I could show you, but hopefully you have a vague idea of the gesture I’m referencing… anyway, it was beyond cute.
I also had a guest in who had a daughter who LOVED Cars and Lightning McQueen. The family has a big shelf set up in their home that holds all of the collectible die-cast cars and they go around as a family getting new ones- and apparently the little girl can name ALL of them!
It reminds me of myself as a kid. Toy Story was my thing. I was the only girl in school completely decked out in Buzz Lightyear apparel, and I brought Buzz and Woody to show and tell…
So you’re right that Pixar is more popular with boys, but when girls like one of the Pixar franchises, I think they grow more attached to it than the boys. A lot of the boys like ALL of the Pixar movies/ characters and spread their attention between them, but the girls seem to develop favorites more easily- even with the Princesses. In fact part of my job is to ask or discern which princess is a girl’s favorite and show them toys and dresses for that particular princess. I’ve only had a few girls tell me “ALL OF THEM!”; most of the time I get Ariel or Aurora.
Hog-Hug- Yeah, I agree, girls do tend to know what they like in particular and then obsess over it. You’d probably know better than I do since you actually work in a job that orientates around children and can ask them what films they like without it sounding weird.
Haha, yes, I similarly remember at primary school being known for my love of Randall and always drawing him in art lessons and talking about him, whilst all the other girls loved the latest barbie dolls and that sort of thing.
I have two younger siblings (under 10), and they love Pixar movies. Ironically, they think that the first Toy Story is a little boring, but they love Ratatollie.
That’s the beauty of Pixar: It appeals to a wide audience. Unlike crappy Disney or Dreamworks CGI films, they don’t insult your intelligence by having a bunch of childish, stupid characters running around doing nothing and then sticking in some pointless adult crude jokes.
Some people think that a movie that will appeal to kids has to be overly simple and cheesy. They think it can only have messages like “beleive in yourself” (i.e Space Chimps) or “be honest” (i.e Shark Tale). Kids may not understand the prediction of the outcome of over-consummering the world in WALL-E, but they’ll understand the love story just fine, which is the main focus anyway.
Rac_rules- oooh, ouch. You know, I actually disagree to a certain extent on your point about ‘crappy Disney and Dreamworks movies’.
Most recent Dreamworks movies are full of bad pop-culture references, but Kung-Fu Panda was a great movie (for kids and adults) and though Monsters Vs. Aliens wasn’t that good, it was better than the usual Dreamworks fare.
And Disney is where I REALLY disagree. You say ‘crappy Disney CGI’ but Disney has only put out three 3D-animated movies and two of them weren’t half bad. Meet the Robinsons wasn’t all that amazing, but it was a milestone flick for Disney- showing that they were at least TRYING to build the quality of their studio films back up. And Bolt was great! So I don’t really take your point.
But I do agree that a lot of studios seem to think they need to talk down to kids, which is just ridiculous. Still, I hear so many people saying Disney does that, but they really, really don’t. A few of their films do, yes, but definitely not the majority.
I do a mentoring program after school on Wed. for “special needs” kids. One day, as this kid was leaving, I noticed that he had WALL-E sunglasses!!! So, we kind of talked about it for 3 min. That’s my Kids and Pixar story. ( :^D
Though I do admit that Disney isn’t all bad in their CGI fare, they have some pretty bad stuff, which is the stuff I was referring too. Three, on the other hand, is where your wrong. I don’t know where in the world you got that. How about Surfs Up, Polar Express, Chicken Little, and the admittedly little remembered Dinosaur? Polar Express was okay, but the others were the same stuff we’re used too.
Bolt, though pretty decent, was what I was talking about. The message never got beyond “ordinary is extrordinary.” Though an okay-good movie, it was no WALL-E when it came to terms of intellect.
Surf’s Up was done by Sony, Polar Express was not 3D character animation, but rather motion-capture. Chicken Little was my third (the three being Chicken Little, MTR and Bolt). Dinosaur isn’t completely 3D character animation either: “Dinosaur combines the use of live-action backgrounds with computer animation of prehistoric creatures.” (from WIKI).
When I said 3, I meant Disney has only made 3 100% 3D-computer animated movies done with original character animation.
I’m 12. And, admittedly, I’m probably the only person in my town that enjoys Wall-E. Everyone I know finds it boring, some even claiming they fell asleep. My love for Pixar (and Myazaki) is a bit embarrassing.
Well I suppose I’m considered a “kid” since I am exactly 13 years old.
A prime example of pixar fans in my school is when we had to write a report on Wall-E in science class. All of the kids repeated the line where Mo says “Woah woah woah woah” all day long. They also were chanting “Walle!” and “Eve-ah!” too.
We also watched “Buscando a Nemo” in spanish and all day everybody was quoting it.
My sister and brother are also prime examples of young pixar fans. They are 10 and they have all of John Ratzenberger’s roles in the movie’s memorized and look for the A113 in all movies.
