Earlier this morning, yours truly had gotten word from the folks at Variety that Monsters Inc. 3 is in the works at Pixar, which may be another great bit of news for folks who adore Boo and the monsters that traverse their world to net screams for energy.
But it’s simply another astute reminder: it’s an indictment on Disney as a whole that they can’t seem to escape the past. We’ve already seen it with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and now, Pixar will become the latest victim.
As we’ve discussed in a cornucopia of articles, Bob Iger’s indefatigable infatuation with oversaturating its gem with the MCU turned it sideways in utter dismay. Disney roared in during uncertain times with TV shows to carry the burden in the post-Avengers: Endgame era, and while most were good (Loki and WandaVision spring to mind), there’s something pernicious about “more is more” and more becoming too quixotic for the universe to continue function. Ramming in bloated, languid blockbusters a la Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Captain America: Brave New World simply cast a ubiquotous question of, “Does Marvel know how to rebound from here?”
Much as we discussed in the article about last year’s box office winners and losers, the only films to stand on their two feet thus far and succeed since the adrenaline rush of 2019’s MCU outings were Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (technically, you could give a nod to Thor: Love and Thunder, if only we had gotten a more substantive and less juvenile film). Spider-Man: No Way Home, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Avengers: Doomsday, releasing later this year, are being sold on the backbone of nostalgia and trusted names that once led the foreground for superhero movies.
In Pixar’s case, it’s simply another distressing call for help. You’ll also happen to notice this year we get Toy Story 5 (which much like the fourth installment, may be totally unnecessary), and then Incredibles 3 and Coco 2 later in the decade. To reiterate, that’s not fresh and an overreliance on past names to carry the weight. Coco is the last original Pixar film to gross a superb return on investment, and that was, checks notes, nine years ago.
Who knows, perhaps Hoppers will do its job (a good start, looking for a $40 million domestic opening), but it comes back to the same brewing sentiment. What happened to the days of a fresh, original concept story that wowed audiences on Pixar’s end? Think Up, WALL-E, Soul, or Ratatouille, some of Pixar’s finest and most coveted titles. And keep in mind, sprinkling in some newcomers still means they become overshadowed by what’s next for what we’ve seen already.
Imagine if Christopher Nolan said there will be a fourth film to release years later after the fantastic Dark Knight trilogy. Or another episode for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. It’s flipping the bird to what could be, and a continual indictment on the future of the box office or pulling folks back into theaters because it’s nostalgic or something from a past era.
We’ve already seen the wear and tear that overabundance brings for the MCU; why not something new and invigorating, Disney? Where did those days go for Pixar?
