It’s hard to think of a time when animated movies were not computer generated, but it wasn’t all that long ago. In 1995, a small studio located in Central California completely changed the film industry. That is when Pixar released the iconic movie, Toy Story. Toy Story was the first feature-length film to be completely computer animated. After that, Pixar released a number of hit computer-animated films, including A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars. Disney saw how incredible Pixar was and purchased the studio in 2006.
For decades, if a movie from Pixar was announced, it was almost guaranteed to be a hit. Since Pixar has come under the Walt Disney banner, it has released a number of amazing films. This includes Ratatouille, WALL-E, UP, Brave, Inside Out, and Coco. However, things have changed drastically over the past few years, and now it is being reported that the once unstoppable studio is now on “life support”.
Pixar’s last big hit was Toy Story 4, which premiered in theaters in 2019. Just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down movie theaters around the world, the studio released Onward. Because it could no longer be shown in theaters, Onward was quickly released on Disney+. Even after theaters began to open up, Disney still made the decision to release movies like Luca and Turning Red directly to Disney+. Then, when the company finally decided to bring Pixar movies back to theaters, they didn’t perform very well.
On June 27, 20022, Disney and Pixar released Lightyear, which was based on the person who inspired the famous Toy Story Space Ranger. Lightyear was controversial from the start when Disney cast Captain America star Chris Evans as the titular astronaut and did not include Tim Allen in the movie. Lightyear absolutely bombed at the box office, with Disney losing an estimated $100 million. The movie did so poorly that most of the executives who worked on it were laid off from Disney earlier this year.
Just about one year after Lightyear was released, Pixar released its newest animated film, Elemental. Unlike Lightyear, Elemental has received rave reviews, with many commenting that the movie wasn’t what they expected. The movie currently has a 74% critics rating and a 92% audience rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Despite the rave reviews, Elemental is not performing at the box office. The film made under $30 million in its opening weekend, and cost Disney $200 million to make.
Sarah Little from Screen Rant has named several reasons for Pixar’s tumble from the top — the exit of John Lasseter (for good reason), the pandemic which made streaming skyrocket, and Bob Chapek’s attitude towards animated films. Bob Chapek famously said that he didn’t think adults were really interested in watching animated films, seemingly forgetting that he ran a studio that was famous for creating animated films. Chapek’s attitude towards animation was a large reason that Luca and Turning Red never made it to theaters.
Even though Pixar is struggling, they are continuing in their effort to create memorable films. In 2024, the studio will release Inside Out 2, and its newest original story, Elio. Elio will tell the story of a young boy who is transported across the galaxy when he is mistaken for the ambassador to Earth. The studio is also currently working on a fifth film in the Toy Story franchise.
