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Time Magazine
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
All 29 Pixar Movies, Ranked
While they've certainly relied on sequels more often since being acquired by Disney in 2006, Pixar still looks to original storytelling to win the hearts and minds of kids and adults all over the world. That's the Pixar difference—their films aren't interested in pandering to children, but instead offer them new perspectives on the world that often appeal equally to adults. All of their films can make you laugh, and most of them will make you cry, too. And though familiar properties are revisited frequently—we just got a sneak peek at Toy Story 5—six of their last 10 films have been entirely original concepts. It doesn't hurt that their films are generally box-office smashes, with five grossing over $1 billion, and Inside Out 2 currently standing as the ninth highest-grossing movie of all time (not adjusting for inflation). The trouble with ranking a studio like Pixar is that the vast majority of their films are at the very least exceptional. Typically a movie near the bottom of a list suggests it's awful, but not so here. Except for a few stinkers, Pixar has rarely made a truly bad movie. Even those low on the list still fail with style, and many of these films are masterpieces. We've accounted for animation style, balance of humor and heart, characters, storytelling, and cultural impact—everything that makes Pixar, well, Pixar. As Pixar is back in theaters with its latest film, Elio, let's go to infinity and beyond and find out which of Pixar's 29 films is the best of an extraordinary bunch. 29. Lightyear (2022) Have you ever wanted a film about the man who inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy? If not, you are not alone. Pixar's Lightyear is, according to the title sequence, the favorite movie of Toy Story protagonist Andy, a fictional movie within a real one. But it's never a promising sign if a film has to justify its existence before it even starts. Lightyear, which reportedly lost Pixar over $100 million, finds a world-class animation studio scrambling for an identity. Despite a starry voice cast led by Chris Evans, its plot is as convoluted as its reach for an origin story, it lacks compelling characters, and feels like an excuse to sell toys rather than tell a story on film. 28. Cars 2 (2011) Everything about the sequel to 2006's Cars is bigger, but not better. For reasons beyond mortal comprehension, Cars 2 is an international spy film, sidelining Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) for beloved tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). While Mater shines as a supporting character, in a lead role he's exhausting, and his schtick gets old quickly. Cars 2 throws far too many characters into the mix, resulting in a frustratingly overlong and underwhelming movie. It's a sequel that finds a franchise that started off strong to the races running on fumes. 27. The Good Dinosaur (2015) Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) is a young Apatosaurus who longs to make his mark on the world, embarking on a daunting journey alongside a caveboy (Jack Bright). In Pete Sohn's The Good Dinosaur, the photorealistic backgrounds are nothing short of astonishing, but they clash with the oversimplified and somewhat forgettable character designs. Despite some gorgeous visual moments, the biggest problem with The Good Dinosaur is that it's boring. The film went through numerous issues in production, and it shows. 26. Onward (2020) In a Pixar era flush with sequels, the studio made a welcome return to original storytelling with Onward. That excitement, though, is never quite fulfilled in this story of two elf brothers (voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) who try to complete a spell to bring their father back to life for a day. The ending brings everything together in a winning, tearjerking fashion, though everything leading up to it feels more like a generic adventure movie rather than a unique Pixar classic. 25. Elemental (2023) Elemental was considered an all-time flop after its opening weekend, before finding its legs over the following weeks to become a surprise hit for the studio as word of mouth and global popularity gave it a boost. There's some lovely world-building on display in Elemental, which touches on themes of immigration and interracial relationships. Wade (Mamoudou Athie), who's made of water, and Ember (Leah Lewis), who's made of fire, strike up an unlikely relationship, despite the long-held belief that fire and water don't mix. And while it's exciting to see Pixar venture into rom-com territory, the couple at the center of the film leave a lot to be desired. 