- 6/21/2025
Is Pixar in decline? We're diving into "Elio" and exploring the perceived downfall of Pixar Studios. After almost thirty years since "Toy Story" set a gold standard, "Elio’s" release is being met with indifference. Early projections aren't great, and the once-unstoppable studio faces challenges. We examine the golden age, the rise of sequels, and the impact of streaming. Can "Elio" break the cycle, or is this a sign of a bigger problem? Is originality enough in today's cinema?
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're discussing Elio and the perceived downfall of Pixar.
00:16For a period, Pixar wasn't just synonymous with critical acclaim and financial success.
00:21It was the crown jewel of animation, with each cinematic release feeling like an event.
00:36Their latest film, Elio, is hitting theaters almost 30 years after the original Toy Story set the gold standard.
00:42Instead of an event, the buildup to Elio has been primarily met with indifference.
00:51Early reports project its opening weekend gross could fall between $27 million and $45 million.
00:57That doesn't sound too bad until you consider Elio cost an estimated $150 million.
01:03It's really happening!
01:05We searched the universe for the dreamers and stargazers like you.
01:12This is awesome!
01:14Expect a swarm of articles prematurely labeling the film as a, quote, bomb,
01:19although a low opening weekend isn't always a death sentence.
01:22Elemental had one of Pixar's worst openings ever, but Disney gave the film a fighting chance in theaters.
01:28It had remarkable legs, showing that there's still an audience thirsty for original stories.
01:34You see? He likes it!
01:37They just need time for positive word of mouth to spread.
01:40Elio's reviews thus far have been about on par with Elementals.
01:44I am Grygon! Prepare to be conquered!
01:48But I just got here!
01:49Not one of Pixar's all-time greats, but still solid.
01:53More than solid. Telling a meaningful story about grief, family and learning to connect.
01:59Had Elio been released 10 years ago, there'd likely be more fanfare.
02:03So why isn't the Pixar name alone enough to sell a movie anymore?
02:06Which one of these is you?
02:08I don't know, but I think that one is you.
02:12Most agree that the golden age of Pixar spanned from 1995 to 2010, yielding 11 straight hits.
02:19Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 in particular, provided one of the hottest winning streaks in cinematic history.
02:27Oh no! Dr. Porkchop's attacking the haunted bakery!
02:30Choo-choo-choo! The ghosts are getting away!
02:33Mario, stop laughing!
02:34Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!
02:35Pixar won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature four years in a row, with the latter two being nominated for Best Picture.
02:42It seemed Pixar could do no wrong, although sometimes the flame burns brightest just before going out.
02:48Enter Cars 2, Pixar's first movie to score no Oscar nominations and to get panned by critics.
02:55People went to see it, but the film still wasn't one of Pixar's bigger box office hits.
03:00Of course, merchandising is where the real money from the movies made.
03:03The original Cars was once seen as the closest thing Pixar had to a black sheep.
03:08So why prioritize a sequel?
03:10Finally, it's time to see who's behind all this.
03:13It makes more sense when you consider that Cars broke retail records.
03:17The same year Cars 2 was released, the franchise exceeded $10 billion in merchandising sales.
03:23Whether or not there was any genuine passion behind the production, Cars 2 felt like the first Pixar movie that mainly existed to sell toys.
03:31Like a good neighbor, Mater is there!
03:35Ironic, since they had made three movies literally about toys.
03:39In his book, Creativity Inc., Pixar co-founder Edwin Catmull discusses why companies like Disney must, quote,
03:45feed the beast, the beast being, quote, any large group that needs to be fed an uninterrupted diet of new material and resources in order to function.
03:54So I don't mean it's the hungry beast in a derogatory sense, but it's like it's this beast that's got to be fed.
03:59Or think like the news or newspapers, right? You've got to feed this thing.
04:03Catmull goes on to write, quote,
04:05Emphasis is placed on doing safer projects that mimic proven moneymakers just to keep something, anything moving through the pipeline.
