qindarka wrote:Everytime there is a discussion about movies, slamming of the 'average moviegoers' inevitably happens. Let them enjoy what they want. I am sure the majority of you like plenty of things which others would find stupid. It is delusional to think that you represent some sort of elite, with 'objectively good taste', in contrast to the oh so stupid masses. You are the average moviegoer, don;t try to play at being superior.
Yes! People on forums may be quick to play the role of the "smart moviegoer", yet in the eyes of the executives we are just the moviegoer. If we want to play the role of the cynical internet forumer, we are all just dollar signs. And let's face it, we can waste our time and breath discussing why Finding Nemo 2 is a bad idea, and heck, we can all get on our little high horses and try to be better than most. But the end, when opening weekend comes, we are the first ones to be there. And if the movie proves to be just as good, or even better than the first one, we all sing and dance the film's praises like nothing was wrong to begin with.
Seriously, I may be sounding like a really, really bad cynic (or an awful Pixar fanboy depending on how you view this), but nothing will erase the idea that ALL of this backlash is all based on Cars 2 being the end of a perfect Pixar streak.
I mean, let's go back to the first Pixar sequel: Toy Story 2.
The movie wasn't even meant to be a theatrical release. It was going to be a DTV movie. DIRECT TO VIDEO. But Pixar did such a fantastic job with it that they decided to release it theatrically, and it managed to be one of the few sequels that was crowd pleasing and be better than the first sequel. Afterwards, whenever a successful Pixar movie was out like Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo, the first thing they demanded was a sequel. We wanted to see more of the characters, more of the universe, more of the story and see where they take us from there.
Then Toy Story 3 came out, and while the outlook was overall positive (especially since the team that worked with the first two movies were involved in this), a lot of people said the same thing: but the second movie ended SO WELL! Why need a sequel?
The movie is released... it becomes the highest grossing animated movie of all time. Oh sure, the fact that it was Toy Story drove people to the theaters in masses (or as you folks lovingly call them, Joe Moviegoers). But it quickly became one of the highest rated movies of the year, it earned itself a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and it sparked an interesting debate on how people perceive movies and emotions. Need I remind you it was the THIRD entry in the series?
No one seemed to mind that it was a sequel because it was so darn good and easily competed with other movies in terms of stories and characterization. If you were to ask people then if they would love to see a Finding Nemo sequel, most would say yes because Toy Story 3 had proven to them that Pixar could successfully continue a story without it feeling like a marketing tactic (which in actuality is what sequels are: extensions of existing properties).
But then came Cars 2... the movie, despite being commercially successful, was a critical bomb with both film experts and critics. Supposedly, it marked the end of Pixar's golden age and the beginning of the "copper age". With Brave having so much behind the scenes drama, not being THAT big of a hit with critics, and its co-director speaking out about her involvement with the movie in a manner that she is short of burning a bra in protest, and Stanton being stuck with the John Carter stigma after directing two highly successful animated movies, it seems people are quick to jump the ship without even any real signs of sinking being shown.
Call me an ignorant optimist, but I still believe that all this backlash about the Finding Nemo sequel is really just a reaction to all the supposedly negative marketing Pixar has been receiving as of late, because when Toy Story 2 and 3 were made and release, the doubt never crossed anyone's mind.
Now, I may have been harsh on the doubters, but in all honesty I can see why this would seem "alarming". Yeah, creating a Finding Nemo sequel, which was one of the biggest animated movies of the early 00s, can indeed be seen as a marketing tactic since Disney can only milk the first movie for so much. So an extension of that can give Disney and Pixar to create something better off of the franchise and people's love for it.
But mainly what I am saying is that we shouldn't be running around like chicken with their heads cut off just because of an IDEA. At the very least, I will give Pixar the benefit of the doubt. If the movie turns out to be one of the best ever, then fine. If it a disappointment, that's fine too.
