Pixar's possible reboot plans show how far the brand has sadly fallen
Why Pixar has to avoid reboots
Pixar's issues seem to be a symptom of the wider problems at Disney, which is focused on short-term box office success rather than smaller projects. That's why they're learning into IP so much, including attempts to revive Pirates of the Caribbean and more live-action versions of animated classics.
The problem is that fans are tired of those adaptations and Disney shouldn't be going all-in for them. Does anyone really want a $100 million take on Tarzan or The Hunchback of Notre Dame? At least those have the mild interest of live-action versions of animated characters but full-on reboots of movies still so beloved as Nemo are horrible.
Nemo was a lightning-in-a-bottle film. Few gave it that much of a chance back in 2003, but it ended up being one of the biggest hits of that year. It worked for the characters, the actors, and the storyline; it all came together so well. Trying to replicate that is a fool's errand, as proven by the various live-action adaptations that rely too much on star power rather than good voice actors.
Pixar should recognize that, see that folks could respond better to a fresh story with new characters than rehashing stuff from before. It's not like it's the only studio with this problem yet it feels worse as so many Pixar films feel magical because they're stand-alone tales.
Do we really need Wall-E 2 showing the humans settling to a new world? Upper? Ratatouille: Back to the Kitchen? Brave-er? No, we don't because those stories were settled and that should be that. Trawling for past franchises over the original magic Pixar possessed is a waste of this studio's talents.
Even some in Pixar agree as Senior Vice President of Development Linsdey Collins shared her son's less than favorable reaction to a possible third Incredibles film.
"The other day, I was like, 'What if I told you we were making an Incredibles 3?' And he was like, 'Money grab.' And I was like 'F—.' Sequels are a double-edged sword, because the audience can be brutal and so quick to judge. Unless they're worthy."
Granted, Pixar has produced worthy sequels such as the Toy Story ones but also duds like Cars 3. That's just a sequel, trying a reboot is something else entirely. It also means less of what folks expected from Pixar in the first place, which was stunning animation with original tales no other studio could do.
It's not that Pixar can't still make great movies. Luca and Red prove that and both deserved theatrical releases to prove their success with audiences. One would think the failure of Lightyear should have been a clear sign to Pixar that audiences wouldn't respond to some strange reboot or sequel, but they seem to be ignoring that.
The fate of Inside Out 2 is going to be a key change for Pixar. If it's a hit, we may see more sequels or even reboots of past works coming. So maybe, just maybe, a failure could be better to make Pixar realize it has to get back to its roots and produce the unique films fans fell in love with.
It's early yet, and this may not even happen, but it's still jarring that Pixar, once the leader of amazing animated movies, may be doing nothing but retreads rather than more original stuff.