#pixar week

Synopsis

Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), a student at Monsters University is training to be an intimidating scarer, but finds himself jealous of James P. ‘Sulley’ Sullivan (John Goodman), a privileged monster with an aptitude for scaring.

The constant bickering between the two causes them both to fail their final exam, and now they must work together to win the school’s ‘Scare Games.’

Review

Basically everything about Monsters Inc. is true about it’s prequel on some level. The story is carried once again by the strength of actors Billy Crystal and John Goodman, and the incredible score of Randy Newman.

However, this film does have the issue of being a prequel and a worse film. While the world built by Pixar’s insanely intriciate animation is unparalleled, this movie falls a little flat.

It’s more convuluted than the original, and offers less depth. It feels like a cash-grab used to capitalize on fans of the original. That’s not to say that Pixar isn’t trying this time, they’ve really done all that they can with this unnecessary prequel.

It’s a decent movie for kids that falls just short of Pixar’s other absolutely stellar works.

Final Verdict

Synopsis

Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clown fish, is overly cautious with his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould), because his mother and siblings were killed before he hatched. When Nemo swims too close to the surface to prove himself, he is caught by a diver, and a mortified Marlin must set out to find him with the help of Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a blue reef fish with short term memory loss.

Review

Finding Nemo is an instant classic, with a deep and serious opening. Marlin is a fish that looses his whole family, except for his small son Nemo. When Nemo is older and wants to explore, his father is weary and worried - scared of losing his son. This fear eventually comes true and Marlin stops at nothing to find his son Nemo, even putting himself in great danger.

While these moments are played to great comedic effect, Pixar’s oceanic story is really a deeply tragic and extremely touching story about a man (fish) who has lost his entire family. Albert Brooks plays a worried father very well. It’s both entertaining and emotional.

As far as the comedy goes, Ellen DeGeneres steals the show as amnesiac Dory. You’d think that constantly forgetting things would be really annoying, but DeGeneres plays the part well, and Dory is the clear favorite of the film.

Pixar’s technical wizardry has reached a new peak with photo realistic water and aquatic elements. Pixar really keeps pushing new limits in every way.

Final Verdict

Synopsis

When a rainstorm washes poor Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) downriver, he ends up bruised, battered and miles away from home. Good fortune shines on the dinosaur when a brave Neanderthal boy (Jack Bright) offers his help and friendship. Together, they must get back home.

Review

Pixar's latest film, The Good Dinosaur, is visually quite beautiful. Something that is standard with Pixar's productions. They tend to effectively craft visually impressing and interesting worlds.

However, despite it's impressive design, The Good Dinosaur is too familiar. While the world is fairly new and novel, the primary elements of the plot are stolen straight out of The Lion King, or The Jungle Book.

This makes for a surprisingly simple, straightforward, and unmemorable Pixar film. The characters are flat as well, to the point that Sam Elliott as a dino version of himself is one of the only stand-out characters.

Speaking of Butch (Sam Elliott's character), the cowboy style that his character brought to the film was a welcome addition. For a moment it reminded me of what a great Pixar film usually is. Unfortunately, it does really save the film.

The characters are flat, and the story is uninspired. It appears that a lot of these issues arose when much of the film was reworked in the middle of production.

The Good Dinosaur tries really hard to push boundaries, but the plot steals so much from other films that it doesn't innovate on anything. With a seemingly unfinished script, The Good Dinosaur feels like Pixar is trying to play it safe. And that's one thing that the studio behind The Incredibles should never do.

Final Verdict

Synopsis

Miguel’s family despised music of any type, because their matriarch and her daughter were abandoned by a deadbeat musician a couple of generations ago.

However, Miguel is in love with music. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel steals the guitar of his favorite dead musician and finds himself trapped in the land of the dead. He needs a family blessing to send him back, but they dissaprove of his love for music.

What Coco Does Well

Coco is one of the freshest ideas employed in recent history. I mean, it’s based on the Day Of The Dead celebration, but the actual Story is completely original. It takes an unused idea and just runs with it.

Coco is probably the most beautiful and stylistic animation that Pixar has ever created. The way that skeletons look and move is great, and they are so fun to look at that I don’t think even a child could be scared of them.

This film is very emotionally charged, and explores the concepts of mortality, loss, and being forgotten. This is mainly evident in scenes involving Miguel’s great great grandmother, Coco.

Coco is pretty old as well, so senility comes into play. The way the handle it is sweet and heart-wrenching. I never like watching people go senile in film, because it’s a really sad subject matter, but they handle it pretty well.

Another strong point is the way they show off Miguel’s love of music. He’s really into music and is self-taught. It’s honestly so beautiful to watch, and by comparison his family’s unrealistic hatred of music seems downright abusive.

What Coco Fails To Do

Ultimately, I feel that Coco fails to suprise. It’s a great film and not every film has to have a big twist. This one really wants to though, and it’s so predictable. Anyone who’s ever seen a movie in their life can see the reveal from a mile away.

Final Verdict

9/10. Coco is a beautifully animated and seriously touching adventure through the land of the dead. It’s not the funniest Pixar film, but it is a complete joy to watch, and well worth the runtime.

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