When Pixar Was Perfect

Monsters Inc. is an outstanding movie with an intro that is so efficient and smooth, it's not even an intro, just the beginning part of the movie. Let's analyze that first 10 minutes and then see how New Pixar isn't living up to the old standards.
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[@gregowen2022]

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[@LazyReaderKanon]

Could you make a video recommending your favourite games? I'm getting a great PC soon. I'm looking for good game recommendations. I'll love trying out your suggestions. Anyways, hope you're doing well. Hope you have a great day.

[@dprendonmend2807]

Greg, your code isn't working for the C7 chair. Is that the correct code?

[@B1RDSEYE]

@@dprendonmend2807yeah the code isn’t working for me either.

[@zeroth88]

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[@gregowen2022]

@@dprendonmend2807 That's very frustrating I'm sorry, but I've reached out to my contact at flexispot. I'll reply to to you when they fix it

[@John-fk2ky]

Minor critique: Waternoose stating the obvious makes perfect sense because he’s basically making a speech to trainees, pounding into their heads that what they’re doing is IMPORTANT. While not a speech, my workplace has a series of placards on the wall explaining what would happen if trucking (our business) stopped. The end result is not a pretty picture. It’s a reminder that our jobs serve a function more important than just generating a paycheck, and that’s basically what we’re seeing in the movie.

[@jacksonglass3447]

Same. I worked in a coal mine for a bit and the mine supervisor did a very similar speech on the new guys first day. I honestly didn’t realize how similar Waternoose’s speech was to the supervisor was until I watched the video.

[@asquirrelplays]

I was thinking the same thing. While you could "technically" call it an "as you know moment", it does make sense/fit into the scene. There's a lot of CEOs out there that LOVE hearing themselves talk and telling you what you absolutely already know. It's the same speech he probably gives multiple new hires. If anything, you could use this type of thing to show what the character is like.

[@hannahz6848]

I left a comment similar to this before I saw yours, I’ve always interpreted it that way.

[@jculver1674]

Honestly, I wish more companies did this. It would make employees feel less like cogs in a machine, and more like they are contributing to something that matters.

[@gregowen2022]

That’s a great point, actually. The company is a dynasty for him, so it’s more than just doing the work. Big missed opportunity to point out that it does tell us quite a bit about waternoose. DAMMIT

[@MarklovesAngels]

They filmed the storyboards FIFTEEN times for Toy Story 3 to work out the story over the course of a couple of years. They basically filmed the movie fifteen times before producing a frame of actual animation. They allowed one of the writers 3 months to unknot a story problem. They DO NOT do that now. Especially when hiring is based on boxes, not merit. The talent simply isn't there any longer and Disney has no one to blame but themselves.

[@NexusKin]

It should've just ended after Toy Story 3, then it probably would've been one of the best and most celebrated trilogies of all time.

[@MarklovesAngels]

@@NexusKin agreed. all the rest are just to keep the brand "fresh" and sell more merchandise.

[@dnycebushton5008]

They were "passion projects" back then...they were given the space to get "weird" and make great art.

[@theanimeunderworld8338]

Nowadays, you just can't beat the classics Instead of learning what made them work, people just fail to replicate it or corrupt it

[@gregowen2022]

Exactly, it’s just remakes without understanding why

[@maniravsadhur8409]

"Up" had a wonderful introduction. I remember getting my wife to watch that movie - after 15 minutes, she was literally crying. And barely a word was spoken!

[@popsingerstar]

i never saw it in theaters but i decided 2 watch it in 2014. i rented it & i loved it. i bought it sometime later & now i really wish i saw it in theaters. ive watched it a lot over the past couple years & still wanna like it so im taking a break from it. it made me decide if i ever get a golden retriever im gonna name him dug too

[@chiangkai-shrek1575]

I don't know about Up. It has a wonderful intro, but a lot of the movie is quite meandering. People tend to think very highly of it because of that opening and a few other scenes with Carl and that kid but I'd argue that it's quite overrated.

[@maniravsadhur8409]

​@@chiangkai-shrek1575I understand where you're coming from - but the fact remains that the introduction is masterful.

[@chiangkai-shrek1575]

@@maniravsadhur8409 Fair enough. I still like Up for what it is.

[@yudh0849]

UP is pixar Peak intro

[@omegaman2846]

I remember how blown my mind was as a kid in the final act climax. As I got older I realized that the reason the suspense in the climax worked so well was because the stakes as well as the rules of what could happen were established so well throughout the movie, that my brain could just focus on the tension of the scene and how our heroes could get out of it. Monsters INC really raised the bar.

[@WakoDoodle]

Pixar used to do something that disney seems to fail today. "Show, don't tell". Pixar in the past used to show us what the world is like, show characters in their world talking as they would; showing us what we need to know and when it was told, it was told from a perspective that was natural. Disney today seems to think if you just tell the audience what they should know, they'll just accept it. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't care about Hercules if he said he did all those things. But show it to me and I'd believe it. That's what the montage was about, showing us that rise in a short amount of time. There's an old phrase that a lot of people instinctively follow: Seeing is Believing.