They also go on the pixar website often and enjoy reading some of the post made on here.
They can’t wait till they are 13 to come on the site!
My sister and I have a webkinz stuffed clown triggerfish and we call it “Marlin Jr.” or Mar Mar for short, because it looks like a mix between Marlina and Dory! XD Our goldfish is also named Nemo!
My sister and I play pixar roleplay and we even have pixar nicknames.
So there you have it , my kid obsession with pixar.
Why do we love Pixar? What accounts for the innumerable acclamations that have been bestowed upon such an institution, and upon those who were responsible for its success? What is it that pulls on our heartstrings, causing us to dig into our pockets and empty our wallets… just to see a projection on a blank screen up on a wall? The culprit? Nostalgia.
I speak on behalf of myself – and, perhaps, on behalf of many – when I accredit nostalgia as the accused. Whether or not others may choose to back up my statement as amenable rests upon their individual opinions. Nevertheless, there is, undoubtedly, a logic behind the answer to the aforementioned interrogatives.
The young love Pixar, as do the young at heart. Goodness knows I can testify to this. The first time I saw “Toy Story” was during its theatrical release in 1995. I was six years old at the time, and one of the fondest memories I bottled up during that experience was the fact that both the children and the adults were buckled up with laughter, sharing the same smiles... and shedding the same tears. Even as a kid, I don’t remember that happening very often when I went to the cinema with my family. It was unusual; it was gratifying; and it was opulent. It was also brief -- the richness of the content and storyline seemed to speed up time for but an hour and a half. Such heart and texture in a film was rare at the time, and it seems that a once-healthy supply of it has dwindled even more over the past decade….
Many of us seem to misplace that child-like mentality once we reach the pinnacle of adulthood. Where it runs off to is anyone’s guess, but why it tends to dissipate is, I think, fairly obvious. Life simply gets in the way. Bills need to be paid; families must be attended to; work must be completed; and time passes by in the process. Once in a while, people probably feel that drive to merely escape from it all… and relish the joys of youth yet again. Pixar satisfies that hunger, and it’s only a pity that we receive a taste of their remedy but once a year.
Now to magnify comparisons, regarding children and their love towards Pixar’s productions, I’ll take this one step at a time. These observations are solely based on my opinions, of course, but I think they adhere to the subject matter fairly enough.
First and foremost, I believe kids like Pixar films for the obvious reason of relevance: All children love and play with toys; they like catching bugs in their backyard; if the closet door is kept open at night, something might come out of it; watching fish in an aquarium is a favorite pastime; put on a cape and a pseudonym and you’re an instant superhero; metal and plastic cars are a source of endless entertainment; robots make funny sounds and are amusing to watch; balloons are colorful and float way up into the sky when you let go of them…. Simple, yet entertaining, concepts and objects are what kids find to be fascinating. They find humor in the most boring things imaginable, be them exiguous or elephantine – even if you give them a tissue box, they’ll find a way to amuse themselves with it, no matter how insipid the idea may seem. Pixar expands upon such conceptual ideas as ones that children think up (bring toys to life; build a bird with leaves; etc….) because they were once youngsters themselves, and this is one of the reasons why their films resonate with adults – including parents and grandparents – as well. I find “Ratatouille” to be the main (and only) exception – in all honesty, the content is, in my opinion, a bit too mature for kids to understand at times.
Secondly, the plotlines are basic and easy for anyone, young or old, to understand. In “Cars”, Lightning McQueen learns the importance of trading cockiness for compassion; in “A Bug’s Life”, the concept of acceptance is traversed; and in “Finding Nemo”, the object of the game is to… find Nemo.
Last, but not least, the titles of Pixar’s films are easy for kids to say, for the most part. Some may find this trivial, but I think it’s significant to some degree. Again, “Ratatouille” is an exception here, but everything else? “Cars”; “WALL•E”; “Up”; “A Bug’s Life”; and the list goes on. Simple. Perhaps it’s just me, but if I were a kid I’d rather be able to pronounce the name of my favorite movie with ease instead of spending an infinite amount of time just trying to spell it out.
Jumping onto the subject of personal experience, I practically ate up every Pixar film that I saw as a kid due to the fact that the elements highlighted in them were ones that my sisters and I had come into contact with at some point or other. Regarding “A Bug’s Life”, one of my sisters and I used to use anything we found in our backyard and use it as a tool or construct a rather rickety miniature building out of it. We would, for example, substitute prickly, adhesive weeds for tape. So, naturally, when we saw “A Bug’s Life”, we loved the fact that Flik basically did the same thing we did, only with a bit more flair and discipline. The same goes for a moment in “Cars” when, at the end of the first race, Lightning McQueen sticks his tongue out so as to cross the finish line – we did the exact same type of thing when we were youngsters, and, consequently, we were also two of those who laughed the hardest in the theater when we watched McQueen copy our crazy antics. Even the short films, such as “Geri’s Game”, snatched a fair few chuckles out of us, for it wasn’t the age of the characters present or the settings that truly intrigued us, but the underlying story… and the clever use of humor. (I saw “Geri’s Game” when I was around seven or eight years old, I believe, and I laughed my head off.) In essence, the simpler the notion, the better.
