I was so on board with this movie and really wanted to like it. So much of it is fantastic, I love Jamie Foxx, Questlove is one of my all time favorite musicians, the textures and graphics are a wonderful mix of hyper-realistic and bouncy cartoons. But in the end it just didn't quite get there for me. I don't know exactly why, but the plot didn't grip me. It didn't lean into its premise as well as it could have. The scenes didn't really stand out and distinguish themselves either, they sort of blended together for me. Maybe I need to give it another rewatch or two.
Part of it I think is also the comedy element, it felt pretty lacking here. For one they were going for a more melancholy atmosphere to begin with. Pixar expected an older audience, so a lot of jokes rely on references and things adults would get, plus the number of jokes was definitely lower in general. Needing to be funny for a general audience while also being age appropriate actually presents a really good constraint that leads to some fantastic joke writing. Monsters Inc is a great example of this, it's a hit just as a comedy movie.
Again, phenomenally made film, another masterpiece of production by Pixar, but I personally didn't think the story worked.
Good film overall but gets a little too bogged down in deep talk about life at times.
But just to address baraka92 comments:
They claim “We didn’t need those explanations then and we don’t need them now.” But you kind of do when you are dealing with the abstract idea of emotions and thought. Toys, doors and waking up on a certain day, are all real things that we see all the time in the real world. The day he wakes up on is always the same, the toys are alive and the doors take them to our world, we can understand those things just by seeing them. Souls and the idea of life before being born is not something real, so it needs an explanation. I don’t think they harp on about it nearly as much as they make out, they just said where Joe was and why nothing more.
As for Inside Out, Riley as a puppet in Inside Out is the idea. The focus of the movie is the physical embodiment of her emotions inside her head. How else can you do a movie like that other than making her something those characters are controlling?
And this last part mystifies me “Just like with Coco, I enjoyed everything in the real world more.” Wow! Really?!? I hope you are aware how much you are in the minority there. Each to their own I guess.
Are the people at Pixar getting to that age where they want to talk about death? After Coco, comes Soul, which eschews any particular mythology to create its own metaphysical science fiction space to explore as a jazz musician dies on the day of his big break and is forced to team up with a soul that hasn't yet lived and doesn't see the point to get back to his body before it's too late. Good thing he's a teacher, right? Mentoring is a key component of the film, but its main theme is really the meaning of life, something both characters must discover. Obviously, the animation's gorgeous, and there's some interesting stuff with abstracted cosmic beings that look like modern art, but I'm perhaps most impressed with how unpredictable the story is, turning left every time you think you have a handle on what it IS. I think they tried to write it like jazz, finding it organically and letting sub-themes play out. Good music. Good voice acting. Interesting ideas. A lot of heart. It's Pixar, folks. Wadda ya want me to say?
It’s fun, charming and touching but... seriously! Pixar need to stop over rationalizing their worlds. It’s annoying. If you’re going to spend several minutes trying to explain how everything works just so it ends with “it’s an abstraction”, why even bother in the first place? Just tell us the basics and get things going! This very thing ruined Inside Out for me, because it turned Riley into a puppet. Movies like Groundhog Day didn’t need any exposition about how the plot happened. I feel like if they had done Toy Story recently they would explain the toys coming alive with a half assed connection to Andy’s imagination; or in Monsters Inc they would use a training video to let us know step by step how the door system works. We didn’t need those explanations then and we don’t need them now.
Just like with Coco, I enjoyed everything in the real world more.
And
I think that there was a deeper lesson if Joe had move on to the afterlife
.
It’s still good and enjoyable but I wanted to get that out of my chest.
Lovely animation, great performance by Jamie Foxx, wonderful music, and important emotional connections. It’s largely great, but it misses the mark on explaining more about purpose and spark. It’s got soul, but does it have a point?
25 years after Toy Story, Pixar has fully grown up and I couldn't be more thankful.
While surely someone will come to say you could elaborate on the themes of purpose and the meaning of life on a higher intellectual level (yeah sure you could), this hits the emotional notes so perfectly.
A vibrant, funny, creative, fantastic film, so beautiful and life-affirming, unlike any other animated film we have seen so far. The abstract world of souls and the beyond made me want to stay there forever.
