Movies What other recent Pixar movies are on the level of 'Soul,' if any?

[SaysWho?]

I watched soul on a recent trip I made and loved it. It's a celebration of life akin to something such as Wall-E, Up, Coco, or Inside Out, and a message that I appreciate much more now at this point in my life.

 

Are any of the post-Toy Story 4 Pixar films on that level? I saw Lightyear a few months ago and it was all right, which was honestly better than I expected! But Onward, Luca, Turning Red, what's the general opinion of those?

[skillzdadirecta]

I really liked Luca.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

As much as I enjoyed Soul, I very much viewed it as a significantly missed opportunity to help children get a better understanding of death and what it means for those left behind.  There was a far deeper, more meaningful film within the framework of Soul and I'm genuinely kinda sad that Pixar either didn't see it or chose to ignore it.

[TheLeon]

I liked Turning Red a whole lot. Super charming coming of age story. 

[EternallDarkness]

While I've somewhat enjoyed the last few outing, I feel like Pixar hasn't put out anything truly great since Coco.

[Phaseknox]

The only Pixar movie that I dislike is The Good Dinosaur, I like every other Pixar movie. Of course some are better than others, but I find the majority of them entertaining and fun.

[Greatoneshere]

I didn't think Soul was anything that special personally, but in terms of great Pixar films since Toy Story 4 I would say is Turning Red. Onward and Luca are good and fun and funny but nothing Inside Out or Up levels (not even Turning Red reaches those heights for the most part). I haven't seen Lightyear but heard that was just okay.

[Reputator]

8 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

As much as I enjoyed Soul, I very much viewed it as a significantly missed opportunity to help children get a better understanding of death and what it means for those left behind.  There was a far deeper, more meaningful film within the framework of Soul and I'm genuinely kinda sad that Pixar either didn't see it or chose to ignore it.

 

You hear about the original planned ending? It was considerably darker.

[Ghost_MH]

My actual favorite since Toy Story 4 is Turning Red. Turning Red feels like a movie that didn't compromise on its vision the same way Soul left me feeling. That doesn't make Soul less of a great film, but Soul definitely feels like it has something missing where as Turning Red doesn't.

[SaysWho?]

7 hours ago, Reputator said:

 

You hear about the original planned ending? It was considerably darker.

 

I don't know if I'd say it was considerably darker, but they had several ideas that were to varying degrees.

 

'Soul' Filmmakers Break Down the Movie's Original Ending (Exclusive)

WWW.ETONLINE.COM

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Pete Docter, Kemp Powers and Dana Murray answer our biggest questions about Pixar's latest.

 

I feel they picked the right ending for this considering the story. It may deal with the afterlife and beforelife, but it's really about life and what it means to live.

[Pikachu]

Hoping Elemental will be a banger

[Kamusha]

As far as post-Toy Story 4 Pixar goes Lightyear was easily the worse of that bunch. Luca and Onward were pretty decent and had their moments, but of those two I think I prefer Luca for it's visuals and Miyazaki influence. Both are enjoyable enough that I wouldn't write them off if you're a Pixar fan.

 

 But Turning Red was straight-up excellent. Felt like a breath of fresh air for a studio that has fallen into something of a stylistic rut.

[ort]

I'll throw my hat in the Turning Red ring as well. Really liked that one. Big hit in my house.

 

I thought Soul was fine, but it just didn't really connect with me. I can't even remember why at this point, it didn't leave much of an impression. I remember that I felt like the storytelling felt sloppy and weird and that it felt like a movie that had been re-written like 3 times.

 

I disliked Luca. It's not the worst movie ever, but I expect a lot more from Pixar.

 

Onward was pretty safe and forgettable and formulaic. It was okay.

 

Have not seen Lightyear. It looks kinda blah and word of mouth hasn't motivated me to make time for it.

[Ghost_MH]

4 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

I don't know if I'd say it was considerably darker, but they had several ideas that were to varying degrees.

