[exca1ibur]

YouTube - Tokyo Mater HQ

When Mater was an import... Hilarious...

[andi*pandi]

there's a bunch of these, they are cute! not a cars 2 promo though.

[scaught]

haha. loved it. pixar is amazing

[Timo]

"come back here you import!"

[Apple Pro Underwear]

Cars is the only Pixar movie that made me question them. it's Lasseter's dream project because he likes cars though.

barf-doc hollywood didn't need a remake

[Big Mac]

The first time I saw Cars the impression I got was very similar to yours, APU. The first time around I was watching it bootleg from BT because I missed it in the theaters - it was the first Pixar film I didn't see in-theater the week of release. At that point, it looked like the weakest of all the films to me.

On a subsequent viewing, however, Cars really ended up working for me. I'm not even sure why. Perhaps it was because it was a legitimate DVD release with real menus and better sound, or maybe it was because I felt better about having a real copy. Either way, I felt substantially more positive about it the second time around. I'd say it's better than Nemo at the very least. YMMV.

[Rev-O]

Pixar movies in my order:
1) The Incredibles
2) WALL-E
3) Cars
4) Finding Nemo
5) Toy Story
6) Monsters, Inc.
7) Bug's Life
8) Ratatouille
9) Toy Story 2

Pixar movies in my daughter's order (more the Pixar demographic):
1) WALL-E
2) Ratatouille
3) The Incredibles
4) Bug's Life
5) Cars
6) Monsters, Inc.
7) Finding Nemo
8) Toy Story 2
9) Toy Story

At any rate, Cars doesn't fare too badly on either list... but it is clear that before Pixar makes a Cars 2 they should make an Incredibles 2.

I have high hopes for UP. Looks to rank in the top 3 Pixar movies for me.

[Eug]

1) WALL-E
2) Toy Story
3) The Incredibles
4) Ratatouille
5) Monsters, Inc
6) A Bug's Life
7) Toy Story 2
8) Finding Nemo
9) Cars

And actually, for most of them, they're pretty close for me, so I'm not sure if my order is correct. For instance, For WALL-E, I thought the first half-hour was an epiphany, the next little while with Eva was awesome too, but then the stuff on the ship was less interesting. OTOH, I thought Cars wasn't even in the same league as the rest of the movies. To me, the first 8 were Pixar, and Cars was a Disney straight to DVD special. Well, not quite, but almost.

We each have our own preferences...

[Timo]

The Incredibles
.
.
.
.
Monsters, Inc.
Finding Nemo
Toy Story
WALL-E
.
.
Ratatouille
.
.
Cars

The Incredibles is far superior to the other offerings, especially the offerings of late.

[Rev-O]

I agree with you on WALL-E. Outside of the ship board stuff the movie was absolutely freaking brilliant. Better than anything else Pixar has done, but the ship board fatty stuff let the movie down a bit. That moved it down to #2 for me. The Incredibles did not have the greatness of WALL-E but it was consistently better imho, so it is in my #1 slot. WALL-E is pure genius in parts, tho. Just pure flipping beauty. Charlie Chaplin channeled into an animated feature plus an extra scoop of heart.
I may have talked myself into putting WALL-E in my #1 slot.

I felt that Toy Story 2 was rehashed dreck. It was a serviceable sequel, but it was an obvious attempt at milking a cash cow. I'd put it in the straight to dvd release before Cars. Cars might not have broken any new ground story-wise, but at least it was a new IP. Toy Story 2 was just carrying the same dirty plate back to the box office buffet.

[Eug]

The Incredibles was great, but somehow having a superhero that throws ice and skates just kinda bugged me.

[paul w]

Monsters Inc will always hold a special place in my heart as the first Pixar film that truly wowed me. As much as I enjoyed the films prior (and I did), there's a serious dropoff somehow.

Incredibles was their best looking film, and WALL-E their most mature.

Ratatouille was underrated and Finding Nemo was overrated. Cars was rated correctly.

EDIT: That clip was awesome.

[- - e r i k - -]

Toy Story 2 > Toy Story 1

I thought this was universally agreed?

[andi*pandi]

cars is down on my list, but still better than 20x the dreck out there.

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Toy Story 2 > Toy Story 1

I thought this was universally agreed?

Odd, I thought it was almost universally agreed sequels are never as good as the originals.

[Stogieman]

That's true. Unless those sequels are called The Dark Knight or Wrath of Khan.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Odd, I thought it was almost universally agreed sequels are never as good as the originals.

"Almost" being the key adjective here.

[Dakar V]

Actually almost completely undermines the use of universal. Rookie mistake.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Odd, I thought it was almost universally agreed sequels are never as good as the originals.