One final thing I wish to touch on is that of observation. I currently work at a theater, so there is an “Up” poster on display inside the complex and a couple of “Up” banners hanging from the ceiling. I’ve seen several kids (and even adolescents) gaze at the poster with interest, or point at it in curiosity. Just yesterday I was working at concessions when I asked a lady what film she would be seeing that day, and she replied stating that she and her kids were about to watch the “Night at the Museum” sequel, but that next week the production of the moment would be “Up”. Praise regarding Pixar’s track record was briefly poured out by each of us until she had to depart.
Yet another time, when I was out and about in my hometown, a little boy glanced at my t-shirt and shouted, with unbeatable exuberance, “Ratatouille!!” living proof that, as adult as that film is at times, kids still love it.
Some years ago, when I was basking in the hot sun at Disneyland with my dad and sister, and drawing Remy in my sketchbook while waiting in line to ride the “Haunted Mansion” attraction, a young girl took a peek at my artwork and exclaimed, “It’s Remy!” or something of the sort.
The main source of entertainment comes from my little sister, however. Mentally delayed though she may be, she recognizes quality when she sees it; henceforth, pretty much the only animated films she’ll watch (with a few exceptions) are Pixar ones. Excluding “A Bug’s Life”, which she refuses to glue her eyes to, she can quote almost every single line of dialogue in every one of their features, and whenever a new Pixar production comes out on DVD she’ll watch it for weeks until she has the entire thing memorized. This is simply guesswork, but I believe that her favorite of their films include “Monsters, Inc.”, “Cars”, and “WALL•E”. What’s odd is that she prefers to view productions that have kids in it, so when she watches a movie that doesn’t have kids… it’s a rare thing. Pixar has certainly caught her attention, though.
But what about adults, you say? Pixar is clever enough to know that parents don’t want to sit through an hour and a half of pure nonsense, so they craft their films around mature themes that are not always so much vulgar as opposed to the fact that they just fly over the kids’ heads, yet entertain the adults at the same time. Jokes that kids find amusing are ones that parents laugh at as well, though, so both parties are going to be satisfied either way. Again, I think nostalgia is a factor regarding the adults – they’ll relate to some things that their little ones may not completely grasp.
In a nutshell, kids do love Pixar’s stuff, as do the grown-ups, and for a good reason. Concepts stressed in their films are ones that everyone can relate to – ones that we all laugh, smile, and cry over. It’s why we keep coming back for more; it’s why we feel compassion for a robot and root for a rat; it’s why we love Pixar.
My apologies. I felt like writing that day. Eheh.
A most interesting topic of discussion, Hog-Hug. Thanks for bringing it up!
That’s a great analogy. I never considered that before…
Pixar movies in my opinion are able to still touch me and be personal favorites for me 14 years later. I’ve grown up with Pixar since I was only half a year old when Toy Story came out in theaters November 1995. I was immediately hooked. When I was 3, A Bug’s Life came out. I haven’t seen it many times, but I do remember enjoying it. When Toy Story 2 came out the next year, you should have seen how excited I was. Toy Story was my obsession as a youngster. Every toddler and little kid has some sort of obsession. Mine was the Toy Story series. When Monsters, Inc. came out, I had to go see it. I knew Pixar hadn’t failed me yet, and it didn’t once again. I loved the movie, and I remember watching it all the time when I was at my grandma’s house. She had it on video tape. When Finding Nemo came out, I watched it. I loved it! I would also watch it at my grandma’s house. I even remember the DVD for it had a little video game I would attempt to play (couldn’t get past a certain level) that came with it. When The Incredibles came out, I knew Pixar was doing a more matured film. I was nine, and it was a super hero movie. I had never explored the genre before, and I loved it. Two years later, Cars came out. Now don’t get me started! I remember the day we saw it like it was yesterday. We went down to the park and ate MickeyD’s (getting Cars toys) and then we headed to the movies. The movie itself was behind, so I saw the very end (where the Ferrari enters Luigi’s store) first! XD I didn’t want to go to the movies that day, but in the end, I fell in love with Cars. When Ratatouille came out, we rented it and I was the only one who paid any attention. -_- But I loved it. Even if no one else watched. When Wall-E came out, I loved the fact it was an almost silent movie. It was intellegent, just what I needed.
I think my major connection with Pixar is because a lot of childhood memories were established through the Pixar movies. If I never had those memories, I never would’ve loved Pixar as much as I do now.
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That was Pixar all summed up for me! 