Top 5 Pixar Films

For my birthday last Thursday my fantastic girlfriend bought me Disney's Fantasia. I had put off comitting to purchasing the Disney DVD's/Blu-Rays for a long time. I had always planned on only buying them when I had my first child and, when the boy/girl was barely born, we would start to watch all the Disney 'Classic' Collection in chronological order. With this single present, it has started me off early and within days I have watched Fantasia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Beauty and the Beast. I believe this has no replaced my James Bond marathon indefinately.

So, having noticed that Pixar are credited on Beauty and the Beast (responsible for the, now quite dated, 3D dance-hall Beauty and Beast dance within during the unforgettable song "Beauty and the Beast"...), what better time to reflect on my current favourite Pixar films (especially as their track-record seems to have been stalled by Cars 2 according to the US reviews)...

5. Ratatouille - I have only watched this once and I think it is at '5'. I need to watch it again if I'm honest as, I'm sure you'll see, I've cheated a little and films such as A Bugs Life, The Incredibles and Up shockingly don't get a look in. Bottom-line is that the whole idea of criticism is something very close to my heart and this seems to tackle it in such a way that art - and what is art - is the core of the story. This, in itself is huge, expansive story-telling ... but for kids.

4. Cars - This was the last Pixar film which I have watched and it has always come across as the lesser credible film in the Pixar canon. I have to tell ya' - I completely disagree. This film, like the best of Pixar, focusses on a bigger topic: Capitalism and destruction of small-town America. The fact that we currently see how print-press may be having an exceptional hit in the recent news, again, shows how the bigger fish ultimately eat the small fish in the capitalist business structure. I am a little worried that Cars 2 will tarnish the reputation of this brilliant first outing.

3. Toy Story Trilogy - I'm not going to split them up. They are all, very much, independent films but so many aspects cross-over. If I say how much I love the characters - thats in all three films. If I like the colours and the playful attitude, again, this is in all three. The only thing I could fundamentally separate the films by is the narratives in each film and they are so evenly match I think I can comfortably place them in a third-place tie.

2. Wall-E - I only recently told a pupil that I believed this is my favourite

film and, akin to Cars it is because of the profound themes it explores. Add to this some incredible sequences - most of which do not even require dialogue - and you have an accessible, deeply moving, highly intelligent, artistically-experimental mainstream film. Can you get anything more awesome?

1. Finding Nemo - But, when I think of the story, I look at Nemo. A film with so much heart. Two-characters on the road to discovery and what, I believe, will bring a tear to my eye when I have my own child. I think, visually, it takes you to a place which, on one level you know and feel like you are a part of, but you are shown the ocean in a way you have never seen. In the same way that I believe Jurassic Park is my favourite film, I understand that it is a personal preference - opting for The Godfather as my 'professional' favourite film. Finding Nemo is my personal favourite whilst, Wall-E would reside as my 'professional favourite. But this is my blog... so personal wins out.

Incredible Soundtrack #14: Toy Story (Newman)

The music attached to a film creates the environment, I believe, moreso than the literal environment depicted through the visuals...

Whenever we think of soundtracks, rarely do we think of bands and music artists. Lately, this has changed: The Chemical brothers and Hanna, Underworld and Sunshine, Nine Inch Nails and The Social Network - even Badly Drawn Boy and About a Boy. Randy Newman was ahead of the game early on. So much so, that for me, Randy Newman is primarily a composer. To another generation, Randy Newman is the artist behind 12 studio albums since 1968. His work with Pixar alone has also earned him much praise - as he composed all three Toy Story scores, but additionally Cars, A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc (and currently penned in for Monsters University). So, it goes without saying that he set a precedent with his soundtrack to Toy Story.

2. Strange Things - For me, this is the song the represents this film. When I was younger I was desperate to her this song because it perfectly encapsulates the playful and creative nature of 'play time'. Though the song is used for a montage showing Andy's lack of interest in Woody - it also shows Andy playing with Buzz - and the other toys - in lots of different ways.




4. Andy's Birthday - In a similar way to Strange Things this shows how varied Newmans style is. He plays with lots of different techniques that show his versatility. 




3. I'll Go Sailing No More - I had to throw this one in too - light, hopeful but very personal. One great thing about this song (and indeed the soundtrack) is how it makes that personal connection between us human viewers and the toy characters we are expected to relate to. Which we do relate to - because of many reasons, but especially the soundtrack.

The Simon and Jo Show Podcast: 11/10/2009

So, the 3D special! Begun at the Barbican and finished in 'the kitchen: Check it out!

"This week Jo and Simon talk about 3D films and the latest releases - with a specific focus on Pixar and Disney. Films discussed are Toy Story and Up in 3D and Zombieland amongst brief discourse on the back-catalogue of Pixar studios."

That's the description ... enjoy!

Toy Story 3D (John Lasseter, 1995/2009)

"Say there, Lizard and Stretchy Dog, let me show you something."

Introduction

14 years ago. You're kidding me. Year 9 pupils who are taking their GCSE in Art & Design who - may I add - are doing very well - were not even born when it was released! Madness. I remember watching it with my younger brother purely through luck. It was that £1-to-go-to-the-cinema Day in England in 1995 and everyone was going. My family of eight were all going and, obviously like every other 11 year old, we wanted to see Toy Story. We got to the cinema and it was completely sold out. All day. We were gutted. But, seconds later, two grown men came up to us and decided to change which film they were going to see and sold on their tickets for us - so Graham and I managed to go! It was rammed full and we felt so lucky. Funnily enough, a siilar thing happened the following year but, alas, we didn't see the film we wanted to see (can't remember what it was...) and we had to settle for ... The Chamber. Eugh.