[@613harbinger316]

Probably one of Pixar's crowning achievements was the introduction in _UP._ Barely any dialogue and you hear story after story about people being in tears. The intro to _Wall-E_ is a close second when you consider how long it is until a character (not Wall-E's television, or a Buy n' Large Bigscreen) actually says a word. [edit: and my third favorite is the moment in _Rattatouille_ when Ego takes a bite of the rat's (can't remember his name) food. I remember watching that scene with my extended family at Thanksgiving and all the mothers _LOVED_ the message it sent.]

[@angel_of_rust]

but since Pixar is under Disney it was a matter of time until they got infected

[@thehatter9400]

Disney use to do that too. Both got dragged down

[@JustaGuy_Gaming]

I think a major problem other than just lack of talent is purpose. Most old movies were made to tell a story. New movies are made to make a sequel. By their design they are left unfinished and open ended to make room for more movies or TV shows to spin off it.

[@Rezzanine]

Excellent point. Hollywood in general needs to remember that they are ultimately storytellers and relearn their craft accordingly. This does not preclude sequels and spinoffs, by the way - for example, 1001 Nights(Arabian Nights) is all about cliffhangers and recursive, near infinite fiction.

[@matityaloran9157]

Yep, stand-alone movies need to come back

[@gregowen2022]

That’s a great point. These movies and shows aren’t stories first, they are content first. They are the hopeful beginning of a franchise or universe. Ugh

[@S_raB]

Talent is out there, but Disney is more concerned with quotas than quality.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

Or they take a movie that was PERFECT as a standalone and turn it into a franchise, like Pirates of the Caribbean. The first movie was the absolute BEST of the entire series. Solid ending and everything. Then they had to go muck it up after that, dragging on and on. The end of Curse of the Black Pearl had a sense of hope and adventure that was still "out there", but when they made the rest of the films, it drug it down, especially with what happens to Elizabeth and Will.

[@JDIsip]

Prince of Egypt and The Lion King intros are pretty much the best in my opinion. Great video btw

[@TalmoTheSell]

PoE’s intro is one of the greatest

[@mechajay3358]

Pixar used to be a master at the "Show Don't Tell" formula of storytelling and using exposition in a natural way. Ever since Lasseter left, they have taken a huge dip in quality.

[@Wolffman109]

I'm still not clear: WAS Lasseter guilty?

[@anth636]

Yeah, I realized that years ago, and it’s super uncomfortable to think about.

[@locobob]

I’m 47 years old and don’t care to admit that there are 2 scenes in Monster’s inc. that to this day continue to elicit strong genuine emotions from me. The first scene is when Sully is pressured by Waternoose to provide a scare demonstration,and in doing so Sully scares the living Jesus out of boo. The way her face went from happiness to absolute terror, and her subsequent sobbing will always jerk the tears out of my stupid eyes. Damnit I’m tearing up just thinking about it now. The second scene is when they are in the door sorting and storage area. When they go through the opening and the vastness of the location is displayed, it always generates a sense of amazement in me. Yes I rewatch the movie with my kids - and sometimes on my own too!

[@613harbinger316]

I'm 47 too and I have the _exact_ same reactions to those scenes. (including the tears when I read your comment, lol)

[@locobob]

@@613harbinger316 this is a classic example of "they just don't make them like they used to"!!!

[@613harbinger316]

@@locobob LOL. All we need now is a lawn, a couple of chairs, beers and some neighbor's kids to yell at.

[@613harbinger316]

Had a friend who worked for Disney at the time it bought Pixar. He said Disney came in and just poached a huge chunk of the creative staff. Some time later Pixar released _Brave_ and Disney released _Wreck-It Ralph._ Nearly everyone I knew who loved Pixar said _Wreck-it Ralph_ felt like a Pixar movie and _Brave_ felt like a Disney princess movie and I concur (and it was a middling princess movie at that - so freaking cliche and trope-y!). I see this moment as the beginning of Pixar's downward spiral. ...funny. Now that I think about it, I see Disney taking Star Wars as the same moment for Star Wars. (Well...considering the prequels, maybe it was a more sharp and dedicated downward spiral.)

[@dogg-paws]

John Lasseter was put in charge of both studios circa 2006, so perhaps that could be why you may feel what you feel about _Wreck-It-Ralph_ and _Brave,_ but the more important thing is that Lasseter's supervision, while not perfect, did its best to make sure that each Disney and Pixar film was filled with good writing, world building and characters, which is why the reception for both films is generally positive. To me, that's more important than the idea of Disney making a Pixar-like film and vice versa. Lasseter's departure was the principal cause of the downfall of both studios, and IMO is one of the biggest mistakes in Disney history.