24. Soul (2020) Soul has the unfortunate distinction of being the first Pixar film released straight to streaming thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic (though it did eventually get a theatrical release in the U.S.). Pixar mainstay Pete Docter's film follows middle-school teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx), who finally gets his big break as a jazz musician—but dies before he gets the chance to perform. In the afterlife (known here as the 'Great Beyond') he meets 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who's lost any and all interest in life. There's plenty to admire about Soul, including spirited animation and a lively Oscar-winning jazz-infused score by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste. And it's the first Pixar movie to feature a Black protagonist, 25 years into the studio's run. But things get weighed down by a clumsy body-swapping plot and a pairing between Joe and 22 that never fully pays off. 23. A Bug's Life (1998) In its beginning, Pixar developed a quick reputation for taking big risks. In their sophomore feature they did just that, crafting a bug-filled charmer that's a riff on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of family fare. Despite the early computer animation, A Bug's Life still holds up beautifully, with vibrant colors and plenty of impressive water effects. It's not as memorable or impactful as other Pixar offerings, but it's a satisfying adventure with an inviting cast of characters voiced by actors including Richard King, Bonnie Hunt, and Brad Garrett. 22. Finding Dory (2016) Improving on the formula introduced in Cars 2, Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) takes the reins in this sequel to Finding Nemo (which you'll find higher on this list). That proves a wise decision, and the choice to flesh out Dory's past, homing in on her lifelong issues with short-term memory loss, makes for a strong narrative. The new additions impress (especially octopus Hank, voiced by Ed O'Neill), and Finding Dory makes for solid family entertainment. And the design of baby Dory is one of the most eye-wateringly adorable characters in all of Pixar. 21. Inside Out 2 (2024) Pixar's highest-grossing film, Inside Out 2 veers awfully close to the original, essentially recycling the original story for a new chapter in Riley's life (adolescence) and throwing a few new pubescent emotions into the mix, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and Envy (Ayo Edibiri). Despite that familiarity, it's full of excellent visual gags (especially a play on 'sarcasm') and some top-notch jokes throughout. It's funny and poignant, even if you feel like you've basically seen it before. 20. Luca (2021) Taking inspiration from the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Federico Fellini, Luca is a sweet, meditative slice-of-life fantasy. It's so small-scale that it inevitably feels like a more minor work, but it's a warmly crafted story, set on an Italian seaside littered with Vespas and seafood, about finding yourself and the friends who shape your identity along the way, sea monster or not. It's also a story that many have received as being queer coded. 19. Incredibles 2 (2018) Brad Bird returned to his beloved Parr family (more on them below) with Incredibles 2, which he wrote and directed. The focus on Helen Parr (Holly Hunter) is a smart choice, as Elastigirl is a dynamic character, and Hunter is a lively talent. The Parr family is as exciting as ever with their multifaceted superpowers. But a new supporting cast that includes Voyd (Sophia Bush), Winston (Bob Odenkirk), and Evelyn (Catherine Keener) fades into the background. It's a satisfying and very fun superhero movie that's wonderful to look at, and some excellent set pieces help keep the energy high. 18. Cars 3 (2017) Generally, the Cars movies have been more about satisfying family entertainment than the big emotional moments and introspection Pixar is known for. But Cars 3 finds a surprising and engaging question at its center: What does life look like after you've already accomplished your dreams? It's a big question for Lightning McQueen, and the film handles it well. It's your character, Cars 3 suggests, not your achievements, that defines the kind of person (or vehicle) you can be. 17. Elio (2025) Elio finds Pixar back in fine form, delivering high-quality original storytelling. The film follows its titular character (Yonas Kibreab), an 11-year-old desperate to be abducted by aliens. He's achingly lonely, and hopes that somewhere out there is a planet where he'll fit in. It's a striking story about a young boy, who some moviegoers are reading as neurodivergent, seeking to find his place in a challenging world. It's hopeful, emotional, and wise, full of bold color and enchanting character designs. 