Pixar had an undeniable streak of quality, innovation, and genius. They raised the bar and kept it high (albeit with a hiccup or two). Their last effort was solid, but I think their reigning magic is fading. Did Toy Story 3 mark the end of an era?
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My Top 250 Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/AlZrHbQge2s/
Disney Animation went through several golden ages. They had a run of classic movies from 1937-1949, then saw a decline in quality until the second golden age in the late eighties to the mid-nineties. The films Disney are currently producing suggests a return to quality animation (Planes doesn't count; that was made by DisneyToons, not Walt Disney Feature Animation.).
So what does that mean for Pixar? Pixar is still relatively new, compared to Disney Animation. They had a stretch of quality films from the mid-90s (after Disney's second Golden Age) and now are in a bit of a slump. Interestingly enough, while Pixar is suffering, Disney Animation is starting to thrive again. Pixar may have another streak in them, and it may be The Good Dinosaur that ignites it. They are having some problems, delaying it a year and firing the director, but maybe that extra time will be used to produce a better film. If not, maybe Inside Out will. Pixar set the bar high, and it may be hard to recapture it, but Disney did it twice.
So, maybe the 1995-2010 Golden Era is over, but I wouldn't give up. They might have something great up their sleeves.
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It was, up until then, the only movie that wasn't great was Cars, and even Cars was still good, I'd say since it was only one it didn't end the era in 2006. Cars 2 was bad, Brave was their 2nd worst although it wasn't bad, and Monster U was good, but not on the same level as their other movies.
shareNow kids and nostalgic Disney parents alike have been extremely happy with Frozen; I'd say Pixar is still on the right track.
shareJust to clarify, Frozen wasn't Pixar either. It was Disney Animation Studios. Same stable as Bolt, Wreck It Ralph and Tangled (all of which I enjoyed). I'd say the era of Pixar is over, Disney Animation Studios have taken the lead...
shareRegardless whether or not what people/critics/film historians want to say about Pixar, there's no denial that it's not going away and they will continue to create and entertain generations for years to come.
"Toto, I've [got] a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
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It is starting to feel like Toy Story 3 is a turning point.
I'm not saying that Pixar is a bad studio now or anything. They've had periods when their work was less than stellar before ("A Bug's Life" and the first "Cars" both had issues) and no company can be perfect.
It just seems like their recent efforts are either short on creativity (Brave) or are starting to feel A LOT more like money-making endevers rather than labors of love (Cars 2, Monster's University). This is just the kind of thing that happens when a company starts to get too big and Pixar has been getting bigger for years.
Toy Story 3 does kinda seem like a last hurrah before they became more commercial.
That said, there's no reason to think their quality won't go back up again. The fact that Disney Animation is starting to make a comeback (just as they did numerous times over the last 50 years); certainly gives me hope for more great Pixar films.
They say that Inside out is Pixar's comeback, so they probably just hit a rough patch for a while.
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