[@thomasciuffreda8783]

It's easy to forget just how good these older Pixar movies were. It makes me sad that my little cousins might not get that same Pixar magic I did. One of the best intros in a non-Disney movie, An American Tail. The fact that they had the guts to show a POGROM of all things. Really drives home the immigrant's desire to seek a better life in America.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

🎶"There are no cats in America! And the streets are made of cheese!"🎶

[@MichaelCravith]

Your take on Monsters, Inc. and the tie-in to subversion is phenomenal. Great video, Greg.

[@gregowen2022]

Thank you so much! It’s so unfortunate that we don’t get good subversion like this anymore

[@torytellstales]

Lightyear was the biggest letdown I've ever seen from Pixar, Im gonna say it right now. When we were introduced to Buzz in the first Toy Story movie, his character was told through his movements and actions, and the reason he said his catchphrases at all was to give us an idea of what kind of whacky adventures he went on as a space ranger. Not only that, but his reactions to things like him doing his command logs and pointing his laser indicated his character comes from a line of work where he's always facing off against alien threats and occasionally needs backup. I went into watching the Lightyear movie expecting to be on the edge of my seat with what crazy scifi things he was going to experience based on how toy Buzz's actions were as the character of Buzz Lightyear, thinking oh yeah, this guy's gonna be a total badass and I can't wait to see how he will fight and face off against compelling dangers. Instead, its a bland ass movie with his catchphrases shoehorned in unnaturally because he's "just being funny" or some shit with annoying human characters who keep messing up because they're "just being funny" or some shit, as well as the biggest villain in Buzz's universe being revealed to be "a twist villain" for some dumb reason, and to add insult to injury, Buzz did not feel like the exciteable, enjoyable hero we were promised. And him not wanting help from people in this movie contradicts toy Buzz's moments of talking in his log when he needs back up. As you can tell, them trying to actually tell real Buzz Lightyear's story was the worst storytelling I've ever seen and the executives behind this particular movie are clearly out of touch with what made Buzz Lightyear so great as a character to begin with.

[@johnmcwick1]

Times when I would watch old Disney and Pixar movies, I absolutely forget how much I loved movies as a whole, no less these movies!

[@tell-me-a-story-]

Monster’s ink also probably helped a lot of kids lose their fear of monsters under the bed.

[@jaimeerindy4573]

Monster's Inc and Incredibles are the two films that really shook me to my core as a kid, and it's the reason I went on to work in TV/Film.

[@davegibson79]

Jurassic Park crushes the intro. Rain storm on tropical island, setting both the prophetic fallacy that this is not a happy scene, plus that storms are a problem on the island (that's going to be important later), straight away we have a velociraptor in a cage so we're already getting the dinosaurs we've come to see (but not too much because we only catch glimpses), we know this is going to be a horror movie, and when the industrial accident happens we have both of our villains, velocipraptors and corporate ineptitude. Then we go to a dig, and meet our hardworking everyman heroes, Dr Grant and Dr Sadler. We get an awkard relationship chemistry between them implying there are feelings but it's not a romantic relationship. We find out that in the modern world of hedonism, technology and thrills, dinosaurs are out of fashion as we find out they are having funding problems, and there's a fat kid who doesn't care about the dinosaur claw. Dr Grant terrifies the kid with the veliciraptor claw and talking about how it can brutally gut him and he'll die slowly while being eating, foreshadowing again the threat of the velociraptors, the fact that Dr Grant is passionate about his work, and how he hates kids, meaning his role of fatherly protector to Hammond's nephew and niece and his hero's journey to become ready to be a family man (absolutely destroyed in both Jurassic Park 3 and 6 because male heroes have to live miserable lives after the credit role in modern Hollywood). And all done in a very naturalistic way. It continues with the helicopter scene, the reveal of the first dinosaurs, the sick triceratops that tells us that all is not right and the park owners don't know what they're doing, the Costa Rica cafe conspiracy, and all of it feels believable, organic and well-paced, telling us exactly who our characters are without tropes, stereotypes or attitude. It continues through the philosophical dinner conversation that doesn't come across as preachy, the fun exposition dump by making it a fair ground ride, then the tension when Dr Grant finds out they have velociraptors and the piranha-style cow eating, then the failed ride around the park where the dinosaurs don't show and we see that dinosaurs don't play ball, the tension and subversion with the goat, and finally the tension and slow build up of the T Rex. Then finally, the introduction is over and we're into act 2 and not a single scene has been wasted, cringeworthy, lazy, superfluous. Everything is tight, fun and well-developed.

[@NaveaDraws]

It all starts with a halfway decent script with solid bones.

[@DavidMartinez-ce3lp]

Their movies also used to be satisfying from start to finish. I recently watched Ratatouille and it's still just as good as it was when I saw it in theaters.

