Reviewing - Pixar Animation Studios: 1995 - 2003
In December 2019, I made the decision to watch through the entire Disney Animation Studios filmography. It ended up being a six-month journey, and I had more detours than I had anticipated. Beyond watching every animated spinoff and sequel, I also was interested to see what the competition was like for Disney. As a result, I watched a lot of 90s traditionally animated films that weren’t produced by Disney, as well as the entire Shrek franchise. There was one obvious studio that I omitted from that journey, which is why we’re here today.
In October 2020, I began a new quest to watch through the entire Pixar filmography. Admittedly this was going to be a shorter trip – at the time of writing this, Pixar’s only released 23 films as opposed to Disney’s 56. To their credit, Disney’s been around a lot longer – and Pixar hasn’t released half as many flops.
Pixar revolutionized the animation industry, so their impact on the genre is worth looking into and talking about. Though they’ve built an incredibly reputable name for themselves, there have been pits and valleys in their journey – and yes, we’ll be sinking deep into those right along with them. Without any further ado, let’s get the story rolling.
1995 – 2003: To Infinity
Pixar began long before Toy Story. In 1986, a guy named Ed Catmull (left) worked at Industrial Light and Magic - the guys behind the groundbreaking special effects of the original Star Wars. Along came Steve Jobs (center) – the guy who founded Apple. He founded Pixar, bringing Catmull along as president. Catmull would be one of Pixar’s most important faces for thirty-three years. John Lasseter (right), a young ex-Disney animator, was passionate about the opportunities that computer animation presented. The goal of these three men – along with the many other faces of the company – was simple: create a feature-length computer animated film.
It goes without saying that Pixar was wildly successful in reaching this goal, but their first years as a film studio had much more to offer than one game-changing film. Pixar hit the ground running and seemed incapable of missing a beat. Not only were their first five films technically dazzling for the time, they were just as heartwarming and crowd-pleasing as anything that Disney was putting out. Pixar was many things – innovative, fresh, insanely popular - but it was quickly apparent that they were not a one-hit wonder.
Toy Story (*****)
In which a young boy briefly misplaces two toys before relocating them the next day
Game-changing, breathtaking, and history-making, Toy Story is the ‘Snow White’ of our generation that took us to a new infinity and beyond.
Toy Story was the first full-length computer-animated film in history, which would’ve been a colossal achievement even if the movie had tanked. The fact that it’s become a cultural phenomenon inspiring three sequels (so far), three(ish) television shows, seven short films, and a themed land at Disney World is just icing on the cake. The simple fact of the matter is that this is a virtually perfect movie. Every single thing that this movie attempts to do, it does with finesse and effortless ease – as if this were the hundredth computer animated film and not literally the very first. It’s astounding what a leap forward this film was for its time, and though the animation is at times clearly limited by the constraints of 90s tech, it’s remarkable how beautiful the movie ended up being. I don’t know what anyone could possibly have against this film.
Woody and Buzz are a duo for the ages, and I think a big part of that has to do with how emblematic they are of the changing animation landscape that they were a part of. Toy Story is about a guy from yesterday meeting a guy of tomorrow, and the two of them having to work together to achieve a common goal. By the time Toy Story was released, the Western as a genre had certainly seen the end of its heyday. Cowboys hadn’t been ‘the thing’ for a while, especially since Star Wars had come around and sent everyone’s imaginations galloping after black holes instead of red sunsets. Buzz Lightyear, a space man in every sense of the phrase, was (and my opinion, still is) the world’s coolest toy. Beyond having more functions and gadgets than Woody, he was also a character from a more relevant genre. It’s no wonder Andy liked Buzz better.
See, Disney was Woody, and Pixar was Buzz. Disney had been the most popular thing for decades, but along came Pixar to absolutely blow traditional animation out of the water. It wasn’t that space men were certifiably cooler than cowboys any more than computer animation is any cooler than traditional animation – it was simply a matter of the context of the time. Buzz – Pixar – was NEW, and for the time being, that’s what mattered. Maybe that’s part of why Woody – Disney – couldn’t stand the new guy. Many of the guys behind Toy Story had been pushing for computer animation for years, only to have Disney’s old guard scoff at them. Just as Woody declares, “They’ll see. I’m still Andy’s favourite toy,” Disney didn’t put much stock in computer animation until Toy Story came around. And once it took off, it was one of the biggest indicators that traditional animation was going the way of the dodo bird. Bob Iger admitted in his biography that Pixar quickly overshadowed Disney in terms of parent’s admiration. Woody got pushed to the side in a matter of weeks – but for Disney, it was a process lasting years.