16. Brave (2012) Pixar's first (and only) foray into the world of princesses, Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman's Brave transports us to Scotland, where rebellious Merida (Kelly Macdonald) refuses to be betrothed according to longstanding traditions. The first film made with their (at the time) new animation system Presto, Brave puts breathtaking detail into Merida's long ginger locks. It's a solid, moving film about a mother-daughter relationship with an unforgettable lead in Merida. 15. Up (2009) In its opening sequence, Up set a new standard in storytelling for the studio. In these scenes, we see the extraordinary love blossoming between Carl (Ed Asner) and his beloved Ellie, from the beginning of their romance to the loss of their baby to their decades living together—all done without dialogue. Set to Michael Giacchino's effortlessly emotive 'Married Life,' it's a truly perfect, heart-wrenching opening. The next 90-odd minutes can't quite live up to the immense promise of those first ones, but there's still plenty to enjoy in Up, including a Golden Retriever named Dug with a collar that allows him to speak in a human voice ('squirrel!). It's the kind of film that makes you believe adventure—not to mention true love—is really out there. 14. Toy Story 4 (2019) After Toy Story 3 ended the trilogy in an enormously satisfying fashion, it was something of a shock to hear Pixar would return with Toy Story 4. Thankfully, the movie proves there's plenty of life left in Andy's—and now his sister Bonnie's—toys. The level of visual detail is phenomenal, and brings the very welcome return of Bo Peep (Annie Potts). Forky (Tony Hale) is a brilliant new addition, and his constant desire to end his life is a remarkably bold choice for a family film. 13. Monsters University (2013) Pixar's only prequel, Monsters University traces the origins of Mike Wazowski's (Billy Crystal) and James 'Sulley' Sullivan's (John Goodman) friendship. Going back to their university days, it shows when both were training to be scarers, and both have very different paths to success. Its final act is a marvel, and there's a great cast of supporting characters and exciting action throughout the film. Monsters University dares to tell kids that their dreams may not come true, and that changing the goalposts of your ambitions is a healthy part of life. 12. Coco (2017) Pixar's Coco features an entirely Latin principal cast in a film that revolves around the traditions of the Day of the Dead. Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) enlists the help of his dead great-great-grandfather Héctor (Gael García Bernal) in a story that straddles the line between the land of the living and the dead. One of Pixar's finest tearjerkers, Coco is a vibrant smorgasbord of Mexican culture with phenomenal Oscar-winning music, from powerhouse married composers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, that celebrates family legacies. 11. Finding Nemo (2003) It's a story of impossible odds. When clownfish Marlin's (Albert Brooks) son Nemo (Alexander Gould) is kidnapped by divers, he embarks on a mission to rescue his son with the help of blue tang Dory, who suffers from short-term memory loss. Directed by Andrew Stanton and written by Stanton, Bob Peterson, and David Reynolds, Finding Nemo is effortlessly quotable (everyone knows P. Sherman's address) and flush with incredible underwater animation. 10. Cars (2006) Cars talk! In a world where everyone is a vehicle, Lightning McQueen is emerging as one of the world's premier racers with a serious ego problem. When he gets lost in Radiator Springs, he meets a group of lovable characters who change his worldview. In Cars, Pixar delivered a very funny and immensely satisfying adventure for the entire family. It lacks some of the shattering emotional moments that have come to define the studio, but that's by design. Cars is supposed to be a whole lot of fun, and it delivers with gusto. 9. Turning Red (2022) Toronto is a locale that's often on-screen masquerading as various American cities, but Turning Red lets the Canadian city shine all on its own. Thirteen-year-old Mei is a boy-band-crazy girl whose puberty has a fascinating side effect: her mood swings turn her into a giant red panda. It's lovely to see Pixar embrace female puberty and normalize periods. Directed by Domee Shi, Turning Red is a celebration of Chinese culture, a pastel-loaded fantasy with catchy earworms (composed by Billie Eilish and Finneas) and an expertly layered coming-of-age story about carving a path for yourself. It's also a nostalgic dream for any millennials who came of age in the era of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. It's a travesy it never got a proper theatrical release. 