What if I told you they were preparing us for the future? What if I told you Pixar’s films will affect how we define the rights of millions, perhaps billions, in the coming century? Only by analyzing the collection as a whole can we see the subliminal concept being drilled into our collective mind. I have uncovered the skeleton key deciphering the hidden message contained within the Pixar canon. Let’s unlock it.
The Hidden Message in Pixar’s Films
> Catena Ex Situ
4 Comments | 
A Bug's Life, Cars, ex situ, Monsters Inc., morality, philosophy, Ratatouille, Robin Hood, Tarzan, The Incredibles, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, The Rescuers, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Up, WALL-E | Tagged: Pixar | 
Permalink
Posted by The Editor
[Editor's Note: I found this Ex Situ via the indispensable The Disney Blog.]
Mr. Michial Farmer at Ladder on Wheels has written an excellent two-parter about themes of darkness and anxiety in Disney and Pixar movies (including Up). It’s practically a survey of disturbing things in Disney and Pixar movies. The first part is all about how dark the early Disney features were, and how they lost some of that darkness after (roughly) World War II:
…All of the early Disney features—for our purposes, let’s define “early” as prewar, which would allow us to work with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi—are shiny and beautifully drawn, but all of their prettiness only serves to hide the deep, existential dread at their cores.
While Mr. Farmer has a good point, I do think he neglects some of the darker imagery of The Rescuers, The Black Cauldron, The Lion King, or even Lilo & Stitch. Though the darkness in these films isn’t quite as fundamental or thematic as most of the pre-WWII examples he gives.
His second part is all about how Pixar’s stories are successful partly because they have embraced those mature themes which have been largely absent from the post-war Disney films. Here’s part of his discussion of Finding Nemo:
Finding Nemo, on the other hand, begins with a reference to and amplification of the central terror in Bambi. Here Marlin’s wife dies a terrible death just as they’re planning their life together, and the Barrucuda who eats her also goes ahead and takes out all but one of her eggs. Marlin—understandably, although the film doesn’t seem to acknowledge that!—becomes a picture of anxiety, protecting his disabled son (a nod to Dumbo, though Nemo doesn’t get the brutal mocking that his elephantine counterpart does) from the world that took his wife with little to no warning.
It’s very true that Pixar does not shy away from including more sophisticated and mature themes. It’s certainly part of the reason why Pixar movies resonate strongly with both kids and adults. Pixar also does not make the mistake (common among the filmgoing public) of mistaking “dark/edgy” for “dark/mature.” A lot of cartoon and comic fans seem to think it validates their love of the artform if disturbing stuff is haphazardly included, whether or not it actually adds anything symbolically or thematically. Pixar probably learned its lesson after that first disastrous “edgy” draft of Toy Story.
Deep in the Big Black Heart of the Sunshine State
Part 1 >Catena Ex Situ
Part 2 >Catena Ex Situ
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Furl | Newsvine
1 Comment | A Bug's Life, Atlantis, Bambi, Bolt, Brother Bear, Cars, Chicken Little, Cinderella, death, Dumbo, ex situ, Fantasia, Finding Nemo, Home on the Range, Lady and the Tramp, Lilo and Stitch, Meet the Robinsons, Monsters Inc., morality, philosophy, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Song of the South, The Black Cauldron, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Incredibles, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, The Rescuers, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Up, villains, violence, WALL-E | Tagged: angst, existential dread, ontological, The Island, World War II | Permalink
Posted by The Editor
Just in time for Up: WALL•E!
SynchroLux (né Kevin Koch) decided to revisit WALL•E and share some of his thoughts on the relationship between theme and plot:
My issue, put simply, is that the film’s theme was revealed and resolved early, robbing the remainder of the film of meaning. Put another way, by climaxing and resolving the theme about half way through the movie, it ended up feeling like two distinct, shorter episodes welded together, with the first one quite a bit more compelling than the second.
and:
Let’s take a step back and look at the issue of theme. Plot is about what happens, to whom, and in what order. Theme is what the film is about. Themes give films meaning, depth, and enhance our sense of entertainment. Not all films have much of a theme, but I’d argue strongly that there are no memorable or great films that don’t have well-developed themes that infuse and drive the narrative. And, as I recall reading somewhere I can’t place now, the great films tend to make the resolution of the theme the key to resolving the plot…
His primary solution, which will not be completely revealed here, is to tweak the character of Captain McCrea to keep more in synch with the theme to get that nice, endorphin-releasing thematic resolution.
…Perhaps the Captain, instead of being a bored dope, could have been a devoted scholar of man’s time on Earth. Maybe this is how he spent his countless hours of leisure time, looking at old National Geographics…
Mr. Koch’s specific objection of thematic resolution never bothered me, since the movie supports all manner of thematic analysis and symbolism, despite what Mr. Stanton says. I don’t think WALL•E truly possesses one consistent theme, but seems to be a bit of a hodgepodge.
I do like his idea of tweaking the Captain character, since his transformation to proactive go-getter was a little bit easy. (The filmmakers did at least right away show how bored he was with his day-to-day routine.) I wouldn’t tweak quite so dramatically as Mr. Koch suggests, since this might rob the film of any suspense or mystery regarding Captain McCrea if we know from the outset that he’s going to be emphatically on WALL•E’s side. It might also telegraph the return-to-Earth ending a little too much. Having the Captain as an interested go-getter from the start would also undercut a bit of the importance of humanity taking charge again. He can’t seem like the kind of guy who would have already flipped the switch to MANUAL.
WALL•E: When Theme and Plot Get Out of Sync > Catena Ex Situ
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Furl | Newsvine
2 Comments | ex situ, Up, WALL-E | Tagged: Eve, irrational love, plot, Theme | Permalink
Posted by The Editor
You are currently browsing the archives for the Up category.
