Inside Out 2 review: A joyful return

I can’t believe it’s been 9 years since Inside Out came out. I remember how much I loved it back in 2015 and how it was just screaming for a sequel. Well luckily, they took their time with it to get it just right so it can live up to the legacy of the first, and it’s finally arrived. So what is it like?

Plot

Pound the Alarm

Riley has turned 13 and her emotions have guided her to grow a strong sense of self. However, one night the headquarters is rocked by the onset of puberty, and the arrival of 4 new emotions, led by Anxiety. Anxiety’s influence sends Riley into a spiral as her core emotions are banished in favour of the new recruits. Joy and the others then have to make it back to headquarters to return Riley to her normal self.

Puberty was the obvious place to go with a sequel (and was alluded to in the original film) so it’s no surprise that that’s what they did, but the question was always how they would do it. I think what they did with it was really clever, not only adding the new emotions but adding new elements to the way Riley’s mind works as she matures. It meant they weren’t just rehashing the previous story just with new characters, but had new adversities to overcome instead.

Characters

All the characters from the original film are back and the same as ever (despite a couple of the voice actors being different) so I’m sure your favourites from back then will still feel the same to you. I was always a big fan of Joy and Disgust myself. Amy Poehler really was born to play Joy and you can tell just how much she loves voicing the character, which translates into star power as she leads this movie completely.

I’m getting mixed emotions

However if we wanna talk about star power we have to talk about Maya Hawke in the role of Anxiety, because she really gives Poehler a run for her money as the main antagonist of the film and de facto new leader of Riley’s mind. I think the feeling of anxiety is something we’re all extremely familiar with so Hawke and Pixar had a tough job to try and embody that in a character and they definitely pulled it off. The way she skittishly moves around and the frazzled look she has, as well as the way she takes over so swiftly and absolutely. There’s a scene towards the end that really gets the experience of intense anxiety dead on.

I also enjoyed Ayo Edebiri as Envy, who kind of became a henchman to Anxiety, but she had this adorable little squeaky voice along with it, which really put across the insecurity that envy brings. There was also Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) who was the nicest of the new group and develops a really sweet relationship with Sadness, as he would. The only new character that felt a little underdeveloped was Ennui who, despite being French which was a hilarious touch, didn’t really have much to do besides being a little sarcastic; I didn’t really get her purpose.

World

Coming soon to the Disneyland electrical parade

There was so much world-building in the original film, with establishing the different areas and aspects of the mind, that I didn’t see how much more they could really add-in. But my god did they have plenty of new ideas. There was so much more to explore and learn about in the world of Riley’s mind, as well as the chance to revisit some of the old places, like Imagination Land. And they managed to explain the addition of some new places in the mind cleverly, as Riley’s mind is simply expanding and maturing as she grows. This also opens the possibility of new places to explore in the next film.

My personal favourite addition to the mind was the belief system, where Riley’s memories can spawn beliefs about herself that come together to form her sense of self (the MacGuffin of the movie). I liked how this sense of self was also able to pilot Riley somewhat remotely without the emotions having to take full control. Which was a great way to symbolize how as you grow you become less of a slave to your emotions and adapt to situations more innately. It’s all just very creative and clever.

Animation

I’m embarrassed. I couldn’t think of a joke here…

I obviously rewatched the original film before I saw this one, and one of the things that always stood out about it was the use of colour. Inside Out is a very bright and striking in its character and world design and has this almost glittery watercolour effect to the design of the mind sections. They obviously kept that around for the sequel and things are just as bright and whimsical in her mind. They also had some fun with different animation styles which is always fun to see, including paper stop motion, 2D and a glitchy video game character.

But what stood out to me was the outside of the mind sections, aka the real world. I hadn’t really realized just how far we had come in terms of photorealism in Pixar animation until I watched these two films back to back. Obviously, the human characters are still cartoonish in their look and proportions so as not to cross into the uncanny valley, but they still feel more real looking. And as for the environments, we’ll they may as well have been live action with how scarily good they looked.

Future

She really Riley likes you

The movie seems to be doing pretty well already so I have no doubt its success will result in Disney greenlighting another movie in the series. Amy Poehler has already said she’d like to keep playing Joy in future movies. Obviously growing up comes with many emotional challenges and new emotions to face so there are plenty of places to go with this concept. However, the older Riley gets, the harder it’s going to be to keep things family-friendly and relatable to kids, so I’d be interested to see how they navigate that hurdle. I’ll definitely be seated for an Inside Out 3 though!

Pixar

This joke may be a little jarring

Now, Pixar has had me worried recently when they announced their plans for the future. Their last few movies haven’t done so well financially so they have obviously been a little worried. So, as a result, they said they were going to focus less on original ideas, citing Turning Red and Luca as examples of ‘directors’ autobiographies’ that didn’t do well, and instead focus on existing popular IPs. And that’s really disappointing. They seem to have forgotten that the reason those two movies didn’t make money is because Disney forced them to go straight to Disney+, but people still loved them. Also, Lightyear was based on an existing sting brand (perhaps their strongest) and that tanked critically AND commercially. The only thing that proved their point was Elemental, which despite being a great movie (one of my favourite films of last year) didn’t do so well when it was first released (though it did actually make plenty of money as it stayed in cinemas).

But completely panicking and deciding to stifle new ideas after one hiccup is not the way to go. Obviously, it’s great to get sequels to the films we love like Inside Out, but I truly hope the success doesn’t spur them on to continue this ludicrous plan and run this studio, once known for its phenomenal creativity, off the creative cliff. I guess we have to hope that Elio helps put things back on track next year.