 

'Soul' Filmmakers Break Down the Movie's Original Ending (Exclusive)

WWW.ETONLINE.COM

---

Pete Docter, Kemp Powers and Dana Murray answer our biggest questions about Pixar's latest.

 

I feel they picked the right ending for this considering the story. It may deal with the afterlife and beforelife, but it's really about life and what it means to live.

 

See, and I like the idea of Joe taking those regrets and using them to enact positive change in the nursery. Getting a do-over always felt like a cop out when you don't get second chances in life and time is always moving forward. Joe giving up his chance and working in the nursery feels like the right way to move forward. Joe giving up his chance and just getting it anyway never sat right with me.

 

I'll add. I always thought Onward was just OK, but it nailed the ending. No cop out. Barley gets to say his deserved goodbye and Ian gives up his chance to even say hello after realizing he's still got plenty of time to spend with his real father figure. Sacrifices that are immediately made obsolete don't sit well with me. I get that to the character, the sacrifices are real, but to the viewer it just undoes the punch. Like the worst part of Iron Giant is the stupid screw coming back online and running away at the end. I get that it's thrown in there to placate sad children, but I don't think we give kids enough credit.

[SaysWho?]

23 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

See, and I like the idea of Joe taking those regrets and using them to enact positive change in the nursery. Getting a do-over always felt like a cop out when you don't get second chances in life and time is always moving forward. Joe giving up his chance and working in the nursery feels like the right way to move forward. Joe giving up his chance and just getting it anyway never sat right with me.

 

I'll add. I always thought Onward was just OK, but it nailed the ending. No cop out. Barley gets to say his deserved goodbye and Ian gives up his chance to even say hello after realizing he's still got plenty of time to spend with his real father figure. Sacrifices that are immediately made obsolete don't sit well with me. I get that to the character, the sacrifices are real, but to the viewer it just undoes the punch. Like the worst part of Iron Giant is the stupid screw coming back online and running away at the end. I get that it's thrown in there to placate sad children, but I don't think we give kids enough credit.

I side with the idea that allowing someone to truly live after realizing what it means feels better than not doing that, but it is something they admit they debated until near the end. From interviews I’ve read from many of these directors, it didn’t seem at all that they change the plot to placate kids as much as they change the plot because they feel it works better. That’s what happened here, for better or worse, and I’m on the side that it’s better and that 

Spoiler

Not reuniting him with 22 was also the right move, even if it was a bit sad to see.

 

[Ghost_MH]

1 minute ago, SaysWho? said:

I side with the idea that allowing someone to truly live after realizing what it means feels better than not doing that, but it is something they admit they debated until near the end. From interviews I’ve read from many of these directors, it didn’t seem at all that they change the plot to placate kids as much as they change the plot because they feel it works better. That’s what happened here, for better or worse, and I’m on the side that it’s better and that 

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Not reuniting him with 22 was also the right move, even if it was a bit sad to see.

 

 

Sorry. The placating kids was only in reference to Iron Giant. I don't feel the end of Soul was there to placate kids. I still think the movie is great and I'm just nitpicking at a great film that just had, what I felt, was a bit of a weak landing. To me, the real take away would have been for Joe to take his lesson learned and pass it on to future generations, because that's really what we adults can do. Not saying the ending didn't work and I can see why they went back and forth. Still doesn't not make it, in my eyes, the weaker ending. It just was a little too fairy tale happy ending for me.

[SaysWho?]

6 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said:

 

Sorry. The placating kids was only in reference to Iron Giant. I don't feel the end of Soul was there to placate kids. I still think the movie is great and I'm just nitpicking at a great film that just had, what I felt, was a bit of a weak landing. To me, the real take away would have been for Joe to take his lesson learned and pass it on to future generations, because that's really what we adults can do. Not saying the ending didn't work and I can see why they went back and forth. Still doesn't not make it, in my eyes, the weaker ending. It just was a little too fairy tale happy ending for me.

In a way, I like that there’s disagreement as to what would have been stronger. I think it’s a fantastic film, but can I say definitively that the ending I prefer is the best choice? Probably not.