Let's take a look at Pixar's upcoming slate. Ooh, next year looks good - there's Inside Out, a Numskull-esque adventure from Pete Docter (director of Up and Monsters, Inc.), followed by The Good Dinosaur, the story of world where humans and dinos live together. 2015 is going to be a good year. And after that? It's all sequels; Finding Dory, The Incredibles 2, Cars 3 and, of course, Toy Story 4. Now all of those original films are great (even Cars had its moments), but making follow-ups is totally unwarranted. Now there's obviously the incentive of money, with a pre-existing brand all but guaranteeing a higher box office taking, but c'mon, this is Pixar. They are, like Marvel, a brand that speaks stronger than any franchise name. They don't need to slap 2s and 3s on to get a hit. No Pixar film has been a bomb, yet they're treating their situation like any other, less well-revered, animation studio. From 2000 to 2009 (that's a whole freaking decade) they released totally original films and it's these creative movies that made their name the stamp of quality it is. Sequels may be easier, but their dominance loses the fun of seeing a gastronomically inclined rat one year and a lonely robot the next. Toy Story 4 only pushes this further; if they can make another film in a series that is categorically over, there's no telling when they'll stop. Who's ready for Up 2: Higher?