What’s great about Buzz & Woody or Pixar & Disney is the way things ended up for them. Instead of becoming bitter rivals (which would’ve been a sorry ending for Andy), they decided to learn from each other, embracing a new status quo where cooperation took the place of conflict. Disney and Pixar had some growing pains in the years following Toy Story, but in the end they found a solution where they remained creatively independent of each other and yet collaborative in their resources and strategies. I love how Woody helped Buzz find his identity as a child’s plaything, and how Buzz helped Woody remember his job to be there for Andy when he needs him. It’s a great story made even more intriguing by its relevance to its creators.
I can’t write about Toy Story without highlighting Randy Newman’s soundtrack. Apparently Disney was pushing Pixar to make the film a musical, and the compromise was that there’d be non-diegetic music to move the story along at points. In retrospect, it’s hard to picture Toy Story as a musical. Newman’s songs do a great job of summing up the emotions of the characters. “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” has become one of those songs that could never be overplayed. “Strange Things” and “I Will Go Sailing No More” aren’t engrained in the mind of the public the same way, but they’re great songs regardless. Buzz’s attempt to fly out the window is remarkably poignant when it could’ve just as easily been played for a laugh. Music like this has seemed to fade from the franchise over time, but that shouldn’t indicate that the music was the weakest part of the film. If anything, it’s one of its most enduring elements.
Toy Story captures a dream that all kids have and makes it not only real but insanely fun. Every character is a blast, and the story hasn’t aged a day over twenty years later. With Tom Hanks and Tim Allen on center stage and a masterful team of pioneering animators behind them, Toy Story is a record-breaking hit.
A Bug’s Life (***1/2)
In which an ant tells everyone to think differently, whereupon everyone immediately starts thinking the same way as him
This didn’t have the timelessness that Toy Story did, but it was another successful outing for Pixar’s burgeoning team of storytellers.
A Bug’s Life is made up of a few cliché story elements – a young eccentric guy who wants to break free of his society’s rigid structure, a group of friends who find themselves comically thrust into a position they have absolutely no experience in, and there’s a beautiful female character who finds herself falling in love with a somewhat quirky loser because of his love for children and his heart of gold. That doesn’t make this a bad film, though. This movie takes those elements and delivers them excellently. Flik is a likable dork, the circus troupe is a lot of fun, and the Flik/Atta romance is competent enough to be enjoyable. It’s not the ground-breaking movie that Toy Story was, but that doesn’t make it bad.
Where I think this film really shines, though, is in its villain. As bad guys go, Hopper’s one of the most menacing antagonists I’ve ever seen in a family film. He’s tall, intimidating, and brutal with every line of dialogue. He doesn’t really make any jokes that take the edge off – when he threatens a little kid, it’s a genuinely scary moment. And then there’s Thumper, the crazy nightmarish grasshopper that probably creeped the heck out of you as a kid. He’s horrifying in virtually every scene, save for one comical moment towards the very end of the film. I always have respect for family films that aren’t afraid to make their bad guys truly menacing, and the grasshoppers here certainly fit the bill.
Just as Toy Story had some interesting parallels to the changing landscape of animation, I feel like A Bug’s Life is very symbolic of the journey that many of Pixar’s top minds had to go through. Flik lives in a colony where every ant does work the exact same way, and that’s the way they’ve been doing it forever. He’s come up with a new way of doing things – an exciting, revolutionary way that could actually change the game for the ants. But they don’t see it as he does. They see it as a hot mess, and cast him out of their society. John Lasseter was a lot like that back in the day. He worked at Disney as an animator with paper and pencil, but when he pushed for computer animation, he was fired. The similarities there are almost too obvious. And whereas Toy Story ends with ‘the old ways’ and ‘the new ways’ coming together, A Bug’s Life really paints ‘the old ways’ as out of date and holding the new ways back. Flik brings the whole colony into a new era, and a big part of that means leaving their antiquated traditions behind. If Flik is Pixar, Disney is either the Queen…or worse, they’re Hopper.
What’s really neat about this film is the corporate-political turmoil that it was involved in. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, had recently left the company in a kind of bad way. He had been forced to resign (which sounds an awful lot like getting fired to me, but what do I know) by CEO Michael Eisner, and shortly after he co-founded DreamWorks with Steven Spielberg. As A Bug’s Life continued production, Lasseter and the team found out that DreamWorks was putting together a film of their own, titled “Antz”. The similarities were incredibly evident, so much so that Lasseter called Katzenberg up to ask if he had stolen their ideas. As the story goes, Katzenberg admitted to it, but the plans were already in motion. Antz came out one month before A Bug’s Life despite its production time being considerably less. That said, A Bug’s Life still won out in the long run. It made more at the box office, inspiring a themed land at Disney’s parks and an attraction that’s still running over twenty years after the original film.
I wouldn’t call this an essential Pixar film, but it’s a fun ride with a healthy amount of danger and poignance. This was the movie that proved Pixar wasn’t just a one-hit wonder.