[@benhickerson6695]

Honestly even the scream = power speech could fit, having been through many speeches of that sort where they state the obvious

[@adamhunter1064]

Great analysis Greg. Not to always go back to the same well, but Arcane establishes all the characters, plot premise, and emotional beats in about the first 5 minutes also if we are talking animation. For movies, you have to go with Kung Fu Panda and Last Wish for such tight intros.

[@gregowen2022]

Arcane is a well worth going back to again and again. I need to finish my belated review before season 2 comes out, but I probably need to watch it again to get the details right. Oh, darn…

[@c1520]

The film 'Drive' with Ryan Gosling has a phenomenal intro. I think it's closer to 5 minutes than 10 and it is as gripping as any scene from any film.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

I see your 'Drive' and raise you a 'Desperado' (Antonio Banderas) Steve Buscemi nailed it!

[@c1520]

@@sarasunshinemt4444 great choice

[@Selrisitai]

The Incredibles has TWO introductions, and both of them hook you like a fish.

[@KathyH684]

I really like the intro to The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

[@hagerty1952]

"Pixar lost their way..." Yeah, it's because they lost John Lasseter.

[@h0ll0w0ne]

one movie I think nails the narration style intro is Hot Fuzz. It's one of my favorite movies ever in fact.

[@gregowen2022]

Such an outstanding movie. Some of the most efficient writing around

[@h0ll0w0ne]

@@gregowen2022 100% agreed OH! while I have your attention, thank you for putting Violet Evergarden on my radar. I have not NOT ( ;P ) cried like that in a long time. Masterpiece.

[@corgilover2319]

Monsters Inc has always been my favorite PIXAR film and you nailed it as to why! Ratatouille and the first Incredibles film was also extremely well done.

[@rustyshackleford234]

When I was a little kid, I would always close my eyes and cover my ears during the beginning of monsters Inc because I was afraid of the intro 😂

[@AgentOrange88785]

I think about future kids and highly doubt they will find the same excitement and joy us millennials have from old Disney. I could 100% see a future where Disney world is empty and a decaying relic of the past.

[@vashstampede4459]

All valid points. Helpful for my own writing!

[@PhilRMcGregor]

Under John Lasseter, Pixar movies were something special, because he was big on story. A non-Pixar, non-animated movie that I watched recently for the first time in years was "9 to 5" and I was blown away by how tight the script was, especially the introduction. Excellent writing is a rare quality.

[@mallorycarpinski1160]

I was so enjoying your break down I almost audibly whined in disappointment when you said "that wraps up the intro"😊

[@gregowen2022]

Haha, thank you, and I had a fun time making it!

[@Azrael178]

I could honestly listen to you getting hyped and explaining why something is straight up awesome for hours. Its a welcome break from the usual negativity surrounding modern movie releases

[@omegaman2846]

Another movie that I think crushes the intro is A Bugs Life. Using comedy and what I consider to be groundbreaking animated character acting to tell the story while giving us our exposition

[@bowserbreaker2515]

At least Inside Out 2 had a solid intro. But part of that comes from being a sequel, so it didn't have as much to say. I'm so glad it didn't just recap the first movie.

[@keyrtan]

Cars was one of my and my son's favorites for several years and I still enjoy it from time to time. I don't drive much anymore and its very nostalgic both for the love of driving and the days when my son was young as he's going to be 18 this year.

[@GD-os8mz]

I love all your videos. Perhaps you can do a comparison of the Incredibles and Incredibles 2. An example of one of the very best, and one of the very worst. How did they lose their way so badly?

[@gregowen2022]

Oooh, that would be a great one!

[@chordalharmony]

Incredibles 2 is far from the worst of Pixar, it’s kind of just…average. Which is a shame because the original is my favorite movie ever, and having an average sequel hurts more than it really should because of it.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

The only good part of Incredibles 2 was the rant about common core math. I felt that, man. I felt that.

[@rhett8819]

6:40 Reminds me of Big hero 6. We get a serviceable establishing moment with MC Hiro at the robot fights, only for big bro (forgot his name) to swoop in and infodump damn near everything else about him.

[@TheEdgecrusha]

Robocop does an excellent job establishing the world, heroes, and villains in the first ten minutes. From the news reel, fake commercial, showing the state of the police, and introducing the mega Corp OCP. It ends on the reveal of ED 209 at exactly 10 minutes.

[@Saved-by-Grace]

Turning Red was a horrid abomination of character design, my god what were the artists smoking. Also, my favorite movie intro ever is the Secret of NIMH

[@Tyler_W]

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is one of those movie intros that was phenomenal in spite of laying the groundwork with an exposition dump. I think it worked as well as it did because it made sense in context, established the tone, and also and especially did an excellent job at showing what was being talked about as well. Another example more like what you're talking about is the first Star Wars. Sure, it has the opening crawl, but you could remove it entirely, throw us into the opening scene with the Star Destroyer chasing Tantaive IV, and you wouldn't miss a beat because it so effectively introduces the world, the stakes, and the core conflict. The opening crawl could've seemed lazy and uninspired in the opening scene following C-3PO and R2-D2 wasn't so well executed.

