A new report from Bloomberg is giving a bit of insight into what is going on at Pixar Animation Studios as all eyes are on the upcoming theatrical release of Inside Out 2, a sequel to the smash hit from 2015, Inside Out.
Pixar Animation Studios
Though it was during the pandemic lockdowns, Pixar made three original titles (Soul, Luca, Turning Red) available to subscribers of Disney+, with the decision playing a large part in the training of audiences to expect (or wait for) Pixar films on their phones or flat screens instead of heading to a theater. Between those releases, and the critical and commercial reception (or lack thereof) of the Toy Story spin-off Lightyear in 2022, as well as the dismal opening weekend of Elemental in 2023 (later pulling better box office numbers over the following weeks), some will say that Pixar has lost their creative touch when compared to their earlier films.
Elemental (as of press time) holds the record for Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever (though it did bounce back after the slow burn), with Pixar President Jim Morris telling Bloomberg, ““We were all kind of gut-punched, and it was tough on morale. I thought it was a good film with a Pixar feel, so when it didn’t work, that was like, ‘Whoa.’ I was thinking, ‘Do people just not want to see the kind of film we make anymore? Is that done?’ ”
Pete Docter
Pixar Chief Creative Officer and director of Monsters, Inc., Up, Soul, and the original Inside Out, Pete Docter said “there was a real and intense period of self-scrutiny and feeling like we messed up in some way.” He added that executives hosted postmortems to determine how to revitalize the studio, arriving at the decision of Pixar's upcoming directors to focus less on autobiographical tales. Luca, Turning Red, and Elemental all are inspired by their director’s lives in some way (It should also be noted that each of these scored above a 90 on Rotten Tomatoes)..The studio will now develop concepts with clear mass appeal, many of which are stories that have already been proven.
Morris’ strategy is to balance an original movie idea with sequels and spinoffs, with the intent of reminding the masses what they once loved about the studio. As part of this plan, every film from the Pixar Catalog is reportedly being considered for another installment or spinoff, with Finding Nemo and The Incredibles being reported as particularly strong candidates for.
Regarding another installment in the Nemo franchise (which has grossed over $2 billion globally), Docter says “Where else have we not gone in the ocean? The ocean’s a big place. I think there’s a lot of opportunity there. We’re kind of fishing around—ha-ha.”
"Finding Nemo" Display at Pixar Animation Studios
If you think that that sounds like a money grab. You’re not alone. Longtime Pixar alum and producer of Turning Red, Lindsey Collins was elevated in 2022 to senior vice president of development at the studio. Currently she is advising on projects well into the late 2020s, and is the keeper of many company secrets and likely a library’s worth of NDAs. However, she does run a hypothetical situation or two past her teenage son.
Lindsey Collins
“The other day, I was like, ‘What if I told you we were making an Incredibles 3?’ ” Collins says. “And he was like, ‘Money grab.’ And I was like, ‘F—.’ Sequels are a double-edged sword, because the audience can be brutal and so quick to judge. Unless they’re worthy.”
"The Incredibles" Display at Pixar Animation Studios
Morris reportedly plans on the studio making three movies every two years (historically it’s been closer to one a year) with every other title a sequel or spinoff and the rest standalone concepts or potential seeds for new franchises.
Fate played a bit of a hand in the delay of what was slated to be Pixar’s next film prior to Inside Out 2 – the original idea, Elio. Thanks to the many strikes in Hollywood, namely the SAG-AFTRA strike, that title was delayed and Inside Out 2 (which was reportedly far more complete in that regard) kept its release schedule.
“It may have been serendipitous for us that it worked out that way,” Morris says. “With Inside Out 2, at least we’ll get to see if a dyed-in-the-wool Pixar film with known intellectual property still works.”
Currently, Elio is slated for a 2025 release, with Toy Story 5 planned for 2026. This is the perfect setup for the studio’s new plan to build an original idea with a sequel or spinoff base. Also reportedly on the docket, an undisclosed original idea from Turning Red director Domee Shi, that could be the next original in the lineup on the other side of Toy Story 5 or potentially further out.
Domee Shi
Several days ago, Pixar announced they were cutting 175 positions on their staff (14% of their workforce) largely from their streaming projects. This will reportedly help retain the focus on the theatrical releases. It should be noted though that there are two Disney+ projects on the horizon. At some point this year, we’ll see Pixar’s first original series, Win Or Lose debut with 8 episodes that follow different individuals at a middle school softball game. However, the sequel/spin off rule might seem to apply here as well, as the report details a new Inside Out-based series coming to the platform, “Dream Productions,” named after the studio inside Riley’s head from the original film.
“I hope that we will not release another feature film on Disney+,” Morris says. “If we do more stuff for Disney+, it should be a series, and then that makes a clean demarcation between what we do for theaters and what we do for streaming.”
The idea is not without merit. Inside Out 2 is currently tracking to be the biggest theatrical opening of the year when it bows on June 14th, with some industry insiders reporting over $100M. In April, 35 minutes of the film was screened to executives of the world’s largest theater chains, as well as those attending Cinema-Con shortly thereafter. Some of those in attendance have said the story and visuals suggested it could be the best Pixar film in a decade.