Toy Story 2 (*****)
In which a handful of toys somehow drive a luggage cart from an airport to a residential neighbourhood without incident
It’s every bit the masterpiece that its predecessor was – heartfelt, hilarious, and beautiful from beginning to end.
Toy Story 2 was not an easy film to make. Initially intended as a direct-to-video sequel, it was a topic of discussion as to whether or not the film was even going to be computer animated. There was talk of doing it traditionally – and if you’ve seen even a few of Disney’s DTV films, you’ll know just how cataclysmic a decision that would’ve been. Later, two years’ worth of work was accidentally deleted by an animator, losing 90% of what they’d created thus far. The backup files had been corrupted as well. The movie was only saved by the technical director, who had made backups of the film at home for her children’s entertainment. Many of the animators developed carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injuries from the amount of work that they were doing, and one animator was so stressed by the load that he forgot his baby in the backseat of his car (thankfully, the baby was quickly rescued). It sounds like the kind of environment you find in a university library during exam season. The fact, then, they made such an astounding product in the midst of such stress is testament to the skill and dedication of Pixar’s team.
One of the best things about the Toy Story franchise is that each film works as a completely standalone story, but they still connect thematically and foreshadow/reference each other. In the original movie, Woody calls Buzz “Lightbeer” and “Light Snack” to make fun of him. But here when the Prospector says “Buzz Lightweight can’t save you”, Woody angrily retorts, “His name is Buzz Lightyear!” It’s just a throwaway line, but it shows us how far Woody and Buzz have come since the first film. This film also starts to explore a natural question that might have surfaced from the original – what are toys supposed to do once their kid’s all grown up? Obviously we delve into that more deeply in Toy Story 3, but here we get to tackle that question pre-emptively. Jessie’s story – and her song – are beautiful and heartbreaking, showing us what it’s like for a toy to get left behind. Not only does it add so much to this film in terms of character development, it sets us up for the third film when Jessie’s reality comes to the rest of the toys. But in spite of all of these thematic ties to what’s before and what’s ahead, Toy Story 2 still stands on its own. It’s a story of a character questioning his place in the world in the face of a new opportunity, in much the same way that Spider-Man 2 gave us a Peter Parker who wanted a life of his own.
Incredibly, the new characters are just as exciting as the ones we fell in love with the first time around. Mrs. Potato Head, Jessie, and Bullseye stand out as instantly lovable, but Rex, Slinky, Hamm and Bo Peep haven’t diminished. It’s thrilling seeing all of these hysterical characters clash and cooperate. And that’s not even mentioning the bad guys – Zurg in particular stealing the show from the actual bad guy Stinky Pete. The Chicken Man looked a lot more lifelike than Andy and his Mom did in the original film, and the scene where he burped on Woody felt so grotesquely real that it still cracks me up every time. They absolutely nailed that moment. Beyond the strength of the characters, the music is once again firing on all cylinders. Randy Newman’s musical interludes in the last film really helped us understand the hearts of the characters, just as “When She Loved Me” does this time around. But one thing that I really appreciated in this film musically was the motifs that they included in the score. There’s hints of “You Got A Friend In Me” here and there – and it pops up in Woody’s TV show which was pretty cool – and the music that played during “Woody’s Finest Hour” ended up playing again when he was on his way to rescue Jessie. I really liked that bit.
This was a triumph of a sequel and another home run for Pixar – and it set the stage for one of the most excellent threequels in history. But we’ll get to that later.
Monsters, Inc. (****)
In which a fearsome beast learns to love and be loved by a young captive girl – except there’s no talking furniture this time
Another instant classic from Pixar, Monsters Inc. tells a wonderfully meaningful and hilariously creative story without quite matching the visual splendour of its predecessors.
Part of what made Toy Story so great was that it addressed a question that we’ve all wistfully wondered as children – what are our toys up to when we’re away? Monsters Inc. follows that tradition with another fun question: what do the monsters do on the other side of the closet? It’s the kind of story that makes you wonder why someone else didn’t tell it sooner. Maybe someone else did – but Pixar’s made the definitive closet-monster movie in much the same way that Disney’s adaptations have become the definitive versions of those fairy tales.
Like Toy Story or many of the Pixar flicks that would follow Monsters Inc., the plot is centered around a dynamic pairing of characters. Sully and Mike Wazowski (I just can’t imagine not using his last name) are a terrific team, with Sully playing the straight man and Wazowski being the comical sidekick. John Goodman and Billy Crystal bring the monsters to life with ease, striking the perfect balance between zaniness and grounded-ness. It’s Boo that provides the central tension between the two characters, and she’s adorable. It’s clear that Pixar wasn’t yet ready to jump into a human-filled world, but they were able to create one sweet little girl. Sully’s relationship with her is delightful from beginning to end, and that scene where they part for what seems to be the last time is absolutely heartbreaking.
