While we wait for the premiere of Inside Out 2we talk about the crisis that is going through Pixarand what awaits you in the coming years.
In 1986, a small computer division of Lucasfilm – known at the time as Graphics Group – spread its wings and, with dad George’s permission, flew out of the nest to become independent and consolidate itself as a hardware and software company whose main product was the Pixar Image Computer: a system too advanced for its time, more focused on scientific markets.
This article itself did not have the economic acceptance that was expected but, in the long run, it helped found an empire of ideas, images and sounds that transcended the two animated dimensions that flooded the screens at that time.
Then… almost forty years ago, a small desk lamp became the protagonist of the first animated short – now, under the Pixar label – made entirely by computer. In the blink of an eye, and a few clicks on a keyboard, Luxo Jr. (1986) changed the history of the seventh art and added the first of the 69 Oscar nominations that the studio accumulated to date.
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The first steps
Some screws had to be tightened and many hours of sleep lost, but the small audiovisual utopia conceived by Edwin Catmull (the brain), John Lasseter (the creativity) and Steve Jobs (the wallet) managed to take shape with the premiere of toy story (1995): the first feature film built based on zeros and ones, the starting point of the fantastic friendship between two toys, and a powerhouse of talent, artistic quality and imagination that few Hollywood studios could boast of in the nineties.
Suddenly, pencil and paper seemed obsolete, musicals were no longer the center of the story and the characters – regardless of their origin (a robot, a rat, a clown fish) – reached a level of humanization that conquered large audiences. and boys alike. Pixar had great ideas to explore and it didn’t matter that its protagonists were not flesh and blood.
Time ended up proving that small ‘independent’ company that was conceived in the Lucasfilm headquarters right. The first meeting between Woody and Buzz marked a before and after in the world of (Western) animation and a new way of thinking about these stories, attracting all types of audiences. The originality, sense of humor and emotionality of the little lamp study sought to differentiate itself from the formulas established by Disney, the same entity that, from the beginning, became its financial ally and absolute owner since 2006.
DISNEY IS GOING THROUGH ONE OF ITS WORST CRISIS IN YEARS
The end of an era?
Thirty years after surprising us with that ‘toy story’, it may be that Pixar no longer retains the nickname of a visionary studio that came to break the mold, although it remains one of the most innovative from a technical and visual aspect, as well as one of the highest grossing films (we will return to this topic) and the most awarded, at least, since the Academy incorporated the category of Best Animated Film.
The rebellion of the original property and the importance of the plot above all things were diluted in a sea of overexploited franchises, and the image of ‘family’ that their relaxed offices exuded, today is seen with different eyes and a certain distrust after the hidden departure of its main creative, John Lasseter, accused of inappropriate conduct at the end of 2017.
The restructuring of the studio did not hurt and helped add new filmmakers, diverse voices who decided to be inspired by their own stories and experiences, with which we can all relate, beyond computer graphics.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic and the arrival of Disney+ impacted the plans of the company which, in this turbulent present for the industry, is also fighting for its identity.
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The streaming problem
When toy story 2 (1999) became a reality, those responsible fought tooth and nail so that the sequel did not fall into the bag of Disney ‘direct-to-video’ continuations. In this way, Pixar highlighted the value of its stories and its characters, reaffirming that the quality and time invested in each production (an average of four years) was going to bear fruit in movie theaters.
The premiere of Soul (2020) marked a paradigm shift for the studio and its major releases that, for the first time since its founding in 1986, did not rely on the box office and was available to all subscribers of the digital platform at no additional cost.
The business strategy, in times of crisis and closed cinemas – especially in the United States – sought to add new users (and retain those who finished the promotional trial period) in an already competitive market, which began to mark the new cinematographic rules in the middle of the quarantine.
For large companies, the box office had (and has) the same value as Wall Street shares, which is why Disney did not hesitate to ‘sacrifice’ other releases such as Luke (2021) by Enrico Casarosa or Grid (Turning Red2022) by Domee Shi, 100% original and very personal stories for their filmmakers.
Pixar returned to theaters in 2022 with Lightyearone of the biggest failures in its history, which barely raised $227 million worldwide, on a budget of $200 million.
Items (Elementary, 2023) had a fairly weak start at the box office (the worst first weekend for the studio), but ended up accumulating almost 500 million globally; not bad for Peter Sohn’s original production, although very far from the billion toy story 4 (2019) and other more recent animated hits such as Super Mario Bros.: The Movie (The Super Mario Bros. Movie2023), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse2023) and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024).
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Irreparable damage?
The red numbers alerted the executives, who decided to ‘intervene’: “There was an intense and real period of self-examination and feeling that, somehow, we had made a mistake”said Pete Docter, legendary director of the studio and its current creative director, in an interview for Bloomberg.
“Executives organized ‘post-mortems’ to determine how to revitalize the studio, and even advised future directors to focus less on autobiographical stories”he recalls and adds that, from now on, Pixar will develop concepts with mass appeal, many of which have already been tested in the different sequels and spin-offs.
“The studio’s films should be less of a quest for personal catharsis for filmmakers and, instead, speak to a common experience”says the creative, and we cannot think of ‘more identifiable and emotional films’ than Luke (inspired by Casarosa’s childhood in Italy), Grid (based on Shi’s relationship with his mother) or Items (which celebrates Sohn’s immigrant family).
But the problem is not the stories (new, diverse, inclusive and universal).
The latest releases did not have the opportunity to shine in theaters because Disney accustomed its audience to the free streaming platform; to wait – an increasingly shorter time – to watch movies in the comfort of their home, within reach of a click and without the additional expenses involved in going out with the kids. A damage that, for the moment, seems irreparable, and a strategy that will be tested again with the premiere of Inside Out 2), next June 13.
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