I don’t think there was much chance that they would screw up this movie with how well they executed the original, but thank god they didn’t! If you lived Inside Out I’d definitely recommend seeing this new instalment. You won’t regret it

Elemental movie review: Some excellent chemistry!

June was a crazy month for me, so I didn’t get time to see much, let alone review anything. But I was determined to get to the cinema and see a new release, so I got out to see Pixar’s latest offering, Elemental!

I really didn’t know what to expect from this film given the hit and miss nature of Pixar (and Disney in general) recently, and the concept of elemental people living in a city seemed pretty basic. But I ended up very pleasantly surprised by what I saw!

Plot

Water cute pair

When Ember is left in charge of her parent’s shop in Fire Town of Element City, she accidentally causes a water leak which threatens to put them out of business. Along with city water inspector Wade, they must find the source of the leak and save her parent’s shop from being shut down. Along the way the pair develop and unlikely romance despite Ember’s parent’s opposition to elements mixing.

I thought it was going to become a plot where it’s a mystery to find who or what is causing the leak with a grand adventure through the city. However, that plot point was actually more just a catalyst for the real focus of the movie which is exploring the relationship between Ember and her parents and Ember and Wade. I think that could be a little disappointing for some people, but I did appreciate that it was more character rather than world-building focussed. Whether that lends itself to the big screen or small is another matter.

Characters

Speaking of being characters I have to talk about our main characters, Ember and Wade. Each one’s character obviously took the form of the element they’re based on. So, Ember is fire so she has a temper and she ‘flares up’ a lot, whereas Wade is water so he’s a lot more mellow and he cries easily. I think they did a good job not making Ember too angry all the time at the risk of making her unlikable, her temper was always justified if a little unhinged. Wade cried a little bit too often for my taste, but what did work was how his emotions brought about a change in Ember as she learned more about the elements outside of fire.

I really warmed to this family

Ember has the best storyline as she is the lead. She has to come to grips with her parent’s expectations for her versus her feelings for Wade and what she wants for her future, so we really get to know the most, whereas Wade has a lot more tell rather than show for his development. Wade is still a very likable character though because he’s just really lovely and is the kind of supportive and uplifting person that I think a lot of people would like to be with.

The next best characters are Ember’s parents, Bernie and Cinder, as they are the secondary protagonists with their own story to tell. Being refugees who came to element city for a better life, their story is about trying to hold on to their own culture and the things they’ve built while also allowing their daughter to grow beyond what they want for, and it’s some really quite beautiful stuff.

I also have to mention that Wade’s mum, Beook, is played by Catherine O’Hara (whose voice I recognized instantly) so she does an excellent job with the comedy in her voice acting.

World

Ember is not in her element here

In terms of world-building, I don’t think Element City itself was super creative in terms of design as it was mostly just regular buildings with an elemental theme. However it wasn’t lazy in any way, and it still looked gorgeous.

What was fun about the world though was the way elemental people interacted with it. If Ember breaks a window for example she can pick up the pieces and melt them down to create a new window and replace it. If Wade gets pushed into a fountain he can through the pipes and rise back out the top. You could tell they considered how each element could use their skills as a form of problem-solving which is just a really fun bit of creativity.

It also lent itself to a lot of fun gags throughout the movie. One that made me laugh early on was a blimp carrying air people deflating when the passengers got off but blowing up again when the new lot got on.

Themes

This movie actually had a lot more to say than I expected, with its major theme being that of immigration. Because the fire people were not part of the originally established element city, they had to find their own patch to build a community and they therefore rarely mix with the other elements.

At least her outfit is fire

I think it was clever to use the fact that fire doesn’t physically mix well with the other elements (it would burn plants and evaporate water for example) to illustrate how immigrant communities often feel outside of and othered by the communities they come to join and that sense of wanting to belong but being unable to integrate.

It also somewhat addresses the financial inequality between immigrant families like Ember’s and more well-off families like Wade’s, and how that affects their choices and paths in life.

It’s heavy stuff on paper, but I think, much like Zootopia did with race, this movie puts out these ideas in a very accessible way. And I hope it will teach the kids (and frankly the adults) watching to be understanding of different communities that surround them.

Romance

A couple with literal chemistry

I think by far my favorite aspect of this movie was the love story between Ember and Wade. It’s the age-old story of two people who shouldn’t be together falling in love against the odds, but cleverly done in the way of two people who literally physically should be opposites.

It’s also one of the most romantic Disney couples I think there’s ever been. Things get pretty steamy (pun absolutely intended) between the two and it’s very tender. I’m also extremely glad they didn’t use the enemies to lovers trope that had been done to death at this point. The pair pretty much like each other from the get go, which means you get more time seeing them together developing the connection.

The issue

This movie came out in the US a month before it came out here, so we already know it’s a box office bomb and it’s not doing well. Obviously, I’m disappointed because I really liked it but I think it’s down to two factors.

Firstly the ad campaign was not good. The trailer did not convey what this movie is at all. I thought that it was just going to be a knock off Zootopia but with elements, and I had no idea of the deep themes and the heavy focus on romance. And to be honest I barely saw any advertisement for it in the first place.

Firing on all cylinders

The second problem is streaming. I think (and have been told this by a few people) that most people are just going to wait to watch this film on Disney+. Everyone knows now that everything will eventually show up there so they’re being much more selective about what they pay to go see in cinemas. People have been trained to see Pixar films on streaming as 3 of the last 4 have been released only on Disney+ and the one that wasn’t (Lightyear) was not very good. It’s not just a Pixar problem though as Disney Animation’s last 2 movies have suffered at the box office before finding an audience in streaming. Encanto is the best case scenario as it completely blew up in popularity once it hit Disney+. I’m hoping for an Encanto situation with Elemental because I know people are going to love this movie when they give it a chance.