8. Inside Out (2015) Pete Docter's Inside Out has a top-notch premise, exploring the inner workings of the human brain by turning key emotions into characters. Inside Out follows Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), and the emotions in Riley's brain that control her daily life: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). The film is a marvel, with a cornucopia of inventive gags and a story that captures the heartbreak and hilarity of growing up. It offers up something radical, too. Most films encourage kids to smile, but Inside Out dares to suggest that embracing sadness is the key to a richer life. 7. The Incredibles (2004) After one too many incidents, people with superpowers are ordered to hide their powers from the world. That's bad news for the Parr family, and especially father Bob (Craig T. Nelson), who hates his office job and longs to return to his super life. When a fan-turned-foe enters Bob's life, it springs the entire family into action. Brad Bird's The Incredibles is an irresistible popcorn flick with incredible characters (Edna Mode!) and a witty, incisive script about embracing your true self. It's an original superhero movie that some could argue manages to outshine every film in the MCU. 6. Toy Story (1995) The first feature-length computer-animated movie, Toy Story immediately established Pixar as a studio to watch. But the film didn't merely indicate promise—Toy Story fulfills the promise of its new format in tremendous fashion. It takes a brilliant and relatable concept—what if your toys had lives of their own?—and turns it into a massively engaging story about identity and finding your place in the world. It introduced legendary characters including cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) and space ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), who are still adored today. Not bad for the studio's first feature film. 5. Toy Story 3 (2010) The toys are back, and they're facing their biggest crisis yet: their owner Andy no longer plays with them. For those of us who grew up with these characters, Toy Story 3 is Pixar's most emotionally devastating film, and a pitch-perfect conclusion to a journey 15 years in the making. Toy Story 3 is about the transition from childhood to adulthood, and how good it can feel—as well as how much it can hurt—to grow up. 4. Monsters, Inc. (2001) Monsters Mike and Sully work at Monsters Inc. in Monstropolis, a world powered by the screams of children, and it's their job to help extract those screams to keep the city going. When human child Boo (Mary Gibbs) finds her way into Monstropolis, it'll change the world forever. The movie's laughs are earned so consistently that it feels effortless (thanks in no small part to Billy Crystal and John Goodman), and 'Put that thing back where it came from' may be the funniest joke in all of Pixar. Monsters, Inc. is a whipsmart, madcap adventure buoyed by an energetic and whimsical Randy Newman score and inimitable chemistry from its leads. 3. Ratatouille (2007) At first glance, Ratatouille is one of Pixar's silliest concepts. Written and directed by Brad Bird, the film follows a rat named Remy (Patton Oswalt) who dreams of being a professional chef. To do so, he partners with a not-so-gifted human chef, Linguini (Lou Romano), hiding under his chef's hat and using his hair to control his body. But Pixar turns that ludicrous idea into something grounded and believable. Ratatouille is one of Pixar's finest masterpieces, and a heartwarming, visually sumptuous feast about artistic pursuit and ambition. Food critic and antagonist Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) delivers a gorgeous monologue in the film's brilliant finale. In a stroke of genius writing, it summarizes the film to perfection: 'Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.' 2. Toy Story 2 (1999) People complain that Pixar relies too much on sequels these days. While I don't disagree, wouldn't you keep making sequels if your first effort was this perfect? Toy Story 2 does everything a great sequel should do, expanding the first film's world in ways that are bigger, bolder, and yes, better than the original. It's the first Pixar movie that showed the studio is just as capable of breaking your heart as it is of filling it with childlike wonder. It's hard to believe that one of the best sequels in history almost got deleted before it ever saw the light of day. Sequels have never surpassed Toy Story 2. 1. WALL-E (2008) Taking a simple concept and turning it into something extraordinary, WALL-E tells the story of a now desolate Earth, where the last robot roams, following his directive to clean up the waste humans have left behind. But when he finds another robot named Eve, he discovers there's more to life than what he's been programmed for. Andrew Stanton's WALL-E is an inventive and heartwarming sci-fi odyssey with jaw-dropping animation and sequences (like the robots dancing gracefully through space) that leave you in awe. It's also alarmingly prescient about the perils humans have largely created for themselves, but in the face of fear, it offers hope in abundance. WALL-E finds Pixar working at the peak of its game-changing powers.
CNBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Pixar's 'Elio' is emblematic of a bigger headwind for Hollywood
Disney's Pixar animation studio had its worst opening ever over the weekend — and its problems aren't unique. "Elio," the story of a young boy who is mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador to the universe, tallied just $21 million in ticket sales during its first three days in theaters, a record low for the studio. The underwhelming performance fits a recent pattern among Pixar's releases. While franchise films have lured in moviegoers, the studio's original fare has had far less success in recent years. Just look at 2023's "Elemental," which brought in the previous lowest-opening haul of $29.6 million, compared to 2024's "Inside Out 2," the studio's second-highest opener at $154.2 million in domestic ticket sales, according to data from Comscore. But, it's not just Pixar that has seen its original storylines fall flat. Disney's other animation arm, Walt Disney Animation, and even rival animation studios within Universal and Paramount, have seen sequels outperform new stories like "Elio" that aren't tied to previous works. This phenomenon has also held across the board with live-action films, as well. "A survey of animated film performance post-pandemic shows that the gap between original [intellectual property] and sequel film performances has grown enormously wide, which is a potential problem for studios looking to grow their IP portfolio," Doug Creutz, analyst at TD Cowen, wrote in a note to investors published Monday. In the wake of the pandemic, studios have sought to deliver films that audiences are already familiar with, including sequels and stories based on books or comics. That's contributed to a flood of franchise content from studios with massive media libraries. Of nearly 30 animated wide releases since 2022, less than a third can be categorized as original, Comscore data shows. Disney has long been an animated feature empire, since its very first title "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937. It's been a dominating force in the industry for decades, with only a few hiccups along the way. Part of that strength came from the acquisition of Pixar in 2006. At the time, Walt Disney Animation was coming off several years of misses — "Treasure Planet," "Brother Bear," "Home on the Range" and "Chicken Little" among them — while Pixar had delivered hit after hit with titles like "Monsters Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Over the next decade, the two animation engines churned out popular original films like "Frozen," "Wreck-It Ralph," "Zootopia," "Inside Out" and "Coco." At the same time, Disney began to tap back into successful, well-known stories. However, in the wake of the pandemic, its animation arm, especially Pixar, struggled. With ongoing restrictions and worries about emerging Covid variants, parents kept their kids at home, and Disney sent "Soul," "Luca" and "Turning Red" directly to its newly minted streaming service Disney+. For a while, industry experts blamed this strategy for Disney's inability to lure in audiences to see non-franchise movies in theaters. There were also some who felt the company had become too socially conscious with its storytelling and alienated a segment of potential moviegoers. However, at the same time, competition in the animation industry was on the rise from Universal, Sony, Warner Bros. and Paramount. Families had more content to choose from, not just on the big screen, but at home from streaming services. So, parents became pickier about what titles they'd take their kids to and which ones they'd wait to enter the home market. "Elio" opened on June 20, just weeks after the live-action remakes of Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" and Universal's "How to Train Your Dragon." Those films were still drawing audiences by the time the new Pixar film entered the fray. This heightened competition and the shift in consumer habits has led Hollywood as a whole to rely even more heavily on existing stories with built-in fan bases. "For audiences, sequels are comfort food," said Peter Csathy, chairman of Creative Media. "It's the anti-'Forrest Gump' effect, you always know what you're going to get." The movie industry has long relied on franchise films to drive revenue at the box office, but that trend has expanded exponentially in recent years. Since 2016, no more than five films in the top 20 highest-grossing domestic releases each year have been original titles. In fact, in 2024, none of the top 20 films were original storylines. "For Disney and the other major traditional studios, animation sequels are the one safe bet in a world filled with growing existential threats, as they face forever-altered streaming economics, new big tech Hollywood moguls, and now the great unknown of generative AI," Csathy said. "The media landscape has never been murkier. Wall Street has never been more demanding. So sequels to animation success stories are the one remaining safe haven. Sure bets for a highly unsure time." The saving grace for original fare like "Elio" is the potential for a second wind. The films could still have long runs in theaters, collecting ticket sales in the weeks and months after opening weekend, and thrive on streaming platforms down the line. Belated fandom then opens up further opportunities for future installments, tie-ins or merchandising. Look at "Encanto," which hit theaters during the pandemic. The film had limited theatrical success because it arrived in theaters at a time of great uncertainty around public health safety, but became popular in the home market. So much so, that Disney is incorporating the film in updates its making to its Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida.