[@akumaking1]

All of the creatives were forced out of Pixar due to wokeness and laziness.

[@stevereynolds5684]

To be fair John Lasseter was “handsy”. He was definitely the heart and brains of Pixar, but there was an open joke about not bringing your wife around him, especially when he was drinking. His leaving no doubt coincided with the DEI crap push that has destroyed the company, but he did make it easy for them.

[@anti7257]

Studies always did bad films and cartoons, noone just remember them

[@Thomasmemoryscentral]

​@@anti7257Jennifer Lee is in charge of Disney animation and demanded there now exist 50% females for the animation division. Problem is i learned in another video that not many females have interest pursuing animation for a career

[@dipflop5530]

​@@Thomasmemoryscentralrip my guess is the way animators are seen as a job to job basis and how that reflects on the person, personally I see animators as a droopy mess which I wouldn't think a majority of women wouldn't want to look like.

[@spinlok3943]

@@Thomasmemoryscentral That's why we have a meritocracy. Sometimes certain demographics are more attracted to certain careers and its not because something something patriarchy, that's just the way it is.

[@jalarasstudios414]

I wonder if that small bit with Waternoose that felt a bit out of place would've worked if it had been revealed, then or later (either when Mike and Sulley are watching TV or passing an employee instructional room in the plant) that they were filming for either a commercial or a work instructional video, so his sudden divergence into "the city relies on us" could've been covered by that. Though, it might've subtracted from the commercial gag they did. Who knows.

[@GeekOwtLowd]

The new batch of writers and creators are just imitating. So, they will generally land in a mediocre space. They will use movie tropes, but often ineffectively or just for the sake of it. The film will feel "fine" or "adequate", and it will be hard to criticize, because you know you've seen other excellent movies do similar things. Bad writing will be hidden to many people by generally good acting, good animation, and good production values. Sequels that completely undo characters (like The Last Jedi or Ralph Breaks the Internet), and make them behave out of character, will be hard for many people to notice as the actors do their best to channel the original character in their performances. The normie audience will never be compelled to strongly criticize any of this stuff. They won't even notice the decline in quality unless they decide to look back over a long span, and realize how forgettable and uninspiring most movies have been lately. And there will be some who notice it's bad, but who can't decide WHY it's bad. With them, it's like when Mr Plinkett says "You didn't notice it, but your brain did."

[@gregowen2022]

The mediocre writing is really a curse, and selfishly I hate it for video purposes. It’s really hard to make a video that says “this movie is ok, I guess”. However, I’m starting to change my view of that and I might be harder on them, because being “just good enough to not criticize” is killing entertainment. It’s a slow cancer where we are left with shows and movies that really are not enjoyable but we don’t want to sound mean by hating them. Entertainment is in a very low place

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

Love your comment but kinda hate you for reminding me that Wreck It Ralph 2 exists...😉

[@GeekOwtLowd]

@@sarasunshinemt4444 oh. Ralph Breaks The Internet is banned in my house.

[@mischiviousteefmonster3900]

I think Mr. Waternoose is okay when he explains to the new recruits how they need scream to generate power, it sounds more like one of those pre-rehearsed mission statements that they tell you in meetings when everyone should be well aware. Having worked in a couple industries that provide services, the moment you make a slight error, you'll get a talking to as though you're a child, being reminded of the company's duty, expectation and mission statement as though you just popped into this world and barely muttered your first word.

[@AustinCDavis]

What’s funny is that even the Mr. Waternoose moment is quite natural and fits how a CEO would talk to his employees. Yes, it’s an “as you know…” moment, but they absolutely say things like this, where normal people wouldn’t talk this way to each other.

[@rmglover3191]

Obviously, not animated, but - Watchmen's opening credits' montage is simply perfection.

[@Masterchudi]

Been on a Pixar binge 2000 to 2009 Pixar was in its bag. Elite work

[@danielkover7157]

Mr Waternoose breaking the as you all know rule doesn't necessarily have to be a problem. Have you ever worked with a manager, ever? You ever have one tell you how to do the job you already know how to do, or tell you stuff you already know, either because they genuinely think you don't know it or-more likely-because they need to feel like "the boss?" Mr Waternoose probably thinks he's "guiding" the noobs, being helpful, and all that.

[@gregowen2022]

A solid point, I have had managers like that

[@Sjono]

8:13 “The monsters think children are toxic and deadly.” I mean…are they wrong?

[@awsomeboy360]

Nearly all the 10 fordt Pixar films were like this. It's not the premise alone that made them good, it's the execution and general writing.

[@ChrisHendricks]

I give Onward a bit more of a pass because the opening narration is very reminiscent of the fantasy style. Fantasy movies often have opening narration as though an epic story is being set up. Onward does this, but follows it up with the subversion that magic is obsolete and everything is modern. It works for me (though I agree that some of it is a little forced). But for PIxar movies with great intros, nothing surpasses Wall-E for me. The entire first third of the movie (up until Wall-E leaves the planet) is an absolute triumph of storytelling.

