Mridula Anand | Week 15: PIxar Failed Us
Ironically, one of the first movies I have a memory of seeing is the movie Inside Out, which itself delves into the topic of memory and how it changes as we all grow up.
Inside Out is a movie that I know most of us all grew up watching, at least once if not more than once. It is a classic movie for our generation, and even if we go back and watch the movie right now, we all can probably affirm that our emotions for this movie will remain the same as they were when we were around 7 years old.
Earlier this year, in June, Pixar released a sequel to the movie, so that the process of redefining memories would be continuous as Riley, the main character grew up along with us, who grew up in between the release of the first and second movies.
However, I am sure that many of you can attest to how Inside Out 2 was simply a fail. It was a movie that I had been waiting to see since teasers had been put out years ago, and Pixar themselves built up the movie so much that it had to be a must see. But, when I went to the movie theatres with my cousins to watch the movie (the most nostalgic setting I could be in), the movie just did not feel the same.
While I was watching the movie, I referred back to the emotions I felt when I watched the first movie and I realized that I could not relate to anything. All the scenes about anxiety made me believe that they did not indeed try hard to even relate to the demographic that was being portrayed in the movie by Riley, and so, like many teenagers who watched this movie, I was disappointed and my memory of Inside Out as a whole got ruined.
Hi Mridula! Inside Out is actually the first Pixar movie that I watched and it made me fall in love with the franchise, so the movie is incredibly meaningful for me too. Like you, I was very excited for Inside Out 2 to come out, but I didn’t expect it to be as good as the first one, since the sequels to a well-loved movie are never as good as the original (in my experience at least). I think a lot of people our age expected Inside Out 2 to resonate very deeply, especially because now we’re around the same age as Riley and dealing with very similar emotions. While I wasn’t wowed by the movie and found a lot of the plot to be extremely clunky, I honestly did find a lot of aspects of Riley’s struggles in the second movie to be relatable. However, I do agree that it’s incredibly frustrating when media that is supposed to reflect teenage experiences ends up feeling either surface-level or inauthentic to someone, and I think your writing showed that disappointment very well. Overall, I loved the discussion of memory and nostalgia in your blog, and your writing was very insightful!
ReplyDeleteHi Mridula, first of all, I understand your frustration with Pixar’s production and release of Inside Out 2, the sequel to the first Inside Out film released in 2015 (which still becomes a tearjerker to this day). The way that Pixar depicted all of the emotions in the film failed to reflect the emotional aspects of growing up as a teenager; however, I feel they sort of redeem themselves in relating to their target demographic by visualizing some common coming-of-age experiences through Riley—from separating from close friends to external pressure fueling our anxiety. After reading a few articles about the film according to psychologists, I developed a better understanding of Pixar’s choices when it came to depicting adolescence, from the frenzy Anxiety navigated on the control panel to mirror the disoriented, racing thoughts that come with an anxiety attack (with the intention of recognizing anxiety as a normal emotion many experience from time to time and tearing down the stigma that anxiety is abnormal) to Riley’s journey of navigating her social life and the dynamics that define her social life through her time at hockey camp with her old friends and new peers. I would not say that Inside Out 2 was a failure, but I do understand that it is important for a sequel to live up to the standards of its predecessors. Thank you for bringing up this movie, Mridula, it has been a long time since I have last thought about it, and I look forward to whatever else it is that you write in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi Mridula! Sadly, I have to agree with this one. Even though I think Inside Out 2 was pretty sentimental and relatable to some pre-pubescent tweens, it didn't compare to the OG Inside Out. I was kind of disappointed after I left because just like everyone else here, Inside Out was a comfort movie (like Frozen) that shaped my childhood. I loved the concept of breaking down emotions and memories, and it helped me better control the respective attributes in my own life. It's funny because all of these movies serve as nostalgia to me. We used to get so many fun and popular movies releasing nearly every week, and families were overjoyed to come together to watch them. However, it's different nowadays because almost every movie theatre is completely empty and playing the most god-awful movies. It reminded me of how much we truly take advantage of the best memories, especially as children. Although Inside Out 2 was supposed to elaborate more on the memories she made along the way between this movie and the previous one, it focused more on trying to grow up too fast. Just as much as that is important, it's still a bummer that animated movies are losing their spark of keeping the child within alive. For that, the industry has really changed. Overall, I enjoyed reading this because I really did forget that these movies were released decades ago and not just a year ago. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteHi Mridula!
ReplyDeleteI also watched Inside Out when I was 7 in 2015 when it came out and I found it amazing! It was so relatable to someone my age and I felt that the movie held great sentimental value. Even now, when I rewatch the movie with my younger cousins I am able to enjoy it as it still has an entertaining plot filled with comedy, depth, and redemption. I went to watch Inside Out 2 in theaters and felt the same disappointment when comparing it to my original viewing experience of its prequel. Sadly enough, I feel this disappointment expands to most new pixar movies as they don't have the same effect or meaning as they once did! Overall, I truly enjoyed reading your blog and I look forward to reading what you have to write next week!