Big-time on DVD when Toy Story 2 was released they had this sweet 'Toybox' boxset and, excited now at the age of 17, I took the boxset home, keen to see all the special features - having spent £40 on, effectively, two films and my Matsui DVD player wouldn't play it. It was one of those discs whereby the DVD player was too old to play it. Same thing happened with the second disc of Gladiator and Scream whereby you could watch the film, but you couldn't select the menu.

So, as you can see, I am big into the Story of the Toys and this 3D release made me regress back to childhood and enjoy the movie anew. It truly was a memorable experience - but not-so-much because Buzz could reach out of the screen and touch me.

What I reckon ...

There is definitely something interesting about watching this film as an adult - and, more importantly as a cine-literate teacher with a certain appreciation of social-situations that affect children. Watching Fishtank (not the best comparison...) recently about, effectively, a destroyed 14 year old girl and then watching Toy Story whereby the suburban child has friends, family and happiness strikes a chord to some extent. It is what it is, and clearly Toy Story is not commenting on the sadness of children - but celebrating their creativity. Then again, I always remember a presentation my good friend Tom made in Year 10 in a theology lesson about ratings and how Toy Story and Jurassic Park are both rated PG. Maybe that's because their are darker issues at hand - Sid, for one, is a problem child. He makes you think of the whole 'if you torture animals as a kid, you're destined to be a violent person'. Okay, that's not a 'saying' but you see the connection. When Woody and Buzz arrive back to Sid's house and Sid shouts at his sister, rather than snatching her doll (a mean act in and of itself), I felt it would not have been out of place for him to hit her. The idea of abuse to toys must stem from somewhere ... and I think if you were to profile 'Sid' you would have an abusive, violent child who has and abusive background and an unstable homelife - and clearly has an awful diet (Are Poptarts the best way to feed your children?). I'm starting this review off on a very dark note, but this was something which I was interested in: what are the issues in this film? is there any realism in this film? Rather than answer 'Yes - Sid hits his sister', the answer might simply be 'No'. End of. Food for thought though.

Another interesting thing about the characters, I noticed, is that they are not exactly 'good' characters. We have Woody - this jealous cowboy who attempts to knock Buzz down the side of a chest of drawers. Potato-head this spiteful fella' with a real envy for Woody's position and, when given the opportunity, a desire to exclude Woody from the group (I don't think the punishment fitted the crime myself... and, to be fair, it is Potato-head who RC annihilates in the final act). Slinky Dog clings onto Woody's every word - eventually forced to give up on him due to peer pressure (it is he who pulls the blinds on Woody as Woody is, effectively, going to be murdered in Sid's room). Buzz is the only one who is a genuinely nice guy - but he's a little arrogant and is completely delusional and naive. Nevertheless, it is a testament to the writers, the voices and the story that we are still gripped to this story. It also shows this role reversal in how Bo is clearly more dominant than Woody - it is she who asks Woody to watch the flock, and it is she who grabs him by the neck. Woody - the character we stick with from start to finish - is a weak character with envy and jealousy issues to boot. Hardly characters you want your kids to impersonate. As Andy (without realising their true character) actually does!

It might be the adult-attitudes of the characters that make this cross the boundary from kids-only to family-friendly. We know these types of people - the top-dog usurped by a new arrival (think David Brent in Series 2 of The Office when Neil arrives), the realisation of times changing - and having difficulty accepting change, etc. I was laughing so hard while I watched it too - laughed alot more than when I watched The Invention of Lying - little bits like Woody's "Tuesday night's plastic corrosion awareness meeting, was I think, a big success. We'd like to thank Mr. Spell for putting that on for us, thank you Mr. Spell..." and Buzz's alternative names for the toys (see above). A huge laugh with those aliens - "Nirvana is coming. The mystic portal awaits." before being mauled by that dog. Amazing.

But, to finish: the 3D stuff. Yeah, it looked great - but I'm not 'sold'. I wasn't reaching out for the screen or anything. I felt, as soon as I was into the film, I didn't really care. I'm sure its great for younger kids and a boy in Year 8 was telling me that he watched it with his Dad over the weekend too and it was 'sick' (thats good it pupils-speak) but I was just glad to see the film at the cinema. I did feel that when the toys were all lined up you felt a real prescence as they leant out of the screen -and when Woody and Buzz fly over the cars it is great, but I felt like because there was a foreground and a background, I focussed on the foreground moreso. So, I didn't appreciate the detail and scope of the background. I'm also sure that the neon colours in Sid's room were alot more impressive than I recall. But I am not going to run out and buy a new copy in 3D - as my current 'Toybox' version is good enough. I think Up will sell 3D moreso -the trailer that preceded Toy Story did look incredible. Nevertheless, I am excited about revisiting Toy Story 2 and then, in due course Toy Story 3 ... Good times.

Interesting facts I never knew. Don Davis assisted with Randy Newmans score - as in Don-composed-the-score-for-The-Matrix-Davis. Interesting though I see no link between the two soundtracks. Secondly, Joss Whedon assisted in the writing - alongside the Pixar team. This is prior to Buffy and two years prior to Alien Resurrection. Any link ... you decide ...

The Simon and Jo Show Podcast: 04/10/2009

So, round two - another overview on the weeks films with Jo and myself!

"The latest films discussed by your London-based film reviewers. Specifically focussing on Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson's 'The Invention of Lying' and Lars von Trier's 'Antichrist'."

That's the description ... enjoy!