[@stackels97]

I suppose 'The Incredibles' technically starts with an Info dump, but it serves the characters so perfectly and it was uniquely 'live action' esque in comparison to everything else being produced at the time. I'd be curious to hear your take on the general drop in the quality from The Incredibles 1 - 2.

[@YOSUP315]

Though, Monsters Inc is not without its basic writing flaws. I couldn't help but notice many sections of the film take place in real time, and yet hours pass in the time it takes them to walk down a couple short hallways.

[@yeahyeahwowman8099]

Is failing because they are doing what a ton of companies have done before them, rely on old properties to carry them. Basically why come up with something fresh, when you can have Toy Story 8: The Search For More Money.

[@tisallgood]

I don’t feel like Waternoose’s repeating to the new hires that they need to get the scream for power is that unnatural- I’ve worked for major corporations and it’s always annoyed me how you’ll constantly get emails or messages from the CEO or someone saying stuff like “we need to provide the best experience for our customers… blah blah blah” - yes we know, thank you

[@humankale9634]

Greg covering up Mike in the thumbnail like we wouldn’t notice

[@gregowen2022]

I’m so happy you got this joke!

[@SarahtheElephant]

I was always impressed by the intro to Legally Blonde, so much set up and it trusts the audience to interpret meaning of things.

[@theadaptationstationmaster]

This KZbinr is so enthusiastic about the beginning of Monsters Inc that I kind of wish he could do a really long video about the whole movie. LOL. A movie that I think crushes the intro is Singin' in the Rain. It sets up the world, it provides a lot of exposition and it's hilarious.

[@ChristianFrates1997]

The extended cut of Tim Story’s Fantastic Four had a good intro.

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

Part of me thinks Pixar just isn't as cool as it used to be. 3D animation was novel a while back but now all their movies looks more or less the same with slight tweaks, so from a visual perspective they can't really impress anymore, couple that with the mediocre to outright bad writing and it's no surprise they are doing poorly.

[@mightythunderfoot]

Waternoose is okay to monologue because he's LYING and he's trying to reinforce the idea. Also, his trying to keep people impressed by telling them what they should know in a dramatic way.

[@jshyp22]

One thing that I’ve never understood is where the myth of a child touching you, you die, come from. We find out that not true so did someone just lie about it and everyone just believed them? Why since they need their screams for energy. Why add a terrible thing to a job that you need people to do.

[@jendoe9436]

Liability reasons? Imagine a monster gets too close to a child and accidentally cuts or scratches them. Or, even worse break something. Part of the monsters universe implication is that they prefer working under the idea that humans think they don’t exist. Kids are known to make stuff up and worry about things they don’t understand, so if the monster doesn’t do anything that alerts parents that there IS something actually scaring the kids, them they can operate business as usual. However, if a monster does do something that can leave a mark on a child or change the environment that leaves the adults suspicious, then that could cause trouble. So, it’s likely those who started child screaming thought long term consequences. People are always inclined to go bigger and bigger, and sometimes that leads to bad things. Monsters may have had the same idea and thus the “child’s touch can kill you” idea took off to keep monsters from getting too close.

[@dwellinginerised]

Pixar started going downhill since Brave I feel. I remember that movie being the first time I felt truly disappointed in Pixar's quality, and I haven't liked a single movie of theirs since (including Inside Out). Which is sad because Pixar used to be my ultimate gold standard for smart storytelling.

[@陳嘉宇-y4q]

The last Pixar movie for me is Soul That part where the piano started playing, and realizing what is "life", without bashing us in the face, holy moly

[@Halukos]

Matt Stone and Trey Parker had a great video on what makes great writing. You should never have "and then," it should always be "therefore."

[@zeanamush]

And of course the Pinnacle to all this is the intro to "Up" which shows us the wonderful relationship that frames the rest of the movie. Pixar peaked at "UP" everything else has been down hill from there.

[@nicksorenson940]

And Pixar turned our industry away from hand-drawn animation, so do I really care by this point? I haven't watched any of their movies since Monsters University. Pixar is dead to me now. It's traditionally animated movies that are truly in need of saving here in the west, and everything that led to their gradual decline of being replaced by 3D only came about after what Pixar started for themselves.

[@MarklovesAngels]

Yes, I think the desire for 2D speaks to the continual rise and popularity of anime. Not to just jump on the bandwagon, but for past few years, I'm SO tired of 3D. Even if characters are designed differently, the final rendering is always the same globby, bright, sterile shiny metal-looking sheen. Which is why I'm already tired of AI- generated stolen art. Looks like crap because it is crap.

[@frogknightgames]

I think the fact that there's only a single line of true exposition in the monsters inc intro just goes to show that exposition can be used in successful films. Movies are bad when they use the wrong narrative tool for the task at hand. Nothing beats the efficiency of just telling the audience something you want them to know, and maybe in this case iy reallu was the best tool for the job.

