DisneyHead123
Well-Known Member
Hmm. Maybe just a me problem then. Felt the same way about Moana 2, I couldn’t tell you what the heck happened in most of that movie although it was enjoyable enough.
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Hoppers (Pixar Spring 2026)
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Just a grifter - best to ignore their content. They once posted here that frozen 2 was a disaster and bomb…
Based on Disney's own internal figures they supposedly had access to!
DL-fan
Well-Known Member
The movie was originally supposed to be a Moana show on Disney plus. The story was kept intact while the animation was done to Disney standard and it was one connected effort. This is probably why fans were mostly disappointed with it as well as critics. To me, it felt like a Disney Direct-to-Video effort with quality animation. Also, due to the crunch to make it a theatrical release, they couldnt get Lin Manuel Miaranda to write the songs so that hurt it as well.
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
No Moana 2 was a narrative hot mess and the fact that it was originally an episodic show showed throughout the film. Quite poor…
DisneyHead123
Well-Known Member
Maybe there’s hope for my brain then, ha ha! I don’t think I could easily summarize any Disney / Pixar movie since Encanto.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I can't summarize Encanto. I guess it just didn't hold my attention. Weird since that is the last Disney/Pixar movie to win Best Animated movie.
Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
Well unlike Disney-Pixar “demanding” we go see their movie as if we owe them something for Hoppers, Ryan Gosling recently had this to say by contrast:
It has been great for theaters year over year so far…looking at the upcoming slate it feels like this could be the top grossing year post CovidHoppers is a great original movie, both should be seen.
Stripes
Premium Member
Disney/Pixar don’t “demand” that you go see their movie or believe that you owe them something. To the contrary, animation fans have demanded that Disney put more resources into marketing and promoting their original films because there’s a concern across the animation industry that original animated films from all the animations studios aren’t given as much of a chance by the theater-going public nowadays than they used to, as reflected in the box office numbers. You see these “demands” from animation fans to support original projects regardless of studio, including Sony, Dreamworks, Illumination, etc. If anything, Disney and Pixar leadership have blamed themselves for creative choices that didn’t resonate with broader audiences.
From a recent WSJ article:
Current and former [Pixar] employees say one of the biggest reasons [for lack of original film performance] is that the conflict-averse [Pete] Docter encouraged new directors to make autobiographical movies that too many audience members struggled to connect with.”
After a series of disappointments culminating in last year’s bomb “Elio,” Docter is pushing Pixar to re-embrace the universally relatable concepts like talking toys and monsters in the closet that once made it a juggernaut.
“As time’s gone on, I realized my job is to make sure the films appeal to everybody,” the 36-year company veteran said.
In late 2023, Docter gathered Pixar’s staff in their steel and glass atrium to deliver an uncharacteristically blunt message. He said they’d erred in making so many autobiographical movies and needed more broadly commercial hooks. Pixarians remembered it as his “come to Jesus” speech.
With its shrinking number of originals, Pixar is trying to balance returning to broad commercial concepts while pushing the boundaries of its tried, true and, to some, tired formula. Next year’s “Gatto,” about a feline thief in Venice, features animal fur and human hair that look like they were painted by hand, rather than a computer trying to simulate the real thing. “Ono Ghost Market,” which was originally going to be a streaming series, is inspired by Asian myths about supernatural bazaars where the living and dead interact. The studio hasn’t publicly unveiled “Ono” yet.
“Gatto is really exciting for many reasons. First of all, it’s just a great story. But second, it’s set in Venice, which is kind of like a living painting. And so we’re trying to bring that aesthetic to the look. It’s not as photorealistic as historically our films have been. And I do think we’re at an interesting point in animation history where people have grown up with so much around them that they’re looking for something new. And I think that’s the challenge for all of us, is to find that new thing that, on the one hand, will make people go, ‘Woah, I’ve never seen that.’ But on the second go: ‘I understand that and I recognize that somehow as my own experience as a human.” -Pete Docter
Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
Disney had passive aggressive Instagram and Timtok posts bacially mocking people for wanting original movies yet their original content push recently has consistent of Strange World, Lightyear, and Wish LOL.Hoppers is a great original movie, both should be seen.
Stripes
Premium Member
Can you post these posts so we may form our own conclusions about them? Was it Disney themselves or just “influencers” drawing attention to the industry-wide poor performance for original films? Also, a reminder: Project Hail Mary is not an original film as it’s based on a highly-successful book.
Also, to be fair, Disney and Pixar’s recent original films also include: Hoppers, Elemental, Luca, Soul, and Encanto. Very much looking forward to Hexed and Gatto as well! Bright future ahead, if you ask me!
is not an original film. Pretty bizarre to include it in your post as an original film.
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Pizza Moon
Well-Known Member
Lightyear and Project Hail Mary are original films lol.
Franchise extensions absolutely, but they’re original stories, not remakes or even sequels, similar to Hunger Games Ballad of Songerbirds and Snakes or same with Into the Spider-Verse being more original. Yeah it would be best “Adapted Screenplay” as an Oscar nominee, but I’d still consider them original, where as despite Toy Story 2:3 being masterpieces they’re not totally “original” like the first.
As for the video clips or posts; I’ll have to try and find them later, but I do remember seeing them on various social media platforms.
I’m excited for Hexed and Gatto!
Feels like a return to form to the Luca/Soul/Encanto trifecta.
Stripes
Premium Member
Lightyear is based on the Buzz Lightyear toy from the Toy Story franchise. If you ever watched the film, you would know this. It’s explained at the beginning, and frankly, self-evident. Project Hail Mary is based on a highly-successful book. By definition, these are not original films. This is why all of the box office figures for Project Hail Mary are compared against “non-franchise” films.
It’s literally the exact opposite. Project Hail Mary, isn’t considered a “franchise.” But, the film is not an original work as it’s merely an adaptation of a prior work.
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BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Very loose definition there: Not dependent on other people's ideas; inventive and unusual. Something serving as a model or basis for imitations or copies.
The book is the original. TS1 is the original.
The words I would use is that Project Hail Mary is an Adaptation. Lightyear is a Spin-off.
Which certainly does exist on a gradient away from a remake. Though they are not true originals from their source materials like Hoppers is.