Wonderful, wonderful.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 18
totavo
I waited way too long to watch this. WOW. It was as good as everyone said. Be prepared for emotions.Ebbywebby
I was receptive to loving it, but my engagement sharply dropped as soon asmirlaamorim
The film is fun, exciting and reflective, and certain moments it is touching.mysteryfan
What's up with these shitty animation movies today?dhan_bo
Great movie with fakegobberpooper
I was so on board with this movie and really wanted to like it. So much of it is fantastic, I love Jamie Foxx, Questlove is one of my all time favorite musicians, the textures and graphics are a wonderful mix of hyper-realistic and bouncy cartoons. But in the end it just didn't quite get there for me. I don't know exactly why, but the plot didn't grip me. It didn't lean into its premise as well as it could have. The scenes didn't really stand out and distinguish themselves either, they sort of blended together for me. Maybe I need to give it another rewatch or two.Part of it I think is also the comedy element, it felt pretty lacking here. For one they were going for a more melancholy atmosphere to begin with. Pixar expected an older audience, so a lot of jokes rely on references and things adults would get, plus the number of jokes was definitely lower in general. Needing to be funny for a general audience while also being age appropriate actually presents a really good constraint that leads to some fantastic joke writing. Monsters Inc is a great example of this, it's a hit just as a comedy movie.
Again, phenomenally made film, another masterpiece of production by Pixar, but I personally didn't think the story worked.
lawbat
I'm not crying...you're crying.boulderman
Very good, superb animation. Sound levels were a bit off early on. Some predictability and a little like Inside Out. 7/10CakeofSugar
And people thought Tenet was the most complex plot of the year...buc86
Good film overall but gets a little too bogged down in deep talk about life at times.But just to address baraka92 comments:
They claim “We didn’t need those explanations then and we don’t need them now.” But you kind of do when you are dealing with the abstract idea of emotions and thought. Toys, doors and waking up on a certain day, are all real things that we see all the time in the real world. The day he wakes up on is always the same, the toys are alive and the doors take them to our world, we can understand those things just by seeing them. Souls and the idea of life before being born is not something real, so it needs an explanation. I don’t think they harp on about it nearly as much as they make out, they just said where Joe was and why nothing more.
As for Inside Out, Riley as a puppet in Inside Out is the idea. The focus of the movie is the physical embodiment of her emotions inside her head. How else can you do a movie like that other than making her something those characters are controlling?
And this last part mystifies me “Just like with Coco, I enjoyed everything in the real world more.” Wow! Really?!? I hope you are aware how much you are in the minority there. Each to their own I guess.
Siskoid
Are the people at Pixar getting to that age where they want to talk about death? After Coco, comes Soul, which eschews any particular mythology to create its own metaphysical science fiction space to explore as a jazz musician dies on the day of his big break and is forced to team up with a soul that hasn't yet lived and doesn't see the point to get back to his body before it's too late. Good thing he's a teacher, right? Mentoring is a key component of the film, but its main theme is really the meaning of life, something both characters must discover. Obviously, the animation's gorgeous, and there's some interesting stuff with abstracted cosmic beings that look like modern art, but I'm perhaps most impressed with how unpredictable the story is, turning left every time you think you have a handle on what it IS. I think they tried to write it like jazz, finding it organically and letting sub-themes play out. Good music. Good voice acting. Interesting ideas. A lot of heart. It's Pixar, folks. Wadda ya want me to say?chunkylefunga
Lacklustre.Can see why this was straight to tv.
baraka92
It’s fun, charming and touching but... seriously! Pixar need to stop over rationalizing their worlds. It’s annoying. If you’re going to spend several minutes trying to explain how everything works just so it ends with “it’s an abstraction”, why even bother in the first place? Just tell us the basics and get things going! This very thing ruined Inside Out for me, because it turned Riley into a puppet. Movies like Groundhog Day didn’t need any exposition about how the plot happened. I feel like if they had done Toy Story recently they would explain the toys coming alive with a half assed connection to Andy’s imagination; or in Monsters Inc they would use a training video to let us know step by step how the door system works. We didn’t need those explanations then and we don’t need them now.Just like with Coco, I enjoyed everything in the real world more.
And
It’s still good and enjoyable but I wanted to get that out of my chest.
frankqb
Lovely animation, great performance by Jamie Foxx, wonderful music, and important emotional connections. It’s largely great, but it misses the mark on explaining more about purpose and spark. It’s got soul, but does it have a point?3 stars out of 4
Torgo
25 years after Toy Story, Pixar has fully grown up and I couldn't be more thankful.While surely someone will come to say you could elaborate on the themes of purpose and the meaning of life on a higher intellectual level (yeah sure you could), this hits the emotional notes so perfectly.
A vibrant, funny, creative, fantastic film, so beautiful and life-affirming, unlike any other animated film we have seen so far. The abstract world of souls and the beyond made me want to stay there forever.
Wonderful, wonderful.
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