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There’s always a slew of exciting upcoming Disney movies to look forward to, but I always have a soft spot for what’s next from Pixar Animation Studios. Following Inside Out 2 becoming the highest grossing movie of 2024, I’m expecting great things from the studio going forward. That said, it’s definitely interesting to hear Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter share new comments on recent movies going to Disney+ and flopping at the box office.
Pixar Boss Talks About Sending A Ton Of Films Straight To Disney+
From 2020 to 2022, Pixar ditched having its films go to theaters altogether and they were released for those with a Disney+ subscription to enjoy right away from home. That meant fans like me didn’t get the chance to see Soul, Luca and Turning Red in theaters. Here’s what Pete Docter recently said about Pixar’s former strategy while speaking to IndieWire:
We had ‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red,’ and ‘Luca’ out just on Disney+. Very few people talk about ‘Soul’ because it didn’t have the big theatrical impact. There’s something indisputable about that. So then coming out of that, we had ‘Lightyear, which didn’t hit. We’re such nerds for our own movies: ‘Well, what was the movie that caused Andy to want to buy this toy? It wouldn’t have been about Mr. Potato Head. It would be a science fiction movie. So let’s make that.’
After having quite a few sequels, Pixar went back to making original movies based on original concepts with these three titles, but with theaters in disarray during the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made to make them at-home releases. While reflecting on the releases, Docter talked about how these movies missing theaters definitely kept them from becoming pop culture touchstones like some of the studio’s other films in the past. It’s certainly a shame considering we decided Soul is the best of Pixar movies ever made.
But I Want To Talk About His Solid Take On Why Lightyear Flopped
Following Pixar’s era of being Disney+ movies rather than theatrical events, the studio’s next movies back at cinemas, was a flop. Toy Story spinoff Lightyear suffered a reported $106 million loss when it made just $226 million at the worldwide box office. While it sounds like Pixar was surprised when it wasn’t a hit with audiences, I think Docter’s thoughts on why it didn’t do well in theaters has some merit. Here’s what he had to say:
We probably didn’t consider the audience enough to figure out what were the things that were needed when you talk about ‘Toy Story.’ You need that funny relationship. You need a certain level of broad humor, broad characters. And then when ‘Elemental’ didn’t open well, it was devastating. And then, weirdly, it kept going [$484 million worldwide].
While audiences absolutely love Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies, it’s true Pixar didn’t really give us the same beloved character with Lightyear. Rather than it being Tim Allen’s toy character in his own movie, it was a more serious sci-fi action version of the character voiced by Chris Evans. Following the movie’s release, there’s a share of Lightyear apologists who have defended the movie, but overall, it just didn’t hit the same as the Toy Story films.
Sadly, I’m wondering if Inside Out 2’s massive success and the so-so reactions to more original Pixar films means that the studio will take safer swings in the future (such as the Toy Story 5 release date already being on the way). I really hope the animation studio continues to use its imagination, because while Lightyear did feel like a weak attempt at a spinoff to me, it also came from an interesting and original place in some ways as well.