On that note, Sully and Boo reminded me a lot of the relationship between teachers and students. Sully and Boo bond over the course of shared experiences and trials. Sully helped Boo overcome her fears, and Sully learned how to be a better monster in the process. In fact, he changed his entire industry’s structure in much the same way that certain students have prompted teachers to rethink their entire educational strategy. But after helping Boo out, the two had to say goodbye to each other in a very permanent way so that the kids can “go grow up” as Wazowski said. It’s a sad moment but an important one, as keeping Boo with Sully would prevent her from becoming the person she’s supposed to be. Even so, the movie ends on a hopeful note – Sully might be able to see Boo again after all, albeit in a limited and from-a-distance way. Sully might never get to be with Boo again the way he was before, but the final shot makes us think he might get to see the person she becomes – and for Sully, I think that might be enough. As someone who’s just entering the teaching profession, I have no idea if my thoughts here might resonate with other educators. I guess we’ll see at the end of this year when I say goodbye to my first class.
The only negative thing I have to say about this film is the relatively uninteresting sets that we find ourselves in multiple times throughout the film. The big door chase at the climax is awesome, as are the different locales that the monsters find themselves in as they jump from place to place in the human world. But on the other hand, we spend a much longer time than you might remember just running through the Monsters Inc. hallways, which are only as interesting as an office building ever could be. Sure, the movie’s about a monster business, but I just feel that the result is a movie with less exciting visuals in the setting than some of Pixar’s other works (i.e. Finding Nemo, which comes next). But even so, that door chase was incredible. It was wildly fun, creative, and it kept you on the edge of your seat.
This film deserves its place in the pantheon of Pixar classics – if you’re looking for the company’s best of the best, you can’t do without this one.
Finding Nemo (*****)
In which ‘P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney’ is the only part I remember
I have an apology to make. I had completely forgotten how much of a masterpiece this film is – and if you have too, now’s your chance to confess.
I’ve often lamented the stigma animation has as a lowest-common-denominator entertainment genre that sacrifices complexity for family-friendly values. Animation is an art form that has brought us some stunningly beautiful storytelling, from Snow White to The Lion King to Inside Out. Sure, there’s a hundred Spongebobs or Bugs Bunny shorts for every ‘Beauty and the Beast’, but I think it’s in feature films like the ones I mentioned where we see animation pushed to its limits rather than in comedies. Animation can do so much more than make you laugh, and those who restrict it to so small a box are really only cheating themselves.
I’d seen Finding Nemo many times when I was younger, but it’s easily been more than five, maybe seven years since I watched it through again. I knew that it was a good story because of what I remembered…but man, I forgot just how beautiful a story it was. And I mean that in a few ways. The film looks absolutely stunning, showing us a vibrant underwater world teeming with life and colour. The first time I watched this, I’d never seen animated water look so real. Some of the surfaces were so lifelike I could hardly believe it was animation, like the buoy that the pelican stood on when returning Marlin and Dory to the ocean. The incredible visuals definitely give the film points, but it’s the story that blows me away. We all know I’m a sucker for father-son stories, and to that end, there’s not much this film could do to be more up my alley. My family has likened me on more than one occasion to Bruce the shark because of one key line:
“Now there is a father looking for his little boy…I never knew my father!!!” (sobs uncontrollably)
That’s me to a T, unfortunately.
So yeah, this movie gets me right in the feels. Marlin watching Nemo get kidnapped, Marlin losing sight of the boat, Nemo hearing about his dad’s adventures from the pelican, Dory telling Marlin that it’s time to let go, Marlin reuniting with Nemo after the fishing boat incident…each of those moments yanks on my heartstrings with savage ferocity. What’s great about the way they’ve told this story is how you’re constantly seeing things from both Nemo and Marlin’s point of view. We understand completely why Marlin is so over-protective. It’s actually quite admirable at times, as much as we may laugh at him now and then. We also totally get why Nemo is trying to get a bit of breathing space from his father – and then why he wants so desperately to see him again. Honestly, that moment when Nemo realizes how brave his father is being to see him again…I could well up just thinking about it. I’d give a whole lot to see my father behave like Marlin for just a few minutes.
It’s a visual marvel and a heartfelt story, yes. But it’s also incredibly funny. Ellen DeGeneres shoots this movie into the stars just like the whale blasts Marlin and Dory to their destination. Her short-term memory bits are just hysterical, and the “speaking whale” moment was comedy gold. And of course, who could forget the line that’s almost as famous as “infinity and beyond”… “just keep swimming”. This is Pixar at its finest.
Time goes by and we change as people. Sometimes that means we leave things behind, much like I did for this movie. But just because it’s from a previous chapter doesn’t mean it was meant to stay there. There are some stories too precious to leave behind, and Finding Nemo is definitely one of them.