Inside Out 2 proves Pixar sequel and spinoff fears may be overblown

When Jim Morris, Pixar’s president, said the vaunted studio needed to better balance “original movie ideas with sequels and spinoffs,” film fans reacted with all the grace of a reversing dump truck.

If you went on social media that day, you’d find film fans in a blind panic, proclaiming Pixar a lost cause, how this was the end of animated movies as a genre, and that this heralded the potential collapse of Western society.

Okay, that’s a bit of hyperbole on my part (If they can exaggerate, surely I’m allowed some license), but it is fair to say people weren’t pleased with the statement. I understand why: Pixar is a studio that built its name on the quality of its filmography, yet in recent years, there’s been a feeling that the bulb has burned out at the house of Luxo.

While their movies are still well-received critically, they don’t cut through to general audiences the way they used to. Then, there was Lightyear, an unalloyed disaster both commercially and critically. Now, I’m not here to diagnose the issues behind these problems. I think by now, we all know what the root cause is, and it rhymes with “Grisney Fuss“.

What’s going on at Pixar?

Disney

Yet the perception of chaos at Pixar is hard to ignore, and as such, the idea that they’d pivot to sequels and spinoffs to steady the ship found traction online. I must admit that when I first heard the news, I was aggrieved. I think some of Pixar’s best films have seemed like tremendously risky projects. 

I think of high-concept movies like Inside Out and Soul or the groundbreaking technology used in Toy Story and Finding Nemo. These aren’t the type of risks you can see a studio staying in the relatively calm waters of sequels and spinoffs attempting.

Yet it turns out that my fears were, for the most part, overblown. You see, I was lucky enough to attend an early screening of Inside Out 2 this week, and to say my expectations were low would be an understatement. They were so low they were in danger of being consumed by the broiling magma at the Earth’s core.

Inside Out-standing… 2

Disney

I presumed I was about to sit and watch a lazy sequel that’d essentially rehash the events of the first movie. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Inside Out 2 builds on its predecessor and introduces fun new characters, all while telling a mature and complex story.

Don’t go thinking I’m the only person to think so, either. Dexerto’s own Jasmine Valentine had a great time with it, giving the film four stars in her Inside Out 2 review and praising it for reminding us it’s okay not to be okay, while other critics claimed it might even be better than the first film. It’s hardly surprising then that the new movie earned itself an impressive 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.

So why’s this eased my concerts about sequels and spinoffs? Well, Inside Out 2 is a reminder that for all the internal issues at Pixar, there are still passionate and incredibly creative people working on this film. Yes, it’s easy to hear that they’re working on sequels and think, ‘That’s it. They’ve given up and are cashing in,’ but is that really fair?

Don’t Panic

Walt Disney Pictures

This is the studio that’s brought us some of the best animated movies of the last two decades. Are our memories really that short? Yes, Lightyear sucked balls, but the Toy Story sequels have all been brilliant (yes, even 4). It’s not like The Incredibles 2 or Finding Dory were dreadful, either. Both were very well received critically, so why are we panicking now? Is it because you’re worried about the loss of original stories like Turning Red and Luca?

Well, you needn’t worry. Pixar’s chief creative officer, Pete Docter has already said that those types of films aren’t going anywhere. 

“One thing that I think was maybe slightly misinterpreted was the idea that we have to deliver more of what people know and maybe lean away from the personal,” Docter told EW. “All of that’s true to some degree, but I think what we’re always trying to do is find what are the universal things that everybody believes, both in terms of concepts and in terms of life experience… So it’s kind of a sequel in that way. You know what I mean? “

They’ve also been clear they’re not going to do live-action remakes of their greatest hits. So why are we panicking?

Honestly, I think the reaction from the press was slightly hysterical, and I bought into that. It’s like a Pavlovian response at this point: a studio makes an announcement, and we all act like a hen house full of Chicken Littles, running around like the sky is falling. But if we stop for a moment and examine the situation, we’ll find that the thing we’re all terrified of is just a small acorn.

It sounds to me like Pixar is going to be as brave as it ever was and just as committed to telling incredible stories. Yes, my conclusion is based on goodwill, but you know what? Inside Out 2 has reminded me that Pixar deserves my goodwill. I guess you could say, “They’ve got a friend in me.”… I know that was Toy Story, but it was a nice ending that I’m now undercutting for my own amusement… no I don’t think it’s self-indulgent. 

If you want to know what’s next for Pixar, check out our guides to Toy Story 5. We’ve also got a piece listing all the new movies coming to theaters this month. If you’re more of a homebody, we’ve also got a list of all the new TV shows hitting streaming this month.