Pixar’s contribution to the world of animation is unmatched. There is no doubt about that. The animation studio treasures a long-standing reputation for bestowing timeless animated masterpieces that are also mesmerising and emotional. Its early works pushed the boundaries of the world of animation and took it to new heights.
Yes, Pixar revolutionised animation. We know it feels like an understatement. However, the studio’s quality of movies after 2010 has drastically declined. Its latest release, Elemental, is the best example of this scenario. Despite being a rom-com, the Peter Sohn directional seems a bit too similar to another blockbuster Disney animated film, Zootopia.
Several aspects of Elemental are similar to Zootopia. For instance, the events of the former film take place in Element City, a place where personified elements reside, just like personified animals in Zootopia. In addition, we can witness the dynamic of lead characters (Wade and Ember) with opposite personas getting attracted to each other, similar to Nick and Judy in Zootopia. And you may find it hard to believe, but there is actually a scene in Elemental where Wade and Ember try to get some important information from a slow-moving element. Does this remind you of Flash? The “fastest” sloth of the DMV.
How about we forget Elemental for a second here? Let’s talk about all the movies Pixar released after 2010. Before the mentioned year, the studio believed in creating original animated projects. There was no sign of sequels in the studio’s filmography before 2010, except for Toy Story sequels. Pixar bestowed some of the best and most memorable animated masterpieces in this era, such as Toy Story (1995), Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), and more. What made these films so special was their ability to explore realistic emotions without butchering their cinematic quality and humour. They can still make anyone emotional.
After 2010, viewers and critics started feeling the decline in the quality of Pixar movies. And their feeling was not wrong. Instead of cultivating original stories, the studio focused on making more sequels. It is not like Pixar has completely stopped dropping original titles. Some of the original projects, such as Inside Out (2015), Coco (2017), and Soul (2020), are breathtaking animated movies. However, we cannot say the same about films like Cars 2 (2011), Brave (2012), Monsters University (2013), The Good Dinosaur (2015), Finding Dory (2016), Cars 3 (2017), and more. Yup, they were entertaining but were altogether forgettable and mediocre.
Elemental has certainly made Pixar’s future for the 2020s questionable. It currently has a rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 154 reviews. From Pixar’s perspective, this score is very low. That’s how high early Pixar movies have set the bar for upcoming animated entries. Elemental’s visuals, musical score, and voice performances are terrific. But they are not enough to save it from becoming a formulaic romantic comedy. This movie proves that Pixar has lost its “magic”. Stay tuned for more updates.
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