Many shining examples of that being untrue. In addition to the ones mentioned:

The Empire Strikes Back
Dawn of the Dead
Back to the Future II
Superman II
Before Sunset
The Bourne Supremacy
Aliens
Terminator 2
Mad Max 2
The Godfather part II

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Actually almost completely undermines the use of universal. Rookie mistake.

Well, you know what they saw about using the word "almost". It means "didn't happen" or "not true".

Do I need to add a smiley here?


I think I will just in case.

[Railroader]

So, what is the almost universal understanding on prequels?

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Many shining examples of that being untrue. In addition to the ones mentioned:

You say shining examples, I say "exceptions."

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

The Empire Strikes Back
The Bourne Supremacy

Planned trilogy, doesn't count

--

Superman II
Back to the Future II

I'm with you on BttF II just because I always love future stuff, but in general, people (and critics) don't agree with you on those two.

--

Dawn of the Dead
Before Sunset
Terminator 2
Aliens

There's a large disparity in years between the original and sequels. I don't think this is a coincidence (In fact, I used to point to that as why T2 was so good growing up).

--

Mad Max 2
The Godfather part II

Totally legit.

Originally Posted by Railroader 

Well, you know what they saw about using the word "almost". It means "didn't happen" or "not true".

That sounds almost right.

[starman]

My favorite Pixar movie is the one where the main character had to get home.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by starman 

My favorite Pixar movie is the one where the main character had to get home.

BUT THAT'S SEVERAL OF THEM LOL allcaps

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

BUT THAT'S SEVERAL OF THEM LOL allcaps

I think that covers all of them. Damn you Laminar, for destroying the last bit of faith I had in Hollywood.
lol

[Dakar V]

Notsomuch for the Incredibles, which is probably why it tends to rank so highly on most lists.

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

The first time I saw Cars the impression I got was very similar to yours, APU. The first time around I was watching it bootleg from BT because I missed it in the theaters - it was the first Pixar film I didn't see in-theater the week of release. At that point, it looked like the weakest of all the films to me.

On a subsequent viewing, however, Cars really ended up working for me. I'm not even sure why. Perhaps it was because it was a legitimate DVD release with real menus and better sound, or maybe it was because I felt better about having a real copy. Either way, I felt substantially more positive about it the second time around. I'd say it's better than Nemo at the very least. YMMV.

Living in Arizona, where Radiator Springs appears to be, Cars hits home for me. My parents grew up in northern Arizona. I have an aunt and uncle who still live in Winslow.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Notsomuch for the Incredibles, which is probably why it tends to rank so highly on most lists.

But they do go home at the end.

[Dakar V]

But that was not a goal during the movie, so much as a circumstance.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

But that was not a goal during the movie, so much as a circumstance.

I see your point.

How about a Pixar film with a cast that wants to leave home? They could make new tracks, explore new ideas - create a new home someplace completely different, etc... and be happy about it.

[Dakar V]

Your reversing the "goal" but the premise is the same: A trek through unfamiliar challenging territory in the goal of reaching a location.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Your reversing the "goal" but the premise is the same: A trek through unfamiliar challenging territory in the goal of reaching a location.

Ok, so it's still cliched shlock.

[Dakar V]

Don't quit your day job.
(technically speaking, every plot is a variation on some older plot, but starman rightfully points out that they could be a slightly more imaginative)

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

Don't quit your day job.
(technically speaking, every plot is a variation on some older plot, but starman rightfully points out that they could be a slightly more imaginative)

Too late.

One problem I have with Pixar is that their plots are too predictable. I've grown tired of their films, that's all.

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by starman 

My favorite Pixar movie is the one where the main character had to get home.

My favorite disney movie is the one where it ends happily ever after.

[Dakar V]

My favorite date is the one where they never come back from bathroom.

[Laminar]

My favorite Will Ferrell movie is the one where he plays a man-boy with an overinflated ego.

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

My favorite Will Ferrell movie is the one where he plays a man-boy with an overinflated ego.

I thought that was Adam Sandler.

[0157988944]

No, Adam Sandler is the one who isn't funny ever at all ever.

[- - e r i k - -]

@Dakar The Empire Strikes Back was never part of a "planned trilogy". Star Wars was planned as a one off, the success lead to the sequels and retconned "Episodes".

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

@Dakar

twittering a little too much man.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

twittering a little too much man.

I couldn't be arsed copying and pasting his recursive quotes. The @reply precedes twitter as an internet convention.

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

@Dakar The Empire Strikes Back was never part of a "planned trilogy". Star Wars was planned as a one off, the success lead to the sequels and retconned "Episodes".

