Pixar was a stape part of my cinematographic experience as a child, and I imagine/hope it was for many others too. It’s only in the last few years, though, that I have contemplated how its films resonate with me nowadays perhaps more so than they did when I was younger. The films, it is clear, are able to entertain both children and adults, and they do so by striking a chord with us all on an emotional level, often with the most basic, universal lessons of life at their heart.
Watching the sheer masterpiece that is Pixar’s 2015 hit Inside Out with my parents at home last weekend, I struggled to believe that it wasn’t in fact primarily aimed at adults. Of course, it is ultimately targeted at children, and children are certainly benefiting from it and making a connection with the film, with floods of anecdotal reports of young children learning how to communicate their emotions, and becoming more willing to do so, as a result of the film. Inside Out has indeed been highly praised by clinical psychologists, and a number claim to be using it in helping patients to express themselves, which is a fantastic achievement.
For adults, we perceive further nuances of the film. We identify that the main character progression is not in fact that of the girl, Riley, but rather that of Joy, one of the five personifications of emotions inside Riley’s head. Joy understands the purposes of the characters Fear, Disgust, and Anger in life, but it takes the whole film for her to come to learn that Sadness has a place in our lives as well. Considering it now, myself having been widely labelled a carefree, ever-happy child, parents and their children are shown in Inside Out that it can be unhealthy mentally to always try to be happy, or to expect it from one’s children. Sadness should not be suppressed. Pixar really earns its long-held status as a progressive force in the film industry.
However, it is through Monsters, Inc. and the much later Monsters University, as well as the three Toy Story movies, that we clearly see Pixar aiming to take viewers on a long-term emotional journey. It is no coincidence that Toy Story 3, for example, was (finally) made around the time when the original core child target audience of the first two films would have been going to university, as Andy, the owner of the toys in the trilogy, himself is about to do. Different aspects of Toy Story 3, it seems to me, resonated with different people, and in a pattern, with parents I know admitting to crying as Andy went off to university at the end of the film, moving on and leaving his childhood toys behind for a new generation. The viewer really sees himself in the characters of their films.
The emotional depth of Pixar films ensures they don’t bore the adults who have to sit and watch them with their young children. Jokes solely targeted at adults are often rife in the film. One example: in Toy Story 2, Buzz’s wings spontaneously pop out when he stares at Jessie, impressed at her abilities, clearly representing an erection.
Naturally, we all undoubtedly have some Pixar films that we never made much of a connection with (I was astonished that Cars was quickly granted a sequel long before Finding Dory’s much-anticipated release later this year.) Yet Pixar films never fail to convey important but accessible messages to audiences. Wall·E demonstrates the importance of protecting the planet, whilst Ratatouille highlights the importance of ‘dreaming big’ and not underestimating others. These messages, in addition to the humour, high-quality animation, and years of plot and character refinement and artistic design which characterise Pixar films, make them utterly unique, often exceptional, and pioneers in the issues they address. Pixar films affect people of all ages. Long may that continue to be true.
