4. Make Sequels (But Only To Great Movies)
Although as previously stated Pixar needs to find its groove again and start aiming for the unique and not the obvious, some of Pixar's greatest all time films have been sequels so it would be silly of me to suggest Pixar stop making these, especially when you consider that one of its greatest films in this current 6 years of inconsistency has been Toy Story 3, a sequel, and a very successful and brilliant movie at that. This all said, in the last 6 years there was also Cars 2, so I guess there are valid arguments on both sides. I personally have never had a problem with people who make sequels to great movies, even if they fail. If a movie was great, and the original story either set up a sequel or a sequel was possible without having to make huge story leaps then why not at least attempt making another one? The only problem with Pixar and making sequels is that Pixar seems to be on another planet with their decision making when it comes to which films to give sequels to and which films to avoid. In all fairness to Pixar, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 are both great movies, however, Toy Story 2 was originally going ahead without Pixar and without their blessing so the only reason Toy Story has any sequels what so ever was because some bright spark outside the company decided the film was worthy of them. This good decision therefore wasn't Pixar's at all (though Pixar's decision to take over and save the project was so credit where credits due). When you consider what films Pixar has decided to give sequels to, not taking into consideration the Toy Story films, it is somewhat of a bleak and embarrassing picture. Cars should never have been given a sequel, but it especially shouldn't have been given the sequel it was given. The original Cars movie may not have been Pixar's best film but it had heart, and a strong heartwarming message. Cars 2 however was anything but this, and traded warmth for explosions and in doing so not only completely subverted the films original genre turning it into an action/ spy movie (something no sequel should ever do) but also lost Pixar almost all of the respect it had prior to this. The next film "sequel" planned is a prequel to Monsters Inc. Though "Monsters University" looks like it will be a lot of fun from the trailer, this film is clearly not going to be up there with Pixar's best, and like stated previously, if you aren't aiming for the best why even bother (except for purely financial reasons), especially considering the ridiculous time it takes to make one of these films. I have also never been a huge fan of prequels and would much prefer Pixar to move the story of Mike and Sully forward. In my opinion there is one Pixar film that should have had a sequel by now, "The Incredibles", and it baffles me why Cars was given a sequel over this. Superhero movies are custom built for sequels and there are hundreds of different ways "The Incredibles" could be given a sequel. Although I won't bore you again with my ideas for where The Incredibles could go, in
a previous WhatCulture article I went into some depth describing them that you can read and give your comments on if you have the time. The next planned Pixar sequel is to Finding Nemo, and although I loved the film, the original (especially the title) didn't exactly leave things open for a sequel... what is the film going to be called "Finding Nemo 2: Lost in New York"? (Though saying this, one of my favorite films is Home Alone 2 so I am sure Finding Nemo 2 will also be great).