If you fancy seeing a great animated movie in the cinema then I’d definitely recommend going to see this one. Equally, please give it a watch when it comes out in Disney+ (probably in about a months time) because it really is worth your time. I’ll definitely be watching it again!

Luca Review: Twee fun with very low stakes

If you hadn’t already guessed, I’m a huge Disney fan. This past year Disney+ has been a huge bonus for being able to watch Disney’s films as soon as they release without having to find the time to get to the cinema. So, here I go reviewing yet another release from the mouse house, this time it’s Pixar’s latest offering, released straight to Disney+, Luca.

Plot

How it feels when you’ve been in the bath too long

The film follows Luca, a sea monster from the coast of Italy who is fascinated by the surface. He makes friends with another sea monster, Alberto, who lives on an island on the surface, discovering that sea monsters turn human when they dry off. When Luca’s parents threaten to send him away to the deep to stop him from going to the surface again, he runs off with Alberto to the human port town of Portorosso. There they meet a young girl called Giulia who wants to win the annual triathlon but has no team. Luca and Alberto team up with her in hopes of using the prize money to buy a Vespa and explore the world.

The plot of the film is nothing particularly inventive, while I was watching the first 20 minutes I kept thinking how much it reminded me of The Little Mermaid (1989) and Ponyo (2008). Now every film has influences and parallels to other films, but if you’re thinking about those during the movie it’s a little unfortunate. The rest of the movie once their on land does diverge from those other movies plot wise but takes on a generic coming of age, kids on summer break feel. Now I will say that I don’t think creating a stellar plot was Pixar’s intention this time around. The plot seems almost secondary to its themes, those of childhood, exploration and discovering your yourself and who you want to be. These themes are explored very nicely, so I believe they achieved what they wanted to achieve.

Scope

Building off the plot of the movie, I did want to touch on the scope this movie has. Compared to other Pixar movies, particularly it’s recent ones, the scope is quite small. It all takes place in one relatively small location and the stakes for the climax are never really that high. It they lose the race they lose, if they get discovered they just go back in the ocean. There is the threat of being killed by sea monster hunters but because the film is so sweet you never feel like anyone is actually going to get killed. Now having a small scope and low stakes isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there are plenty of small films, but it does come with ramifications.

When you find out you’re going straight to Disney+

There was some anger when it was revealed that this film would debut on Disney+ for free rather than with premium access like Cruella (2021) and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), especially as Pixar’s last film had gotten the same treatment. With Soul (2020), the reasoning seemed to be that they needed to get the movie out in time for it to get an Oscar and cinemas weren’t open. This obviously worked out exactly as they intended. After seeing this film, I think the fact that its not particularly grand or epic, and movies still aren’t making a ton of money in socially distanced cinemas, lead Disney to think that it would do better on streaming. It is a charming and easy-going story that you can sit down at home and watch with your family, and I think people will.

Characters

Is liking pasta a personality trait?

Much like the plot, I do find the characters to be somewhat generic and uninspired. Luca is the shy, nervous yet inquisitive kid, Giulia is spunky and outgoing but weird and Luca’s parents are overprotective but mean well. These are characters that we’ve seen before, but that’s because they work. I wasn’t blown away by how original the characters were, but I did like them an I enjoyed following them on their journey.

The one character that was a little outside of the cliché unfortunately ended up being the one that I liked the least and that was Alberto. He started off in the role of the confident kid that Luca latches onto and learns from. But as the movie progressed, I found that a lot of his actions and traits became more selfish and a little arrogant. He came across to me like a really bad friend to Luca, or to anyone really. This was supposed part of his narrative in the story, but I think they pushed it a little to far to where he just became mean.

Visuals

What the characters lack in fresh personality, they make up for in design. The design of this movie is inspired by European art, reflecting its setting. I’d describe it as a cross between a 50s art deco travel poster and Aardman Claymation. It’s a different animation style for Pixar that helps to differentiate it from their other movie, and also serves to elevate the more basic elements of the move that I’ve touched on. The character design is lovely, I particularly enjoy the design of the sea monsters and the way they use scales and fins to mimic what will become their hair and other features when they become human on land. They also have a really nice way of animating the transformation with rippling scales (it kind of reminded me of Mystique from the X-Men Movies).

Little town, it’s an Italian port

As usual with Pixar and Disney animation, the locations in the film look marvellous. As someone who loves water and the sea, I enjoyed underwater locations at the beginning of the film; they made the seabed with its seaweed look like rolling hills and farmland which was clever. I do wish we’d spent more time in that location but Portorosso was not a bad place to spend a majority of the time. I’ve not been to Italy, but I have been around Europe and I felt Portorosso authentically captured the look and feel of a Small European coastal town. It definitely felt like a real place that you could visit and have a great holiday, depending on how well received this movie is I can see them building at least a small Portorosso area at one of the Disney theme parks. Epcot does have an Italy pavilion.

Queer Theory

Can confirm that gays love ice cream

Queer film theory is something I’m very interested in as a queer person myself, seeing movies that have intentional or unintentional elements of queer coding in their story’s/characters. This movie is one of the latter. There’s quite the buzz around this movie in particular from a LGBTQ standpoint, with the nature of the sea monsters having to hide their true nature and being feared, leading to found family among those who will accept you. Also the movie focusses on a close relationship between two male character, which though platonic could easily be read as something more.

Now obviously queer coding was not the intent of the creators, and the characters are arguably much to young to be discovered or exploring their sexualities just yet. However, if some young queer people see a bit of themselves or identify with this movie in some way I think that’s something they should be happy with. It’s a sweet movie that could bring people together.

I would also possibly be interested in a sequel in the future that picks up with the characters as adolescents or young adults. I think there would be a lot to explore with these characters even if they don’t go down the gay route.

