cannastop Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 I remember when Zootopia came out and when John Lasseter was the big boss in charge of both Pixar and WDAS. The joke was that with Zootopia, there was little distinction between the two studios. WDAS made a Pixar movie, it seemed. And back in 2012, people noticed how WDAS made Wreck It Ralph, some non musical worldbuilding fest, whereas Pixar made Brave, a Princess movie that resembled something WDAS would make, at least on the surface. I was reminded of the distinction between these two studios, though. When I saw @The Panda say that Luca, the Pixar movie, was better than anything WDAS did in the "new century". I was taken aback but I might agree. The only WDAS movie that can stand up to Pixar's heights on a cinematic level, imo, might be Zootopia. But that movie was quite the product of its time, even if that time was just 6 years ago. Now it's more likely to be brought up as some risible artifact. Zootopia of course, is not a musical, and WDAS is famous for its animated musicals. Pixar notably does NOT make musicals (unless you count Coco, which you should not). I'm not sure that anyone should count either of these studios out, of course. Raya was a nice adventure, and Encanto was charming too. Both welcome additions to the WDAS canon. It does matter, of course, who makes these movies. Pixar's famous braintrust is no more. The older filmmakers have left Pixar, but there are new ones that make interesting movies. But are these movies between these two studios commodified? As far as I can tell, the house style of WDAS includes more expressive facial animation, but at the end of the day, they're both two studios under the same big corporate umbrella. Movies made for the same purpose and for the same audience. So maybe it's an apples to apples comparison after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnack Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 Apparently a big reason to buy Pixar and get Lasseter was to turn WDAS a lot into Pixar and turn it around. I think your sentiment is based on something here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted February 18, 2022 Author Share Posted February 18, 2022 4 minutes ago, Barnack said: Apparently a big reason to buy Pixar and get Lasseter was to turn WDAS a lot into Pixar and turn it around. I think your sentiment is based on something here. well yeah but that was 2006. I'm talking about everything that happened since then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnack Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 2 hours ago, cannastop said: well yeah but that was 2006. I'm talking about everything that happened since then I am not sure, the process of turning WDAS into Pixar and the impact of getting Lasseter was since then. An animated moive is 5 year's to make (6 for Zootopia I think),turning those around is a long process and the first movie out of that turn around will be a long time after it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel M Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 I think it's more WDAS picking up several Pixar traits than the other way around. WDAS pipeline of the last decade can be boiled down to either revamped rennaisance musicals or buddy comedies like Pixar. The only one that kinda stands in the middle between is Raya which is a bit of both. And most of those also play the no real villain/ third act twist villain card that has been a pretty common trope in Pixar since at least Toy Story 2. Pixar on the other hand, they 're pretty much the same. To the point that people now criticize them from time to time for the "Pixar formula" or whatever. I just think their image has been muddled by a couple of things. One thing is some rare original misfires like Good Dinosaur or dissapointments like (arguably) Brave and Onward. The other bigger thing is Disney making them legacyquel their early catalogue into oblivion. A Bug's life is the only pre merge Pixar that didn't get a sequel. So those things make them look less "special" compared to 12 years ago. I think since Tangled gave WDAS the boxoffice pull again they have a better batting average than Pixar. Most of their movies are good, some even really good and no real duds. Frozen 2 and Raya which are my least favorite they re not that bad. But they also make less and mostly original movies. Pixar has had some lower lows imo and for most of their sequels I can't remember a single thing about despite having seen them all, but their peaks are still clear of the best WDAS has to offer. Personally I would put Inside Out, Luca and Turning Red comfortably over any WDAS movie of the last decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 8:07 AM, Joel M said: Personally I would put Inside Out, Luca and Turning Red comfortably over any WDAS movie of the last decade. Hmm well I'm still a huge Zootopia fan. And Luca is fine, but I wouldn't put it on the same level as I personally put Turning Out or Inside Out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 On 5/22/2022 at 8:07 AM, Joel M said: I think it's more WDAS picking up several Pixar traits than the other way around. and this is most likely true as well. Unrelated, but I heard, at the time, the WDAS movie Bolt being a respite from outright trauma the studio went through. The abandonment of hand-drawn animation, and the tumultuous management shake-ups. Like Bolt was a laid back movie, everyone take a breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
