Episode 373: Elemental

Pixar brought us one of their most adult films yet in this beautifully animated tale of anthropomorphic elements. There’s a lot going on, though, from a romantic comedy to an immigration allegory and more. We dig into our responses to this somewhat surprising entry from the studio and share what moved us and where we felt it fell a little short.

* Note – full spoilers in effect for entire episode *

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Episode 327: Lightyear

We are blasting off to space this week with Pixar’s new spin-off tale in the Toy Story universe, a story that tells the origin of our beloved Buzz Lightyear character. Sort of. We really enjoyed this space adventure and its surprisingly higher-concept science fiction ideas. Enjoy the discussion!

* Note – full spoilers in effect for entire episode *

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Episode 314: Turning Red

🎶 You’re never not on my mind, oh my, oh my 🎶

We’ve got 4*Town’s catchy tunes stuck in our head as we settle in to chat about Domee Shi’s new Pixar film. We consider whether a movie needs to be “made for everyone” and discuss what we took away from the metaphors and setting used, along with much more.

* Note – full spoilers in effect for entire episode *

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Episode 270: Inside Out

Aaron and Caless look back to when Pixar asked the question, “What if feelings had feelings?” with their conversation about Pete Docter’s brilliant film, “Inside Out”, our January Donor Pick episode.

Inside Out Spoiler Review – 07:39

The Connecting Point – 53:32

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Episode 267: Soul

Caless Davis is here to join us as we do some soul-searching about Pixar’s newest animated feature film. It’s got heavy existential ideas, jazz, a talking cat, and the first ever black leading character in a film by the studio. Oh, and it’s really really really freaking good.

Soul Spoiler Review – 0:07:28

The Connecting Point – 1:15:33

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What We Learned This Week: September 14-20

LESSON #1: THE LANDSCAPE IS NOT READY FOR BLOCKBUSTERS— This first lesson isn’t about desire. With all of the #firstworldproblem wishes, we all miss big event movies. It’s the setting and the earning potential that are not ready. Not enough states and locations are safely open to distribute something wide. Socially-distanced theaters don’t have enough takers or enough seats to make money. Studios either foresee that (and keep delaying) or don’t (and get their harsh baths and haircuts). Look no further than Warner Bros. and Tenet. Watch it fall tremendously short of its budget and maybe cause more harm than good. Watch the PR department spin their own numbers to save face.

LESSON #2: THE DIGITAL OPTION CONTINUES TO IMPROVE AND GRAB PEOPLE— As it stands now, Mulan has made more money than Tenet. Nine months ago, would you have ever thought that was possible? I sure didn’t. Conservative estimates have the Disney re-imagining earning north of $250 million and counting while Tenet just passed $200 million and is struggling to gain repeat business. That echoes Lesson #1. The cherry on top for Mulan is its Velcro to grab and keep new customers. So far in September, Disney+ is experiencing a 68% bump in app downloads coupled with a 193% surge in spending on the app. That follows a previous 79% boost in July attached to Hamilton’s debut on the steaming platform. Something is becoming better than nothing and more is more. Could digital be the new savior until this pandemic lifts. At Disney, let’s see what happens with Black Widow and Soul delays. At WB, we see them sharpening their HBO Max ax.

LESSON #3: HIGH-LEVEL SOCIAL MEDIA HARDBALL HELPS NO ONE— Speaking of Warner Bros., I don’t even know where to begin with the Ray Fisher vs. Warner Bros. fight. With the bold claims being laid and the hills-to-die-on being molded in both directions, this has gone past the stages of “spat” or “disagreement.” The trouble is this is one lower-level actor against a media giant. The success rate is low and the ostracization rate is high, but Ray Fisher strikes me as the kind of guy with that kind of conviction. He’s going to go down swinging. Who do you believe in this feud?

LESSON #4: PEOPLE OF GOOD TASTE OFTEN COME FROM GOOD TASTE— If I were to poll you folks and ask who makes the best American family films right now, I bet the #1 Family Feud survey answer would be Pixar. They make the consistent best storytelling and lesson-rich content. If you’ve ever wondered what people of good taste like Pixar found their taste, check out a pair of excellent Letterboxd lists of age-based recommendations collected from a team of their directors. Their 7-12 list and their 12-and-up list feature some of the absolute best family-friendly films. Indisputable perfection right there.


DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based and Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. His movie review work is also published on 25YL (25 Years Later) and also on Medium.com for the MovieTime Guru publication.  As an educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle and a member of the nationally-recognized Online Film Critics Society.  As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film now for over two years, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties, including the previous “Connecting with Classics” podcasts.  Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium to follow his work. (#140)

FF+ Disney’s D23 Expo 2019

For this week’s FF+ we take a look at some of the movie and TV news coming out of Disney’s D23 Expo 2019. We discuss new trailers, casting announcements, and some of the new details around how Disney’s streaming service Disney + will work.

 

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Music: City Sunshine – Kevin MacLeod

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Episode 172: Toy Story 4

We approached TOY STORY 4 with apprehension, counting ourselves among those that considered Pixar’s trilogy to be one of the best ever made and already “perfect”. In this episode, Caless Davis joins us to discuss the new end of the TOY STORY franchise. We talk through our concerns and share what impacted us about Woody and the gang’s latest chapter.

Toy Story 4 Review – 0:01:38

The Connecting Point – 1:13:22

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FF+ Toy Story 4, Black Mirror S5, and When They See Us

In this extra long episode of FF+ we have spoiler-free thoughts on Pixar’s latest, Toy Story 4, as well as conversations about Season 5 of Black Mirror and Ava DuVernay’s powerful miniseries When They See Us.

New For You 

Toy Story 4 – 0:02:01

Black Mirror S5 – 0:10:34

When They See Us – 0:41:27

 

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Music: City Sunshine – Kevin MacLeod

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MOVIE REVIEW: Toy Story 4


 

Aaron White is a Seattle-based film critic and co-creator/co-host of the Feelin’ Film Podcast. He is also a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society. He writes reviews with a focus on the emotional experience he has with a film. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter to be notified when new content is posted.