Nerd Rant: My Love/Hate (But Mostly Love) Letter to Pixar

Let it be said that I love Pixar Animation Studios. Ever since I was a wee lad I, among countless others, have found something incredibly special and endearing in the movies produced by these film makers. At the age of four, after I first saw Toy Story, I was absolutely smitten. I would sit in front my my parent's television set for hours and watch that same movie over and over, much to the annoyance of my family. Eventually I would sit with all of my Pixar licensed Toy Story dolls and act out the movie along with them, anticipating every move made and every word said by the characters. This movie was phenomenal, even as a child I understood that, but there was something much more than to it than that. Pixar had a certain magic that was new and exciting to me, and my childhood self couldn't get enough.

But the love didn't end there.

My first Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys, battle wounds and all. 

Today, as an adult, I recognize Pixar as one of the main reasons I have decided to go into the business of telling stories. The entire concept can be intensely terrifying because, at the end of the day, it really is a business. Despite how noble an artist's ambitions are their vision can still be squashed by a company's need and desire to make money. It's hard to get published, produced, or even be acknowledged in a creative field if your idea isn't entirely marketable. Pixar, however, has proven that you can make money but also cling onto your creative integrity to deliver real, honest to God, animation art-pieces.

When they could have been making films about princesses in distress or a collection of other children's story cliches, they decided to write movies about robots in love, rats who wanted to be chefs, and elderly widowers who go on amazing adventures. They didn't care if the idea was strange because they knew deep down that at the center of what made that company great was their ability to tell an amazing story. No matter how weird the concept was they were always able to discuss the beauty and tragedy that is real life through fantastic animation.

Up: An idea so weird on paper that I'm surprised it was ever made at all.

So, instead of sinking under the weight from Toy Story's immense success, Pixar rose to the challenge they created for themselves to push the boundaries of animation further and deliver round after round of fantastic films. They broke new ground time and again with films for both children and adults that were funny, dark, and deceptively challenging. It didn't hurt that they were, and still are, the pioneers of computer animation. To this day when film-goers think they've seen the last progression of animation Pixar delivers something even more jaw-droppingly beautiful than the last.

For Pixar the art of film and story went hand in hand. They pushed themselves to expand not only their technical visual prowess, but also their ability to dive deeper into more delicate and moving stories, forming a beautiful marriage of the two. They changed the face of children's cinema forever, and I applaud them for it.

That being said, in recent years Pixar has begun to fall from grace.

I'm not happy about it, but it's true. I can no longer stand and pretend that they haven't started to slip with their last couple of outings. While I am not a huge fan of their 2006 film Cars, I can at least appreciate it for its humor, charm, and beautiful animation. However, I will forever be convinced that the sequel, Cars 2, was merely a cash in film to sell more Cars toys and other merchandise. It was not a good movie. In fact, it was a downright bad movie. On the day of its release the Pixar fan in me wept for the company, but I had high hopes. Everyone is allowed to falter, and their next film Brave was bound to be fantastic. It was to be the company's first fairy tale and I. Was. Stoked.

But guess what, Brave was a disappointment. While not nearly the train wreck that Cars 2 was, it certainly didn't live up to the prestige of the Pixar name. It did offer up a ferociously independent female lead, a first for Pixar, and an interesting mother/daughter relationship, but by the end of the film the ambition of the movie didn't quite match up to the final product. Pixar had everything there to make a great film, but the plot and themes seemed to miss the mark. What initially appeared to be a dark fairy tale about fate, destiny, and family ended up being an almost silly romp amongst a beautifully animated Scotland.

It almost seems like Pixar was afraid to fire the trigger and enter dark territory.

But dark territory is what they are known for. They are known for taking risks and giving their viewers the benefit of the doubt that they will be ready for heavy children's film material, even if most of their viewers are still in elementary school. Pixar has always been a team that understands that children, while young, are not dumb. So while many kids will go see Brave and enjoy it, the film ultimately will not have the kind of staying power that the company's more thought provoking productions do. They played it safe this time and lost something in the shuffle that always made them special.

What I hope for Pixar is that they begin to claim what's theirs again. That they remember why they began making films in the first place and decide whether or not they will be the film makers that make kids laugh but also take home an armful of Oscars at the Academy Awards, or the film makers that create only decent kind's flicks that lack the soul and vision that they once had.

Mostly, I want them to make children think again. Make them wonder again. I would like to believe that one day I will take my future child to see a Pixar movie and have him or her asking me questions afterwords, because that's what real art does. It forces its audience to question what they previously thought true. Pixar once had the power to do that for both children and adults alike, and I want dearly for them to capture it again. I want them to live up to the standard they sent for themselves and their contemporaries with their very first film. I want them to remind me of the magic they once had.

I believe in you, Pixar. Do me proud.