Coming straight after Soul (2020), which was very mature and sophisticated, this was a swap back to childlike whimsical storytelling for Pixar, which may come across to some as a step backwards. If I had to rank this among other Pixar projects id have to put it at a low middle. It doesn’t do anything particularly ground breaking or with an outside of the box concept like Pixar has become known for, but what it does do has a lot of heart to it that will endear people to the film.

Jez recommends – Film Documentaries.

As you can tell from the fact that I have a blog about movies, I watch a lot of things. With the advent of streaming services, entertainment has become more accessible, meaning there is a lot more available to watch. For example, this week I’ve been expanding my mind and watch some documentaries.

So, in the spirit of sharing, I thought id try a new thing where I recommend some things that I think are worth watching and you may not have known were available.  Seeing as I talk about Movies and TV, I though id recommend some documentaries I have watched about film, television and entertainment from the two streaming services I can currently afford, Netflix and Disney+. I’ve picked 3 from each service.

Disclosure (Netflix)

Disclosure takes a look at the history of how trans people have been represented in entertainment from the birth of film until the modern day. You are taken through this history by trans celebrities and scholars who detail their experiences and how this media both informed and affected them and the world around them.

What I think is so important about this documentary is that it really highlights the importance of good representation in media and what it can do for a group, but more importantly the damage that irresponsible or intentionally negative representation can have on a group of people in the real world. It highlights the important of hiring trans people to have a say in telling these stories, rather than just assuming things about them however good your intentions. If you think about it that’s also a lesson, we can apply to all minority groups, to be authentic to their real lives to present an accurate picture of who they are.

I also found it interesting that it highlighted that not everyone interacts with media in the same way. There were many times that one individual said they identified with a character or story in the same beat that another interviewee found it problematic. It shows the importance of having a wide array of trans voices in this space, not just one or two token hires.

I think everyone should give this a watch to not only understand why there is a need for trans representation on screen, but also why it needs to be good.

Waking Sleeping Beauty (Disney+)

When it comes to Disney+, Disney of course has a lot of documentaries about themselves. They have a long history and a lot of stories to tell. Waking Sleeping Beauty details the turbulent years at Disney Animation between 1984-94, when animation was very nearly shut down. If details the creative individuals and the events that breathed new life into the artform and lead to the Disney renaissance of the 90’s, as well as all the drama that was going on all the while.

Living in the era of Frozen, Moana and Pixar, it’s hard to imagine a world where Disney animation was not popular or lucrative but that’s where they were. It’s a really interesting part of Disney’s history to know about, where things were just not being run properly and creative ideas were being steamrolled. It’s also refreshing to see Disney (a company that traditionally has a rigid control of its image) be so open about its turbulent history and how things are not always going well within their ranks, even when things on the outside are on such a high note.

The standout part for me was the way that the late Howard Ashman (along with Alan Menken) was able to shape and enhance these movies with the visons for his music and songs. You can really see what he meant to the studio in the short time that he was there and how deeply his tragic death affected them. There’s another documentary on Disney+ specifically about him called Howard that you could also check out.

Dolly Parton: Here I Am (Netflix)

This is perhaps a slight pivot away from explicitly talking about movies, however, remember that Dolly has had a strong film and TV career too. This Documentary takes you through Dolly Parton’s long and varied career, using her iconic songs to focus on specific moments in her life and aspects of her personality.

I love Dolly, in fact can’t think of anyone I’ve ever encountered that didn’t at least have a passing appreciation for her, which is a testament to how well she connects with people. As well as just being a portrait of Dolly as a person it really acts as a representation of how a woman could, and can, navigate themselves through a career in the entertainment business. She was able to learn from those around her, adapt to new trends and career moves, yet manage to stay true to her own beliefs and not let herself get walked over by those who would view themselves as above her.

In terms of movies, there is of course a whole section on her famous song 9 to 5 and the movie that inspired it. If you haven’t seen 9 to 5  before, it’s available on Star on Disney+ and it’s well worth a watch. In this doc they detail how the film came to be and why Jane Fonda wanted Dolly to be in it, despite never being in a movie before. On top of learning about the making of the film, and how Dolly wrote the theme song, you also get interviews with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, who are icons in their own right.

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (Disney+)

Tuesday was May 4^th, AKA Star Wars day, so I wanted that evenings documentary to fit the theme of the day, hence this pick. It’s certainly the longest doc on this list at 2 ½ hours, and its fairly old, being made in the early 2000s, however the story it tells is s moment in time that is worth knowing about.

The documentary follows the journey George Lucas too to crate the first three Star Wars movies, where the ideas came from, the struggle he took to get studios to believe in them and the difficulty creating something that had never been done before. I think it’s amazing to see how a franchise we all take so much for granted now came into existence and the passion that so many people had to push it through, despite everything that was against them. It puts the original trilogy even more up on a pedestal for me, for how groundbreaking it was, not just for sci-fi and fantasy, but for cinema in general.

An interesting takeaway I got was the struggle Carrie Fisher faced with her weight. How she was told that she needed to be less chubby to play Leia and how that affected her throughout all 3 movies and beyond. The interviews with her on this subject had that typical cynicism and wit she innately had and it made me empathise with her and further miss the spark that she brought to the world.

Road to Roma (Netflix)

I love Roma, it’s a beautiful and cerebral film and I find it so comforting even in its darker moments. So, I wanted to take some time to learn about how the movie itself was made and what inspired it. If you haven’t seen the Roma you might not be that into this so I definitely would recommend checking it out on Netflix first. Both the films are in Spanish so if you’re not into subtitles I apologize, but I believe it’s very accessible.

