Tag: PIXAR

Smells Like (Pre) Teen Angst in Inside Out 2. Looking at What’s New But Familiar in PIXAR’s Latest.

It’s rare to find a film that can be better than the original, and in what Inside Out 2 examines is how the Riley grows from being that quiet young girl to a confident woman.

Inside Out 2 Movie PosterAlthough nine years have passed since the first film, Inside Out 2 shows Riley (Kensington Tallman) only a year older, and needing to learn how to deal with the curveballs that having a social life throws at her! All those emotions awakened overnight after Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green) and Grace (Grace Lu) say they’ll be going to another high school than her. As a result, she’s concerned she may not have any more friends, because how they all met was when they showed compassion for the new kid.

In her mind, the headquarters where her individual emotions live gets rebuilt, and four new feelings join the team! They are Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Adèle Exarchopoulos). It’s not surprising these different groups don’t get along. Anxiety is the worst. This film shows how those what ifs manifest when uncertainty hides in every corner.

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Going Behind the Scenes. Secrets From The Inventor as Revealed by Jim Capobianco

In order to make sure The Inventor would appeal to all ages, writer-director-producer Jim Capobianco spent more than a decade fiddling with getting all the details right, like the Maestro would do too!

Jim Capobianco, producer, writer, director of The Inventor (2023)For our readers unfamiliar with your work, can you please introduce yourself.

I’m Jim Capobianco and have worked in animation for something like 35 years and my latest film is The Inventor, which I wrote and directed. I got my start at Walt Disney Studios working in their story department, and my first work was with The Lion King–I stayed there for five years. Afterwards, I moved to the Bay Area to work at PIXAR (for 19) and have credits on many films, from Bugs Life to Coco.

One movie I’m particularly proud of was Ratatouille, where I wrote the first draft of it with Jan Pinkava, the director, and we were honoured with an Academy nomination. I left PIXAR in 2016, and then it’s proven pretty good. I worked on Mary Poppins Returns and directed the 2D animation segments, and then followed that up with a project called Philharmonia Fantastique–which was kind of a Fantasia piece, and directed the animation for that. And that plays with a live symphony orchestra.

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Is Love Primal or Elemental in PIXAR’s latest?

It’s possible that Elemental isn’t a fully PIXAR production. It has a lot of Disney elements laced throughout its narrative.

Elemental Movie PosterJust how Elemental this latest work from PIXAR depends on what viewers want to read from it. By this film’s end, what I understod led me to getting Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” stuck in my head.

But there’s more to this tale than meets the eye. While this film is gorgeous to behold with the new tricks that can be done with lighting and transparency in CGI to render some photo-realistic details, the tale needs refining.  Here, Ember and Wade (voiced by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie) are complete opposites. One is from a fire nation, and the other water. On certain types of diagrams, they aren’t supposed to meet or combine to form combined substances. When this film is about the four primary elements, any other beings created by their joining won’t necessarily be explained. 

One head scratcher is in how Earth and Air are represented. Whether the tree represents the former and a cloud the latter, that depends on what kind of chemical chart you’re looking at. Continue reading “Is Love Primal or Elemental in PIXAR’s latest?”

PIXAR’s Cars on the Road. So Where Should We Go Next, Mader?

The next season of Cars on the Road can showcase parts of America on those roads less travelled–pardoning the pun–like visiting…

Cars on the Road PosterSpoiler Alert

Disney/PIXAR‘s Cars on the Road is a far more entertaining work than the films. The big reason is that each 10 minute episode pays tribute to a specific film genre and changes the road trip formula around a little. Everything one would expect to happen, happens, but there’s more going on than meets the eye, including meeting a few “transforming” vehicles.

From your classic Horror to Western homages, the gambit doesn’t end there. The influence is perfect. I find “Lights Out” very appropriate for the October season, and when I saw The Shining references, I was beside myself. I assume Steve Purcell did most of the work than John Lasseter.

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Lightyear, How Painful Can it Get When Time Stands Still?

PIXAR’s Lightyear is more than a fun filled tribute to the pulp age of space exploration.

Lightyear Movie PosterSpoiler Alert

Buzz Lightyear is a hero for all ages, and the feature film that inspired the toy which Andy from PIXAR’s Toy Story owns is here! While rewatching Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, I couldn’t help but find a few ideas put into the CGI tale.

A few seeds were no doubt sowed concerning season two’s “Lost in Time,” but I’m fairly sure writers Angus MacLane, Matthew Aldrich and Jason Headley were drawing more on the movies of the 70s and 80s–namely Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Flash Gordon–while writing this tale. One detail not everyone will notice is the name of Buzz’s new spaceship, a spaceship named XR-1. It’s a soft nod to the robot from the animated series.

However, this movie introduces Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn), a robotic scene-stealing cat, to lighten up an otherwise dark tale. Chris Evans voices the titular hero, and I think the choice is perfect since he is Captain America after all!

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When Meilin is “Turning Red” in PIXAR’s latest…

This tale is tailored towards an audience already familiar with works like Paddington the Bear.

Turning Red poster.jpgAfter the tremendous success with the animated short Bao in the awards circuit, Domee Shi and Julia Cho developed Turning Red as PIXAR’s next film. What’s created isn’t too different from past films, namely Brave, but in this case, we’re seeing a story set in modern times and in Toronto, Canada no less!

It’s tough to live up to a parent’s expectations. Dealing with overprotective mothers is perhaps the hardest and this film hits a very familiar tone faced by most during their childhood. And what’s shown isn’t necessarily restricted to just her, but also for anyone growing up in a Chinese family. It’s not about the cultural barriers, but also in honouring traditions. The screenplay nails those aspects down because I’ve lived through much of it myself! 

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