Pixar says no to more sequels? Well…kind of

It’s rare for a movie studio to listen to fans instead of cash. On the surface, it appears Pixar is doing just that, however. With “Cars 2” and “Monsters University”, both made a lot of cash but were critical disappointments. Look at it this way, between 1995 and 2010, the lowest rotten tomato score for any Pixar film was “Cars” at 74 percent. Films like “Up”, “Toy Story 3”, “Toy Story 2”, “Wall E” and more all earned near 100 percent scores. Since then? The studio’s first “rotten” film and a prequel that everyone thought was OK. Well, here’s what Pixar’s Ed Catmull told Buzzfeed:

“For artistic reasons … it’s really important that we do an original film a year. Every once in a while, we get a film where we want or people want to see something continuing in that world — which is the rationale behind the sequel. They want those characters, which means we were successful with them. But if you keep doing that, then you aren’t doing original films.”

Of course with “Finding Dory” coming up, they’re not ditching sequels altogether. But it’s nice to see them take a step toward becoming Pixar again.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box office battle: The end of Pixar as we know it

I wrote something similar last summer before Pixar’s “Brave” came out. Now with “Monsters University”, that idea seems to be cemented. Pixar is no longer the masterful studio producing classic after classic. We saw such original films like “Wall E” and “Up” that not only made us laugh, but made us cry and made us feel. The only time during its peak years it ever went back to sequels was for “Toy Story 2” and “Toy Story 3”, both masterpieces in their own right. Turns out “Toy Story 3” may go down as the last great film Pixar made in its golden age. Since then we’ve gotten the downright bad “Cars 2”, the OK but startling formulaic “Brave” and now “Monsters University”. Don’t get me wrong. I love “Monsters, Inc.” But, according to the early reviews, even the positive ones say this is just mildly funny children entertainment. It’s a good, not great film. Why is that sad? Because once upon a time Pixar pushed the envelope, brining very adult themes into “kids movies” and making both older and younger audiences alike feel real emotions. Now we get essentially “Revenge of the Nerds” with Pixar characters. Gone is that heart that made so many Pixar films so great. Instead, we’re getting college gags. I suppose it could make for somewhat funny scenes. But you know, think about your favorite Pixar movies. It wasn’t about immature jokes and gags. In fact, for many of the films, the humor was secondary. We came for the heart, for the unique stories and memorable characters. And, if you think about it, the best moments from “Monsters, Inc.” came when Boo was involved. You take away Boo, you take away most of the charm from that movie.

For the first time since I’ve been a huge movie fan, I wasn’t excited for this summer’s Pixar release. In fact, I barely realized it was coming out this weekend. That’s a shame. Because once upon a time Pixar was the master of making great films. Looks like Pixar’s fairy tale is over.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Dane Cook to helm “Planes”

I still can’t believe this film is happening. But Dane Cook will voice the lead role in Disney’s “Planes”. The film won’t be under the Pixar banner but is a spin off of “Cars” and “Cars 2”. Those films featured the voices of Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Cane and more. I want to believe this film could be good. But “Cars” and “Cars 2″ are definitely Pixar’s weakest efforts. But it is a marketing juggernaut, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. In all fairness, once upon a time ‘Toy Story 2” was going to be a straight-to-DVD release, just like “Planes” was going to be. Bu somehow I doubt this one will turn out as well.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

First we had “Cars”, now get ready for “Planes”

Pixar…why oh why? First they made “Cars” and then “Cars 2” in the sequel no Pixar fan wanted to see. Then there were plans to make a spin off “Planes” into a direct to DVD release. But now news comes that Disney/Pixar has changed its mind and will release “Planes” on Aug. 9, 2013 into theaters. I’m not exactly excited about this news. But to be fair, “Toy Story 2” was supposed to be a direct to home video release and that sequel turned out all right. Still…I’m skeptical.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.