I knew the movie was inspired by director Alfonso Cuarón’s childhood, but I didn’t realize until watching this documentary just how personal he made it. For example, about 80% of the furniture in the main house in which it’s set was actual furniture acquired from Cuarón’s family. Not only is this movie an in-depth conversation with a director about his process but there’s also a lot of information about Mexico in the 70s and it’s political landscape.

I was interested to learn that when he cast Yalitza Aparicio as Cleo he used the fact that she could speak both Spanish and Mixtec. Having her switch from Spanish to a language the family she works for do not understand was a way for him to highlight the racial divide affecting the indigenous people of Mexico. As someone who does not speak either language, this bilingual aspect of the film is something I missed when I watched the film, so this, along with other revelations from the documentary served to deepen my understanding of the film.

The Pixar Story/ Inside Pixar (Disney+)

The reason I included both of these together is that I feel together they tell a more complete story of Pixar Animation Studios. The Pixar story takes you from the studios very beginnings up to 2005 when they released cars. Even if you have some knowledge of Pixar, it’s amazing to see just how much of a risk this company was to build and how it so very nearly never came together at multiple stages. It makes you appreciate where this massive company came from and what pushed it to the heights it reached. But at the same time, the documentary is quite old, so it represents a Pixar that is very different from the one that exists today. A lot of the people featured are no longer working there and some are dead, which is why I would also recommend Inside Pixar.

Inside Pixar is a documentary series of short 15 min episodes that takes you through Pixar as it is today spotlighting different people who work their and what they do, from writers, to production assistants to even the pastry chef and the employee café. It really paints a picture of what goes into running such a big studio now, and how diverse the group of people that work there have become, as well as what that diversity brings to the screen. My particular favourite episodes were kemp powers talking about how he used his experience as a black man to write a scene in Soul, and Jessica Heidt discussing a tool she created to evaluate how balanced their scripts are in terms of distributing lines between male and female characters. Also the one about Marylou the pastry chef made me super hungry. The episodes are really short and bite size so you can easily watch them on a break or before bed.

I hope you feel inspired to check at least some of these documentaries out, if not all of them. When I feel able to subscribe to more services, I may return share what the likes of Amazon have to offer. But until then I hope you enjoy my recommendations and learn something new.

Soul review: May Cause Existential Crisis!

I hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas, or a nice break if you don’t celebrate it. Unfortunately, not only am I stuck in Tier 4 of COVID restrictions, but I am isolating under orders from track and trace. So, I have no choice but to break my routine of staying in and watching movies…to stay in and watch movies. With that, let’s talk about Pixar’s Christmas Day Disney+ release, Soul (2020)!

The Story

He’s on the Soul train!

The plot follows Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a high school band teacher and aspiring jazz musician. When Joe finally gets his big break, the opportunity to play with a famous quartet, he falls down a manhole and dies. Yep. Desperate to escape death and return to his body to fulfil his dreams, Joe escapes the great beyond but ends up in the great before, where souls are prepared to enter human bodies. He ends up as a mentor to 22 (Tina Fey), a stubborn soul who has never found the spark to go to earth and live within a human. Joe realises he must work with 22 to try and return to earth and fulfil his purpose.

If you think this sounds like very deep subject matter for an animated family movie then you would be correct. Compared to Pixar’s usual fare, particularly films like Cars (2006) or Toy Story (1995), this movie is a lot more mature. It does seem more geared towards adults than kids or families. Now there is nothing wrong with animation that skews older, but I do wonder how this will lead to the film’s reception with Pixar’s usual demographic. Will kids enjoy this film? I’m not sure, I don’t have any.

The Characters

Though the ideas of this story are very broad and existential, I found the movie itself to be very small in scope, taking the form of a study of one character and his simple life. That character of course is Joe. I found Joe to be quite a relatable character; I think we’ve all had the fear that we are going to waste our lives and never achieve anything. And his passion for music and jazz was really heart-warming to watch, it’s what I felt they were trying to do with La La Land (2017). If I had complaints it would be that sometimes I felt he was a bit too selfish in his pursuit of his dreams, he was a little manipulative of 22 I feel.

This character was named after a Taylor Swift song

Speaking of 22, obviously Tina Fey can make any character funny. I noticed in the credits that she was credited with additional dialogue, meaning she came up with some of her own lines. She did a really good job of capturing the innocence and naivety of a being that has never actually been alive. Seeing a middle aged woman, successfully playing essentially a child is also worthy of kudos.

There are a lot of side characters that Joe and 22 interact with on their journey that inform them of something about life and it’s meaning. One of my favourites was Joe’s mother Libba (Phylicia Rashad), a tailor who wants joe to get a stable career, despite the dreams she sees within him. I also like the character of Dez (Donnell Rawlings) who teaches 22 about taking new paths in life. I want to mention Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett), the famous musician that Joe aspires to play with. She has an amazing look and demeaner about her. I also like seeing a male character looking up to and idolising a woman, which is something we don’t actually see a lot.

The Animation

Pixar is well known as being a pioneer of CG animation, they were the first to make it work as a full-length movie. Since then, every other major animation studio has made the switch to CG, yet Pixar has remained above them in reputation. When you see this movie, it’s not hard to see why. Pixar is constantly evolving the way they animate, working on ways to plus the visuals and be animation innovators. It’s a popular fact that, when they made Brave (2012), they invented a whole new type of software just to animate Merida’s hair realistically.

Where are the rest of The Beatles?