Tom's Guide
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
When is 'Elio' coming to streaming? Here's our best guess
"Elio" is another charming family movie from Disney and Pixar, but it's off to a rocky start. The movie sees alien-obsessed 11-year-old Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) being beamed up after being mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador by a coalition of alien representatives from the "Communiverse." Elio subsequently ends up tangled up in an intergalactic incident. Although it's reviewed well — "Elio" is currently rated 83% from critics and 91% from fans on Rotten Tomatoes — "Elio" brought in just $21 million over its opening domestic weekend. That's Pixar's worst-ever box office opening, and that's a crying shame; as someone who has seen "Elio," this is one of my favorite Pixar releases in recent memory. It deserves to find more fans, and you can read my full "Elio" review to find out why. If you're currently waiting to watch the new family movie at home, we do not yet have a confirmed "Elio" streaming date. However, I've made an educated guess at when the new movie might come to Disney Plus; here's when you might be able to stream "Elio." At the time of writing, the only way to see "Elio" right now is to see it on the big screen. It only hit theaters on June 20, so the wait's only just begun for a streaming date. Plus, unless it doesn't follow the usual pattern, we'll first have to wait for Pixar's latest effort to come to Premium Video-on-Demand (PVOD) storefronts, first. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Being a Disney and Pixar movie, though, we can expect it to stream on Disney Plus when it does become available. Based on the average wait for a new Pixar release, I'm predicting that "Elio" could come to Disney Plus in late September 2025. If I had to guess a specific day, I'd opt for September 24, 2025. That's based on the fact that we typically wait around three months for Disney movies to come to Disney Plus. For example, 2024's megahit "Inside Out 2" hit theaters on June 14 and started streaming on September 25, while "Elemental" dropped on September 13, 2023, after hitting theaters on June 16. Admittedly, given "Elio" isn't exactly doing well at the box office (which is a real shame, it's great), there's always a chance that Disney decides to bring "Elio's" streaming release date forward. Of course, this is all speculation, as we do not have an official "Elio" streaming date at the time of writing. As soon as one's confirmed, though, we'll be sure to share it here, so keep checking back. And if you're looking for Disney Plus suggestions in the meantime, check out our guide to the best movies on Disney Plus for tons more top streaming suggestions.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Elio and the problem with today's kids' films
Pixar's Elio has had the worst-ever box office opening for a film from the animation studio. It's part of a wave of original family cartoons failing at the box office. In big-time animation studio Pixar's new cartoon, Elio, a boy is beamed up from Earth and into outer space, but the film itself hasn't taken off. The film made just $21m (£15m) at the US box office over its opening weekend, and $14m (£10m) globally, which counts as the worst ever opening of a Pixar film. DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon sold almost twice as many tickets, despite having been out for a week already. And even Danny Boyle's shot-on-an-iPhone zombie adventure 28 Years Later pulled in more viewers. What a difference a year makes. Last June, Pixar's previous film, Inside Out 2, was well on its way to making almost $1.7 billion, and cementing its status as 2024's biggest film worldwide. And it wasn't alone. An article in the Times last December hailed 2024 as "a new era for family films", adding that "the pandemic slump is officially over and a new saviour of the box office has returned to Hollywood". Other child-friendly titles cited in the article were Despicable Me 4, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which together had made about $6.85 billion. But while it's hard to argue with the figures, it's just as hard to ignore that the fact that all of these films revolve around existing intellectual properties. This year, the biggest family films include A Minecraft Movie and live-action CGI remakes of Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon. But the crashing and burning of Elio suggests that it's much more challenging for films to succeed if they aren't sequels, prequels, remakes, adaptations of video games, or some unholy combination of the above. When it comes to younger viewers, it seems, it's lack of familiarity that breeds contempt. There have been some original children's films that have been profitable recently, including The Bad Guys and The Wild Robot (although both are adapted from books). But what we haven't seen lately is the kind of newly minted mega-hit that sells toys and gets turned into a Broadway musical: the days of such franchise-starting phenomena as The Lion King, Toy Story and Frozen seem to be over. As Brooks Barnes noted in the New York Times on Sunday, DreamWorks' Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken and Illumination's Migration both underperformed in 2023. Disney's centenary cartoon, Wish, was another 2023 flop. Disney's Strange World, which was released in 2022, is one of its biggest ever box-office bombs. Pixar's Onward fared poorly in 2020. And two other original Pixar films, Soul and Turning Red, went straight to Disney+. Some of this can be blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic. In certain cases, films were scuppered by a general decline in cinema-going; in other cases, films were denied cinema releases at all; and people in lockdown got used to watching new films at home. But that's not the whole story – and "story" could be the operative word. The underlying problem with the family films which have failed in the 2020s is that they don't have plots which are clear and exciting enough to grip viewers of all ages and attention spans. A story with too many cooks Elio, for instance, is the sweet and lively tale of a lonely boy learning to open himself to friendship, but its narrative rambles all over the place. There are too many scenes before Elio leaves Earth and reaches a psychedelic alien craft called the Communiverse. And then the film packs Elio off to a villain's spaceship. And then he's back in the Communiverse. And then he's on Earth. And then he's in the Communiverse again. And did I mention that there's an Elio clone on Earth for some of the time? It's hardly surprising if younger viewers aren't too sure of what he is doing and why. The film's origins could help to explain matters. Elio was due to be directed by Adrian Molina, using ideas drawn from his own childhood on a military base, but then last June Domee Shi (director of Turning Red) was announced at the new director; last August, Madeline Sharafian was announced as her co-director; and three different screenwriters are credited. Perhaps this particular broth just had too many cooks. But numerous family films are similarly over-stuffed and over-complicated. It's head-achingly difficult to summarise the convoluted plots of Soul, Strange Planet, Onward and Wish – whereas in the case of Pixar's classic Finding Nemo, the title is the plot. What connects these recent films appears to be a studio's nervousness about letting a writer-director tell a fun, simple story. Animated films are notoriously expensive – Elio is reputed to have cost $150m (£110m) – so there is an understandable impulse to keep refining a scenario, paying more and more writers to add more and more details to its fictional world. But this committee-oriented method isn't the best way to craft a streamlined plot. More like this:• 10 of the best films to watch this June• The darkest kids' film ever made?• Why Disney flopped in its centenary year "You can feel a need to have another script meeting in which they plot their way out of trouble with another layer of story or another dimension," Jason Solomons, a British film critic-turned-producer, tells the BBC. "Even these lesser films are always extremely thought-out, but in tying up all their loose ends, giving punchlines to every joke, and an arc to every character, sometimes you feel the mechanism creaking, straining to make it all work with the customary almost obligatory smoothness. Maybe a little craziness, a rough edge here and there, would do them the world of good?" That's not to say that the various sequels and spin-offs which dominate the family-film market are models of economical storytelling, but that's not so crucial when the audience is familiar with the material before the film starts. Viewing habits in the post-pandemic era involve a lot more phone-scrolling and chatting than they did just a few years ago, but cinema-goers don't have to concentrate to follow a remake of How to Train Your Dragon or Lilo & Stitch: they know what's happening, anyway. The challenge for studios now is to engross audiences in stories that they don't already know. -- If you liked this story sign up for The Essential List newsletter, a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week. For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why ‘Elio' sank at the box office — and why it could take a cue from ‘Elemental' and rise again
Alas, poor Elio — we knew you... kind of. Pixar's latest original animated feature failed to soar to galactic box-office heights during its opening weekend, instead falling back to Earth with the lowest bow in the studio's history. The sci-fi family comedy barely cleared the $20 million hurdle, landing at $21 million behind the $30 million posted by Danny Boyle's zombie picture 28 Years Later and the $37 million nabbed by last week's repeat champ, How to Train Your Dragon. More from GoldDerby Inside the music scene at 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon': From breakout discoveries to global superstars 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' unveils Season 3 trailer, premiere date, and more of today's top stories What you need to remember about 'Ironheart' before the Marvel series premiere Elio's ill fortune wasn't entirely unexpected; the film was originally slated to open last summer, but got the boot to 2025 in favor of Inside Out 2, which became the highest-grossing movie — animated or live-action — of 2024. The delay clearly didn't result in any