[@angel_of_rust]

they saw everyone else failing so they thought that was the status quo

[@CuckooKukri]

I adore Soul and Luca. It always makes me sad that they get bunched in with the likes of Onward and Turning Red. Soul, to me, is such a powerful story about how *living* is the most important part of life. And Luca's not as fast-paced as Monsters Inc., but it's not trying to be. It's cozy, simple, and pleasant, in a way that's transportive and refreshing.

[@twigcollins8785]

Luca felt like a love letter to both Studio Ghibli and the director's childhood and home. It was a much smaller story than something like Up or The Incredibles, but I could feel the real love for the material. Onward wasn't great but I'm amazed the entire movie managed to have the lighting/color palette of a van painting.

[@Mr_Case_Time]

I love storytelling so much. It’s like this big, beautiful, intricate puzzle. The pieces are things like character development, setting, tone, plot, etc. One of the seemingly most difficult pieces to use is exposition. That’s why it’s hard for me to read some of Stephen King’s work, he’ll spend pages and pages expositing information that doesn’t even really seem necessary sometimes. Or of course the opposite could be true in a story and we get a line like, “We’ve been married for seven years, I think I know how you like your coffee.”

[@catkook543]

8:30 to be fair, there wouldn't really be a "natural" way to depict that knowledge that screams=energy within that scene

[@DanteMishima]

You can't fire Pixar, and expect Pixar to be Pixar

[@fruitpunchsamuraid2484]

I would kill to have prime Disney/Pixar back

[@silverheart4049]

Fellowship of the Ring handles an epic, dramatic story spanning ages very effectively without being boring. It had to be one of the hardest things to write for the whole trilogy.

[@LittlePhizDorrit]

I read Creativity Inc years ago, and in it Ed Catmull praised the Pixar spent what seemed like half the book praising the "Brain Trust", a group that was created to work on every story. I've also read Pixar Storytelling that tries to break down the formula of what makes Pixar films so good. Both books felt like the logical fallacy of survivorship bias. "Here is our formula, and it is PERFECT because we have not failed!". They had better writers and storyboard work in the past, no doubt, but I think it really was largely subversion that made their stories so good.....15+ years ago. But subversion relies on there being a norm and now subversion IS the norm. If there is no baseline (e.g. Monsters are scary, look at all these movies with scary monsters) then there is no subversion (Monsters are normal Joes like us). By the time we get to Onward or Elemental, the films are boring because, yeah the writing sucks and the editing sucks...but the base ideas suck too. Nobody is going to theaters not because the writing is bad (we all suspect that will be the case, but we can't know until after the movie comes out), but because the "subversive" ideas are done to death. Do you want to see a movie where (insert idea) is actually (subversion)? As I've commented in other places, this is BAD business because the only people that get the subversion now are adults who remember when heroes were good and monsters/villains were evil and scary. Monsters Inc would probably hardly be as popular today because that's no longer the case. Kids will go into films wondering why the monsters are scaring people, how would that work? aren't monsters nice? Anyway, that's my overly long 2 cents. Great video as always!

[@S_raB]

That's a good take. Probably why Despicable Me films do so well - subversion is a minor side plot, not the main story. When an audience expects the Reversal, the best thing to do is never provide it. I've watched films or read books where I just know this "good" guy is gonna betray our heroes & it gets so boring. Reversals done right - Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. When something becomes the norm, the innovation lies in the outliers. Disney needs to stick with good stories told straight through, clearly defined bad guy, & a main character with an arc that mirrors our villain. It's simple, but requires talent instead of equity.

[@theimaginarium]

What movie crushed the intro? Puss in Boots: the Last Wish. But yeah, you're totally right about Pixar dropping off.

[@gregowen2022]

The Last Wish is so stunningly good, I’m going to have to do another review, more in depth. It’s just phenomenal

[@theimaginarium]

@@gregowen2022 I look forward to hearing your thoughts! It seriously has no right being as good as it is. But it's amazing.

[@TalmoTheSell]

IMO the last Pixar movie that had the magic was Coco back in 2017

[@mariastevenson9227]

Budgets are too high, stories are too safe. All their stores are what if blank could speak.

[@Off-Brand_Devin]

I like the most fateful of movie introductions from "The World's End". Not only is it engaging, but it foreshadows the entire movie and then cuts to a single joke encapsulating Gary's central conflict. That's how you introduce your movie with narration if you ask me.

[@njrk97]

It really feels like we are at another cultural boiling point here with animation, the old guard studios people used to trust the products of, are all failing that audience, we are now seeing in full swing the consequences of these companies having businessmen and marketers infiltrate and assume control of the entire top level of it, and it seems its not just that these companies are struggling to make classics, its that their corporate culture wont allow the cultivation of classic movies anymore. The creatives can only do so much when those above them making the choices just metaphorically do not speak their language, and as such instead of the expectation being that a movie will be great because its made by X company, it seems like what rare few animated movies are great, are great in-spite of the companies presence, instead of because of it. Pixar, Disney,even Dreamworks now, are all quickly cashing out on the momentum their reputations and people are no longer falling for it. Even the Goodwill Puss in Boots 2 gained seems like a splash in the pond, now that Megamind 2 and HTTYD 4 have people concerned.