04:12This kind of thinking yields predictable, unoriginal fare because it prevents the kind of organic ferment that fuels true inspiration.
04:20You can see how well the team is working together, but you can't judge the ideas.
04:24Now, so we have to go from that stage to somehow with engagement with that beast.
04:31And this is a long process. But the normal thing that happens is people screw up the front end.
04:36But it does feed the beast. At one point, Catmull describes sequels as, quote, creative bankruptcy.
04:43Yet he acknowledges that Pixar needs to produce sequels that will likely make money, allowing them to take risks.
04:49You can fix this, right, Joy?
04:51I don't know, but we have to try.
04:56OK, come on.
04:57Throughout the 2010s, Pixar tried to balance sequels and original movies with mixed results.
05:03Of the 11 films Pixar made that decade, four were original.
05:07While Inside Out and Coco were huge hits, Brave was a mixed bag, while The Good Dinosaur was Pixar's first financial dud.
05:15It's all your fault! My papa would still be alive if they were for you!
05:20Meanwhile, four of Pixar's sequels that decade grossed over $1 billion,
05:25a milestone none of their original films have ever reached during their first runs.
05:29While Finding Dory, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4 were seen as worthy follow-ups,
05:35there was a fear that Pixar, a studio founded on original storytelling, had become another sequel factory.
05:43Does this mean Woody's a lost toy?
05:47He's not lost. Not anymore.
05:52To infinity and beyond.
05:56Well, Pixar entered the 2020s with four original films lined up.
06:01Unfortunately, they couldn't have come at a worse time.
06:04Onward was released right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, being rushed out of theaters and onto Disney+.
06:10What is that?
06:12It's our dad. We have a chance to meet him, but...
06:15What? We can't do that without a phoenix gem.
06:17No! My days of sending people on dangerous quests are over.
06:21What? Why?
06:22Cause they're dangerous?
06:23Soul, Luca, and Turning Red were all given the straight-to-streaming treatment,
06:28a move that Pixar's CCO Pete Docter feels, quote,
06:31trained families to watch their movies at home.
06:34This was reflected with Lightyear, the first Pixar film to receive a worldwide theatrical release in two years.
06:48What was supposed to be a grand return instead became one of Pixar's most substantial money losers ever.
06:53There seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere.
06:56Who are you talking to?
06:57No one.
06:58Some insiders pinned the blame on a controversial same-sex kiss,
07:01Although homophobia hadn't prevented the live-action Beauty and the Beast from making $1 billion,
07:06the more likely explanation is that people weren't interested in a gritty Buzz Lightyear movie without Tim Allen.
07:12Buzz Lightyear mission log.
07:16I'm being pursued by a, uh, just a massive robot.
07:22I'm leading it away while the others escape through the ship.
07:26Lightyear also proved that recognizable IP isn't always the safety net that executives assume.
07:32Regardless, it was reported in 2024 that Pixar would, quote,
07:36focus less on autobiographical tales,
07:39although Elemental had been a sleeper hit,
07:41while Luca in Turning Red didn't even have a fair chance.
07:45We've been so good!
07:46If they don't trust us anyway, then what's the point?
07:49Wow, who are you?
07:51I love it!
07:52Fight the power!
07:53Yeah...
07:54Then again, Inside Out 2 subsequently became Pixar's highest grossing film to date.
07:59We need to help Riley prepare.
08:01Now is the time to send up every possible thing that could go wrong.
08:05We are looking to the future.
08:07From a financial standpoint, we see why Pixar needs to greenlight safe sequels like Toy Story 5,
08:13Incredibles 3, and Coco 2.
08:15Especially if Elio underperforms as many are anticipating.
08:18This time around, 8-year-old Bonnie will be introduced to the Toys Meet Tech character.
08:23Oh boy.
08:24Although the title of this video might imply otherwise, we are rooting for Elio to succeed.
08:29Not just because it's an original work on the heels of numerous sequels, reboots, and live-action remakes,
08:35but because the film is a charmer, even if it's not one of Pixar's absolute best.