When it comes to realism, this may be Pixar’s most realistic movie yet. The animation on the environments of New York City is stunningly photorealistic, and the people themselves are a lot less cartoonish than Pixar’s usual characters. Obviously, the people aren’t too realistic, to avoid crossing into the uncanny valley, their faces and some proportions are still caricature-esque. You can see though, that great care has been taken to effectively imitate life, which ties in nicely with the subject matter. But its not all about realism. When Joe is in the more spiritual realms, the animators have fun with much more abstract imagery, playing with colour and combining 2D with 3D forms. The characters in this realm also twist and morph in playful ways, which adds to its whimsical nature. I think it would be safe for me to describe the visuals of this move as art.

The Themes

The form my anxiety now takes

Obviously, with the plot of this movie being what it is, the big theme within this movie is life and ultimately what you do with it. Joe and 22 spend the movie talking about finding a purpose in life, that one spark that gives your life meaning. Joe isn’t ready to die until he fulfils what he feels is his true purpose. Now this is a very hard-hitting theme for a family film, and ill be honest, I couldn’t handle it. Thinking about life and death in such a way made me somewhat existential and triggered a bit of anxiety within me. However, the message you get by the end of the movie, that ties it all together, is really worth sticking around for. I had a tough time, but when I got there, I finally understood what they were trying to say with this movie all along. And it made me feel good.

Even animated, Angela Bassett is flawless

Another, unspoken, theme within this movie is representation. This is Pixar’s first movie with a black lead. This is a fact that surprised me enough to double check, but it is true. I don’t know if it was always the intention to have a black lead, based on the plot not necessarily needing one, but whenever they decided to have one, they rightfully tried their best to tell a black story. Everything that surrounds Joe is routed in the black experience of New York City. What I find particularly impressive is that most of the characters surrounding him are black as well, or people of colour. They never felt the need to force too many white characters into the story in order to make it relatable and understandable, because this story doesn’t need them.

Though this may not be the most fun of movies, I feel that because of its strong message, stunning animation and cultural representation, this movie will be heralded by many as a masterpiece. I don’t think I’m quite ready to call it one of my favourite Pixar movies, but I can definitely agree with anyone praising it’s artistry. It’s a shoe in for some major awards when the season comes around, not just because there are so few movies around right now.

If you think you can stomach a little bit of an existential epiphany, for the sake of a beautifully crafted movie, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

Disney Investor Day announcements reaction!

On the 10^th December 2020, Disney held their annual Investor Day. Now, it sounds like that would be quite boring, but this is actually when they make some huge announcements about future products and of course movies & shows. I stayed up very late to watch the whole thing and am subsequently very tired. But boy was it worth it!

So, I thought id do something different and write about the announcements that were made and how I feel about them. I will go through in the order things were presented.

Star

Twinkle Twinkle

One of the biggest announcements was Disney’s creation of the Star brand for streaming. When Disney+ launched it was only for family friendly content, so really nothing higher than 15 rated. But in America they have Hulu, which Disney acquired with Fox, where they could put all their more adult appropriate content. I always thought they were just going to eventually roll out Hulu worldwide and make us pay for both like they do in America. But instead, they are creating the Star brand for Europe and many other regions.

It will sit alongside all the other brands already on Disney+, like Star Wars, Pixar etc and feature all the content from Hulu (and FX) that we haven’t really had access too. And there will be the option to allow higher rated content on your Disney+ account. So, things like Logan and Deadpool will be able to show up in your Marvel section if you activate this setting, whereas someone without this activated will not be able to see them. This keeps the option to be a family friendly service for those who prefer, but being able to cater to older subscribers needs as required.

I have to say, I’m blown away that Disney would do something this nice for us- the foreign market. Getting all this content on one service is a better deal than in their own home, where you have to pay for two separate ones. Obviously, the price will go up as there is more to pay for and I’m not sure how much by in the UK. It’s going up by €2 in the euro zone, so I’d expect something similar here; perhaps an increase of £2-4, which isn’t much. Star is coming in February (just in time for my birthday) and I for one can’t wait!

General entertainment

The first people out the gate to present new content were Hulu and FX, who Disney labelled here as ‘General Entertainment’. This was basically series and shows that don’t have any Disney branding and will be on Hulu in the US and Star everywhere else. They announced a whole bunch of new shows and new seasons of shows like The Handmaids Tale and AHS, but nothing I got that geeked out about if I’m honest.

Does this mean Kim K is a Disney princess now?

There were two things that interested me in this portion of the presentation. Firstly, they are making a Alien series, set on earth that is supposed to be very scary. A lot of people were wondering what Disney were going to do with the Alien brand after they bought fox and now we have the answer. But the other, most hilarious announcement, was that Disney bought the Kardashians! The Kardashians are making new reality shows for the Hulu/Star brand, even after just ending their series on E!, talk about a cutthroat business!

Star Wars/Lucasfilm

American Horror Story: OKA

I was surprised that Star Wars went next as they usually try and do the ‘least interesting’ stuff first, and Lucasfilm had some great stuff to announce. There are two new spin off shows coming from The Mandalorian timeline, Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka! I’m very excited about Ahsoka but I shall talk more about her when it comes time for my review of The Mandalorian season 2.

The Obi Wan Kenobi show, we already knew about, but the big surprise was that Hayden Christiansen is coming back for this show too, not as Anakin but as Darth Vader! The Cassian Andor show that we also knew about got a little bit of footage, but the sad news was that it doesn’t come out until 2022. Oh, and they are making a Lando show too!

Then they announced some new animated shows, one a spin off from clone wars and another focussed on R2D2 and C3PO, because why shouldn’t they get their own show? A big surprise is that as well as Taika Waititi directing a new Star Wars movie, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is also making one. Now, I LOVED Wonder Woman, so this is thrilling news to me. I wonder if she can convince Gal Gadot to take a role?