[@stephanclemens2348]

Not sure if those are comparable but the Mummy has a great Intro into the story. I also really like the "Kansas City Shuffle" Opening in Lucky Number Slevin aswell as quite a Number of Bond Film Intro's. I'm not sure though that it is necessarily a viable Criterium to judge how the rest of the Movie pans out. Die Hard starts pretty lame actually.

[@noveltea9593]

How to train your dragon has an amazing intro. One scene and you've got all the characters, the dragons, the island setting, the motivatione and conflicts/relationships! Not to mention the musical themes!

[@ReasonablySkeptic]

Pixar made TOY STORY, MONSTERS INC, A BUGS LIFE, FINDING NEMO, *THE INCREDIBLES,* and so many other bangers knocking them out of the park! And then recently they crapped out one horrible forgettable mess after another. Turning Red, elemental, lightyear, strange worlds, etc. *THE TITANS HAVE FALLEN SO FAR!*

[@user-fj6ss4ww8n]

Another bit of visual worldbuilding in the first ten minutes of Monsters Inc., according to the mural in the factory lobby: Canada does not appear to exist in the Monsters' world, and Alaska is part of the lower 48.

[@Whookieee]

It is obvious that talent has been forced out and checkboxes have been hired/promoted. All of Hollywood and especially Disney are a cautionary tale about diversity hiring.

[@alexandru5369]

Yep fact is, us millennial's can't write and have no clue what nuance is apparently

[@Senzu15]

Puss in boots 2 also has a great intro that is setting the tone of the movie onward.

[@kamichan127]

This movie is a master class , even international audiences LOVE Monsters University, the live comedy show at WDW is an absolute blast too hehe

[@Midtable1881]

Modern Pixar will never top OG Pixar.

[@gregowen2022]

Sadly, I agree. I just don’t see how it’s possible at this point

[@AngryAtlantean]

I would argue that Watermoose and his "As you know" bit isn't as on the nose and cliché as one would think, simply because that's the exact kind of thing a big shot executive of a company would do. He would state the obvious, not as an exposition dump, or to tell people something they already know, but to illustrate the overarching point he's making, thst being your duty is to power the city with safety and discernment for the job. Careless mistakes like leaving what is, virtually, an interdimensional portal open is just as detrimental as an electrician not shutting off the power before rewiring a part of a house.

[@DominicFrenette-gi3cn]

I was wondering if I had just grown out of animated movies or if they actually had gotten worse

[@marcinmcula99]

It's both. I think I did grow up with great films and great films are rare nowadays but sometimes I see people being nostalgic for utter trash and saying it's good

[@MumRah]

we've still got Kung Fu Panda 4. so all animated goodness isn't lost for sure lol

[@davidhackett6317]

You had people who liked other people doing this stuff back then. Now you have people who want to preach to the people they don't like.

[@nickbrutanna9973]

Across The Spideyverse. You know Miles from Into The... and you kinda know Gwen, but by the end of the intro of AtSV is done, you know her a lot better, you know the position she's in, how she feels, and how and why she's torn between 1 -- what she's supposed to do - and - 2 -- what she wants to do and what feels right for her to do. ATM, my current top 5 US-Animated films are The Incredibles, Big Hero 6, Inside Out, AtSV, and ItSV. I am planning to integrate BtSV with AtSV and treat them as a single movie for general purposes, 'cause "continued next movie"... And if BtSV is as great as AtSV, I have no doubt it will supplant The Incredibles at #1.

[@phoenix_xd5728]

I need to watch Monsters Inc again. I was laughing just from that short clip from the start. I don't get that from mordern movies

[@JasonGorton]

Greg, your reviews are terrifically entertaining for average entertainment fans (or as Disney refers to us, "CONTENT CONSUMERS") but the real value of your channel, and others like it, such as Critical Drinker, Film Threat, and Nerdrotic, is how you demonstrate where the writers go wrong and why the films and shows fail. I've read, probably in more than one place, that if you want to be a better writer it's just as important to read bad fiction as it is to read good; see where others have failed so that you can spot it in your work. I hope the post-woke generation of film makers and writers are mining your reviews and the other aforementioned folks for guidance as they move up the ladder and start their own careers. It may take generations to root out the woke mind virus in our society, but at least the quality of the propaganda has a chance to improve if the writers can bring themselves to listen to the kind of advice you are serving up for free. Keep doing the Lord's work, good sir. Thank you.

[@anonnymouse2402]

Monsters ink was from an era when the main hiring criteria for writers was talent.