08:40Of course, that might be another reason why Pixar is having a harder time selling their original movies.
08:45They've set the bar impossibly high, and the new stuff just can't compete with peak Pixar.
08:50My son, are you prepared to become the greatest war machine in the universe?
08:56Eh!
08:57Oh no!
08:59We have a hard time calling any of the movies that Pixar has released during the 2020s bad.
09:03Except maybe Lightyear, and even that wasn't awful.
09:06You didn't need to hear that, Ivan.
09:08You didn't hear that?
09:09Oh, I'm sorry.
09:10I'll repeat.
09:11No, no, I've heard.
09:12I meant that I didn't need to.
09:13Thank you, Ivan.
09:14If Dreamworks, Illumination, or any other American animation studio gave us Onward, Luca, or Elio,
09:21they'd likely be considered among their stronger efforts.
09:24Yet, they don't even make the top 10 when a studio's filmography includes Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Ratatouille.
09:31We may pout about sequels, but the truth is, we'll go to see Toy Story 19, Finding Marlin, and Ratatouille
09:38because we have such a strong attachment to their predecessors.
09:41Pixar's newer movies need to build from the ground up,
09:44which is even harder when audiences expect every film to make them cry and re-evaluate their life.
09:50Your life isn't up there, Elio.
09:52You need to make friends.
09:53I just want to belong somewhere.
09:55It's not enough for a Pixar movie to be good.
09:58They have to be groundbreaking masterpieces.
10:00Perhaps one of us could talk to him.
10:02You do it!
10:03I am shy!
10:04I'll do it!
10:05You're in Greyhands!
10:08You're crazy!
10:09Since the past few movies haven't reached that threshold,
10:12be it due to creative burnout, changing leadership, not enough risks,
10:16too many risks that didn't pay off,
10:18or impractical expectations from a fanbase that demands nothing less than perfection,
10:22audiences aren't prioritizing Pixar like they once did.
10:26It doesn't help that moviegoers have never been more reluctant to buy a ticket
10:29unless they know exactly what they're getting.
10:32I ate my mother at birth, but in moments of great success, I regret it.
10:36That's a thing for your species?
10:39No, just a me thing. Everyone was shocked.
10:41For every Sinners, there are a dozen IP-driven movies that overshadow originality.
10:47Elio could be another casualty of this cinematic landscape.
10:50Although that doesn't necessarily mean Pixar's the problem.
10:53The problem is where audiences are putting their money.
10:56I've never been a bargaining chip before.
10:58I've been a liability, a disappointment.
11:01I've also been an enigma, a problem, a headache.
11:04Oops! Will it help?
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11:23Elio is about a boy who travels to space in the hope of making a connection,
11:27but what he's searching for can be found back on Earth.
11:30Back home, I didn't fit in.
11:32I thought Earth was the problem, but what if it's me?
11:35Well, I like you, and you seem fine to me.
11:38Something similar can be said about audiences who exclusively watch films with a nostalgic connection,
11:43hoping to bring back the magic they felt when they were younger.
11:46Nostalgia can be comforting, sometimes even enlightening.
11:50If you're looking to recapture that spark you felt upon first seeing Monsters, Inc. or The Incredibles, though,
11:55chances are it won't be found in the familiar.
11:58It'll come someplace original and unexpected.
12:01So, if any aliens are listening, please come and get me.
12:04Okay, bye, I love you!
12:06Could Elio reignite that spark?
12:08You have to see the film to find out.
12:10Just give Elio a shot before writing it off.
12:13What seems like a downfall can truly fall with style.
12:16You will feel my wrath.
12:18Oh!
12:19Claudine?
12:20Hi, Dad!
12:21I'm a bargaining chip!
12:22No!
12:23Say the other thing!
12:24Help me, father!
12:25He overpowered me!
12:26What are your thoughts on the current state of Pixar?
12:28Are you planning on seeing Elio?
12:30Let us know in the comments.
12:31This isn't fine, this is falling with style!
12:35Do you agree with our picks?
12:37Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
12:40And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
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