additional anticipation for the lushly animated feature, which follows the titular space-obsessed orphan (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) on an improbable journey to the stars. Here's what you need to know about what held Elio back — and a reminder of why the film's final chapter may not be written just yet. The idea for Elio originated with Coco co-director Adrian Molina, who modeled the story in part after his own childhood experiences as a military brat. Announced as the project's sole director in 2022, Molina ended up parting ways with his creation two years later, with Turning Red's Domee Shi taking over the director's chair instead alongside Madeline Sharafian. (Molina still receives a separate credit in the closing crawl.) In a 2024 interview with The Wrap, Pixar head Pete Docter alluded to other behind the scenes changes as a result of the change in directors. "[Domee and Madeline] have made some major discoveries on [Elio] that really helped the audience to connect and to move forward with the character into the second act." Docter also said that the studio generally avoids having two directors on one project, generally preferring to employ a main director and a co-director. "It's been tricky in this past films, but in this case, they have both such respect for each other and a great working style," he emphasized. Read: Even though Elio received largely positive reviews, some critics noted that they could see the seams in the production. "Though it took three directors... to bring the formulaic 'Elio' to life, the film plays like a mood board," wrote Robert Daniels. "It's an original concept from a studio that used to be a lot more invested in them than in sequels, and you can feel the pressure on everyone involved to recapture magic that eludes them," added Vulture's Alison Wilmore. Besides late-inning changes behind the scenes, Elio may also have fallen into the sci-fi trap that's impacted both Disney and Pixar of late. Despite successes like Wall-E and — some would argue — the Cars movies, the 2022 Toy Story sidequel Lightyear was a major miss for the latter, while the former saw some of its lowest-ever grosses for the Journey to the Center of the Earth-inspired Strange World, released that same year. It's also worth noting that the competition for family fare proved much stiffer than expected. Elio has to contend with its Mouse House rival, the live action version of Disney's Lilo & Stitch — still drawing in crowds of parents and kids five weeks after its record-setting Memorial Day opening. And then there's Universal's IRL take on How to Train Your Dragon, which is flying high with the young and young at heart. Put alongside those immediately recognizable names, Elio couldn't help but feel like the new kid in school. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection But here's the thing about being the new kid — sometimes they end up being the most popular of them all. Elio's exemplary audience scores already suggest that the moviegoers who did show up liked what they saw. And even though Lilo & Stitch and Dragon have a head start, that also means both films are further along in their theatrical life cycle. As their screen counts shrink and family audiences look for the next indoor weekend activity, Elio will be right there waiting for them. Sound unlikely? It's happened before — to Pixar, in fact. Exactly two years ago, the studio released another original tale, Elemental, into a multiplex marketplace that included The Flash, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and other I.P.-powered fare. Not surprisingly, the film struggled to find its footing and headlines proclaimed its $29.6 million opening weekend to be a "debacle." Instead of slinking out of theaters, though, Elemental hung around while other titles came and went from the marquee. As the summer went on and family fare thinned out, the film ended up with lots of new and repeat business, eventually clearing the $150 million mark in the U.S. The overseas numbers more than doubled that gross, resulting in a final tally just shy of $500 million. And just like that, the headlines went from bemoaning a "debacle" to praising a "hit." Elemental's fire continued burning on into awards season as the film picked up multiple Annie Award nominations, as well as Golden Globe and Oscar nods for Best Animated Feature. While it lost those races, it won the title of 2023's most-streamed movie premiere on Disney+ when it hit the service in the fall. Not surprisingly, rumors of a spin-off streaming series and theatrical sequel are already being discussed within the halls of Pixar. While it's too early to tell whether Elio will experience a second lift-off, the rest of July and August are notably light on animated fare beyond the latest Smurfs movie and The Bad Guys 2. If Disney keeps the film in a healthy number of theaters through September, history could very well repeat itself. It's elemental, our dear Elio. Best of GoldDerby Tom Cruise movies: 17 greatest films ranked worst to best 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') 'It almost killed me': Horror maestro Mike Flanagan looks back at career-making hits from 'Gerald's Game' to 'Hill House' to 'Life of Chuck' Click here to read the full article.