When Vader went flying off at the end of "A New Hope" (the real title of the first film) everyone around us at the theater shouted "SEQUAL!" When Empire hit the theaters in 1980, the scroll began "Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back" and we all said WTF, episode 5?
Originally it was going to be a trilogy of trilogies, The droids being the only characters to appear in all nine films.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by starman 

My favorite Pixar movie is the one where the main character had to get home.

Haha...

I just watch UP last week.

It's about learning to let go of his home he spend most of his life in, because he had so many memories attached to it.

He finally learn how to let go, and found his new home.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

When Vader went flying off at the end of "A New Hope" (the real title of the first film) everyone around us at the theater shouted "SEQUAL!" When Empire hit the theaters in 1980, the scroll began "Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back" and we all said WTF, episode 5?
Originally it was going to be a trilogy of trilogies, The droids being the only characters to appear in all nine films.

Except it wasn't called "A New Hope" at first:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The film was titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.

At that point, Lucas was not expecting the film to become part of a series. The fourth draft of the script underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Later, he realised the film would not in fact be the first in the sequence, but a film in the second trilogy in the saga. This is stated explicitly in George Lucas' preface to the 1994 reissue of Splinter of the Mind's Eye:

It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at last nine films to tell—three trilogies—and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.

The second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft some months later Lucas had negotiated a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Not long after, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels. The intention was that if Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays. He had also by that point developed a fairly elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.

When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas decided to use the film as the basis for an elaborate serial, although at one point he considered walking away from the series altogether.

However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center—what would become Skywalker Ranch—and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent. Alan Dean Foster had already begun writing the first sequel novel, but Lucas decided to abandon his plan to adapt Foster's work; the book was released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the next year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the James Bond series. In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 1977, he said that he wanted his friends to each take a turn at directing the films and giving unique interpretations on the series. He also said that the backstory where Darth Vader turns to the dark side, kills Luke's father and fights Ben Kenobi on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel.

Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. The treatment is very similar to the final film except that Darth Vader does not reveal he is Luke's father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.

Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Lucas has said he was disappointed with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she died from cancer. With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II. As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the first draft probably made Lucas consider different directions in which to take the story. He made use of a new plot twist: Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. [Watch the first film and it's bloody obvious that it wasn't made with Darth Vader being Luke and Leia's father in mind —Erik]

According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the year-long struggles writing the first film, and quickly wrote two more drafts, both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having Han Solo become imprisoned in carbonite and left in limbo.

This new story point of Darth Vader being Luke's father had drastic effects on the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was separate from Luke's father; there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978. After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student; he had a child called Luke but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Republic became the Empire and Vader hunted down the Jedi knights.

With this new backstory in place, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the next draft. Lawrence Kasdan, who had just completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film.

By the time he began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Making Empire Strikes Back was stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was disintegrating. Burnt out, and not wanting to make any more Star Wars films, he vowed that he was done with the series in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft," Vader became a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was hired to take over once again and, in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels.

So there you go, the long and complicated answer: Star Wars was never planned to be a trilogy (or even a trilogy of trilogies) until after Star Wars (by then NOT "A New Hope") was successful.

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Except it wasn't called "A New Hope" at first:

It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at last nine films to tell—three trilogies—and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.

So there you go, the long and complicated answer: Star Wars was never planned to be a trilogy (or even a trilogy of trilogies) until after Star Wars (by then NOT "A New Hope") was successful.

[exca1ibur]

Nice info. Didn't know that.

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

twittering a little too much man.

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

I couldn't be arsed copying and pasting his recursive quotes. The @reply precedes twitter as an internet convention.

Seriously, even Shif has done the @ thing (and she hates twitter). Talk about nitpicking.

Anyway, I'll concede the Star Wars thing. If it really is true it just makes the trilogy all the more impressive (and the prequel all the more depressing).

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

Yeah, that was Lucas retconning a bit. Later, means after Star Wars got successful. As you can see by the whole thing (and just plain watching ANH comparing to the others), the whole saga wasn't planned until the success of the first one.

Darth Vader getting away at the end was just standard open-ended "let's hope we can make a sequel of this" movie stuff. The planning of the wider universe and the whole "Luke I'm your father" plot point wasn't conceived until much later in the process.

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Too late.

One problem I have with Pixar is that their plots are too predictable. I've grown tired of their films, that's all.

Yup, Pixar's plot are really predictable, and finding PIxar movies formulaic is just fine as long as you realize you are (most likely) outside of their demographic. Don't think Pixar spends many sleepless nights worrying how to get the 30 to 40 year old audience in.

Now that you mention it, I think all those damn Disney movies are really predicable too! So is Dora the Explorer! It's like they write this crap for kids!