Outside of Star Wars, Lucasfilm also announced a willow sequel series with Warwick Davis returning in the title role. Willow was meant to be a vehicle for Warwick and for little actors in general when it was created but sadly I feel it never really materialized. So, I’m glad it’s finally getting the sequel (and love) it deserves!

Disney live action

Obviously, Disney has become infamous for taking all their old animated movies and remaking them in live action, so of course a majority of the live action announcements were about these remakes. I for one don’t care much for these remakes, even though I have enjoyed a few, so I wasn’t too jazzed about anything announced in this vein. Also, they didn’t announce any movies we didn’t already know about. The only real news was that Pinocchio and Peter Pan & Wendy are going straight to Disney+ rather than getting a theatrical release.

The swirly O means it’s spooky!

This section did, however, have three huge announcements in the form of sequels to popular movies. Hocus Pocus 2 will be out next Halloween, which I know people are going to freak out about. Personally, though I watch it every Halloween, I’m not that into the original, but I will of course watch the sequel. The sequel that excites me though is Sister Act 3, with Whoopi returning as Deloris. If you don’t find the sister act movies to be absolutely joyful then I don’t know who you are. And Whoopi has been pushing for it for so long I’m happy she finally got it. Also news on the sequel to Enchanted finally came, with Disenchanted debuting on Disney+ at some point. Amy Adams is returning as Giselle!

Disney animation

As much as I love all of Disney’s properties, I’ve always felt that Walt Disney Animation is the backbone of the company. It’s where it all began and it’s the one I hold the most emotional attachment to, so I was very excited about all the announcements made here!

While they didn’t have a lot of new movie content to share, they did reveal that Raya and the Last Dragon will be release in March in both theatres and on Disney+ with premium access. So far Mulan is the only other movie that has used premium access, and it didn’t really work out, so we shall see if Raya can make it work. They also revealed that their next film will be Encanto, a magical musical set in Columbia. Latin American culture is so full of music and storytelling so I’m excited for Disney to explore it more, especially with a country that doesn’t have a lot of global representation outside of Shakira.

I gotta dig a little deeper and work even harder to get my Disney+ show!

Just like every other Disney brand, they announced a host of new content that will be exclusive to Disney+. A few Disney characters are getting their own series, including a series of shorts about Baymax and shorts set in the world of Zootopia. But what I’m MOST excited about is the announcement of a series based on Moana and a series about Tiana! The Princess and the Frog is one of my favourite Disney films and it’s been criminally underrated for so long now. I’m so glad that the brand and Tiana as a character is getting her dues. The series will focus on her transition to becoming a princess and she won’t be a frog the whole time. I just can’t wait until 2023!

Pixar

A lot of the Pixar presentation was dedicated to promoting Soul, which releases on Disney+ on Christmas day. I shall, of course, review it. But they did reveal a few new shorts and shows that they are working on, including a Cars show and more interestingly a show based on Dug the dog from Up, which I know will excite a lot of people.

The big news from Pixar however, was the introduction of their next 3 movies. Luca, which comes out next summer, is a coming of age story set in Italy. I still don’t really know what the story is going to be, so I haven’t got excited just yet, but let’s wait for a trailer. Then there is Turning Red, which is about a teenage girl who turns into a giant red panda when she gets excited. This is such a random pitch I don’t know how to feel about it, but it seems to have a lot of Asian influence, which once again shows how much Disney is tying to market their movies to that continent.

You’ll get a real Buzz out of this joke!

Finally, the most incredible announcement was Lightyear. It’s supposed to be the movie that is what we imagine the toy of Buzz Lightyear is based on. So, its not the same Buzz Lightyear we know, but it’s the Buzz Lightyear that exists in a movie in the Toy Story world, that they then made toys of, which is what the Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story is. Do you get it? Also, Buzz is voiced by Chris Evans. It’s a lot to process.

Marvel

Marvel is obviously the biggest franchise in the world right now, so they were obviously saved for last to close the show with a bang. They wasted no time in saying how much money their movies make and how big in particular Avengers: Endgame was.

Don’t need no butterflies, Marvel gives you the whole damn zoo!

Most of their presentation was focussed on their new shows for Disney+, however. We got new trailers for the first few shows, which you’ll probably already have seen floating around the internet. I’m most excited for WandaVision, not just because it’s only a month away, but because I love Wanda as a character. They finally confirmed Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop in the She-Hulk and Hawkeye shows respectively. This we all knew, especially considering Steinfeld is literally on set right now! We also got a little look at Ms Marvel, with Iman Vellani in the title role.

But they also announced EVEN MORE shows, including a War Machine show, a secret invasion show, a Groot show and an Ironheart show. Now I am already bracing myself for the people who can’t handle the concept of a black female iron man, so Ironheart better be good and shut them up.

They did talk about the movies a little. I expected them to announce that Black Widow would release in premier access like Raya, but there was no such news. The big takeaways here were that Ms Marvel will be in Captain Marvel 2 and that of course they will not recast the role of T’Challa in Black Panther 2 after Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing. But they will continue the franchise to honour his memory and the world of Wakanda that he helped to build and make so meaningful to so many people.

There was a lot of information to digest in this presentation, and to then get down in writing. I’m sure I must have forgotten something due to the sheer amount that was announced. But right now, I need a nap! Goodnight.

Onward Review: Not Pixar’s best, but still pretty good.

It’s been just under a year since Pixar’s last movie, Toy Story 4 (2019), and its been 3 years since their last original (non-sequel) movie Coco (2017), which also happens to be my favourite Pixar movie. So, I was excited to see Onward (2020) and enter this new world with Pixar as one of two original movies coming out this year, preceding Soul (2020) which comes out in June. Unfortunately, this movie may be dying of Coronavirus, but I took my chances and went to a cinema to see it, and I’d like to share my thoughts.

