… do you think that Pixar’s output would be different?
That is to say, if Pixar had never had to deal with the limitations of their initial contract with Disney (a 5 picture deal that didn’t count sequels), do you think that the films they have produced, and the order in which they were made, would be different?
I’ve been wondering this because people seem to really dislike the fact that Pixar has suddenly released/ planned to released 3 sequels in fairly quick succession. But one could argue that they may have always wanted to make sequels to those films (Cars excepted because the time lapse between the original film, the merge with Disney, and the begining of the sequel was pretty tight) but simply couldn’t due to their contract.
So, my main questions are:
Do you think that if they had had the chance, Pixar would have released more sequels by now?
Would their first fully self-financed movie Ratatouille ever been made?
Would they be as respected, or seen more like Dreamworks is often percieved?
Is their choice to release several sequels at once (as opposed to more original films) justified by the fact that they didn’t have this ability before?
Esentially, to what extent did contractual details shape their filmaking descisions?
Personally, I can kind of see why their production schedule has turned out this way, but I can also understand why some people are slightly annoyed that they don’t seem to be as focused on original stories as they used to (keeping in mind that they recently announced the Dinosaur movie and the exploring the mind movie). Also, I liked Toy Story 2 and 3, and haven’t properly seen Cars 2 yet, so I don’t have a problem with them releasing sequels, so long as it doesn’t get as excessive as Dreamworks can sometimes be.
Its a fascinating question to be sure. I cant say I’m too sure what that would be like, but its certainly interesting to think about. If they’d always been part of Disney, would they even be called Pixar? Or would it just be another part of the Disney studios? Based on what Disney has been like, I’m not too sure Pixar would be as respected as they are. I’m thinking more sequels would have been involved, and most likely the kind that went straight to dvd.
Another equally interesting question would be what if Pixar had always been separate from and independent of Disney?
That is an excellent question. i always thought that Pixar could have success, but not as big if Disney didn’t help. Disney gave them their jump start, and because of that jumpstart, they went on to be a power house.
It’s always an interesting thought. I guess we’ll never know.
Yeah, I guess so. I find their relationship with Disney quite interesting, so I wondered how much of an effect circumstances had on the films they made.
Assuming that after their time at Lucasfilm they were then merged with Disney (rather than just having a 5 picture deal with them) I’d guess they’d still be Pixar. Then again, Disney may have made them be renamed, or simply brought them into Disney’s main animation group. The name “Pixar” wouldn’t have had the same value it has today, so there wouldn’t be much point (from Disney’s perspective) in keeping it.
I think that if they’d been entirely seperate from Disney they might have had more trouble getting into feature films (due to costs). They might have had to produce more short films first. Or, if they could make Toy Story on their own, it might have not been as successful as their marketing might not have been as widescale as Disney’s. I wonder if they’d have done different sorts of films too- maybe the same plotlines, but maybe without the restrictions they’d have from being a Disney film. Like, maybe they could have had more adult humour, or maybe even made a film specifically for adults (although I suspect they’d have largely still made family films).
I agree they might not be as respected. They would’ve merged with Disney just as it was starting to produce more and more direct to video sequels- considering Toy Story 2 was originally one of these, its easy to imagine it happening.
I agree with what’s been said that Pixar probably wouldnt have the success it knows now. There is something to be said for Disney’s money, marketing, and merchandising power.