The Plot

The premise behind this movie is that it is set in the world of magical creatures and quests akin to Lord of the Rings and tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Except in this world, they discovered science & technology just like we did and eventually all that magical stuff faded out; now they all live in the suburbs, eat fast food and take selfies.

Legs akimbo

The film follows two elf brothers, Ian and Barley, who discover that before their dad died he discovered a magical spell that would bring him back to life for one day. They try to use the spell, but it goes wrong and they only bring back his legs. So, they have to go on a quest to find a magical gem that will help them complete the spell and bring him all the way back before 24 hours is up.

Its mostly just a buddy road trip movie, going from point a to b with stuff happening on the way. I’ve ragged on that type of movie before for being unoriginal, but here they mix it together with the classic magical medieval quest to make it just interesting enough to be fun and seem different. The third act is definitely the strongest, as they introduce this villain to fight that is super creative and fun to watch, it’s just a great climax for the movie.

The overall message of the movie is also not what you expect it to be at first, at least I didn’t see it coming, and as usual for Pixar, it’s got so much heart that it’s really touching. Take some tissues because you will be crying.

The Characters

The main characters Ian and Barley are very likable, they are the typical opposites attract brother pairing. What I appreciate though is that they didn’t go with the traditional “one is cool and the other is lame” scenario. Both the brothers are lame in their own way. Ian is shy and anxious, meaning he finds it hard to make any friends and fit in. Barley is loud and outgoing, but he is a super nerd, obsessed with the old days of magic and fantasy, and he plays D&D of course. This dynamic lends itself more the journey of them bonding over their quest as they discover how close they really are.

I’m not like a regular mom, I’m an Elf mom

It’s not just Ian and barley on a quest though, as one of the side plots follows their mum Laurel venturing out with Corey the Manticore to rescue the boys and save them from an ancient curse. I really appreciate them giving the typical suburban mother something to do in this movie, rather than just sitting at home and worrying. Because what mother do you know that wouldn’t do all she could to help her AWOL sons. The friendship between the two women on their quest is also really nice.

A special mention also goes to the boy’s stepdad, a centaur cop named colt. He’s the typical embarrassing stepdad that the boys haven’t quite warmed to yet. But he’s such a lovely guy that you can’t help but like him. And it’s nice that he never feels threatened by the thought of the boy’s father coming back, he’s supportive all the way.

The World

When this movie was announced a lot of people compared it to Netflix’s Bright (2017), but for kids. Both take place in worlds based on our modern-day but with fantasy characters mixed in. But where Bright ran into problems is that it tried to be a gritty realistic tale, set in our universe with our history but with fantasy mixed in and it just didn’t make sense. Lindsey Ellis did a video that outlines in greater detail what was wrong with that movie if you want to check it out.

Mer Money Mer Problems

Onward works outs because it is set in a fictional universe with no humans, so it can be wholly its own place. It also has the benefit of being an animated, comedy movie so the world they build can be funny and silly. Anything that resembles our world doesn’t have to anachronistic, because that’s the joke. Elves with iPhones, that’s fun, maybe there was an Elf Jobs. And the pop culture references are subtle so luckily, it won’t age poorly.

The world they create is as I said, very fun and whimsical. The way they blend the two worlds together is imaginative, like the fact that they live in the suburbs, but all the houses are giant mushrooms. There’s a traditional medieval tavern, but it’s now a family-friendly restaurant with birthday parties and colouring-in sheets. It doesn’t get too full on with all this though. As the movie goes on, they venture out of the city into the countryside full of traditional fantasy scenery. My personal favourite was an open field full of ginormous beanstalks stretching into the sky. Perhaps a tribute to Disney’s canceled project, gigantic. Or maybe that’s just me being a Disney nerd.

There ain’t Mush-room in this house

Much like Zootopia before it, this movie creates a whimsical world that I would like to explore more given the time. I could see a tv spin-off working well for the movie if a sequel doesn’t work out.

The Issue

The big issue for this movie is obviously the fact that it is out now, during the outbreak of Coronavirus. Unfortunately, it came out just before things got really bad and other movies had the luxury of deciding to delay their release. Understandably a lot of people have decided not to go and see this movie because they don’t want to be sitting in an enclosed space with lots of people. So, the movie isn’t doing very well, especially by Pixar’s standards. There’s not really much that can be done either; I don’t really want to tell people they should go and see this movie because I don’t want people to get ill.

Practice your magic while you self-isolate

There are two things I can see Disney doing to somewhat help this movie out, though neither one is a perfect idea. They could rerelease this movie later when everything has calmed down and people are happy and able to go out again. This isn’t unheard of, just last year avenger’s endgame kept rereleasing and people most definitely went again. The problem with this is that because so many movies are moving now, the second half of this year is going to get really crowded and there just might not be anywhere to fit it where it’s going to make any money, especially with Disney already having to slot some many of their other movies into new release dates.

The second option is to release the movie early than planned onto streaming, or as early as they legally can. This way it can find a new audience of people who can stay at home and watch it on Disney+ without having to go out. The problem with this is that it won’t make any money on its own because streaming revenue is based on subscribers, not views. But at least if they promote the hell out of it, more people will see it and become fans. Then they will buy merchandise.

 

Remember: Don’t spell cast and drive!

This is a really fun movie, it’s not Pixar at it’s best but its certainly not Pixar at its worst. It’s not a Toy Story, but it’s more of a Finding Dory than a Good Dinosaur. It’s really a shame that this movie’s problems are entirely based on outside factors that can’t be helped. If you don’t want to go to a cinema and see it right now that’s fine, but maybe check it out when it hits streaming, hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

Update: I was right!