In the early 21st century, Pixar, which is in the hegemony of the industry, has launched a series of classic masterpieces such as "Racing Story", "Food Story", "Flying House Tour" and so on, which have deeply influenced the world.
In recent years, Pixar seems to have fallen into the dilemma of self-development after being acquired by Disney, and the failure of several movies such as "Dinosaurs" and "Cars 2" has pushed this dilemma to the peak.
Fortunately, several high-scoring new works such as "Mind Agents", "Racing Story 3", and "Dream Quest" have revived the praise and expectations of Pixar for those eagerly awaited loyal fans.
The "Toy Story 4" that appears now is even closer to the times, continuing to write a new legendary era for Pixar.
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > the repeated entanglements of dream pursuit with harsh realities: the undead, flying houses, and food</h1>
Compared to other fanciful animated films, 2007's "Food Story" should be Pixar's most lively and human fireworks masterpiece.
Putting aside the portrayal of villains and the ups and downs of the plot in the film, the most moving thing about "Food Story" is that of a little mouse that comes alive and persistently pursues his dreams.
As Maugham wrote in his monumental work The Moon and Sixpence, "Chasing dreams is chasing one's own doom, and in the streets full of sixpence, he looked up and saw the moonlight." No matter what kind of tribulation the little mouse encounters, it always believes in chef's phrase "anyone can cook."
Through such a comedic fairy tale fable, the film expresses the idea that "not all people can become great artists, but great artists can come from anywhere".
Everyone should not give up their initial desire for dreams because they are hindered by humble identity, the triviality of life, and the difficult living environment, on the stage of life, even a small mouse can harvest the happiness of dreams come true, what can not be done?
Even if the harsh reality repeatedly teases our impermanent fate, as long as we persist, one day we will usher in our own light.
While depicting the little mouse pursuing his dream, the film also carefully portrays the character of the mean and old-fashioned food critic. It is more ironic that many so-called elites in this era treat life on a high level and do not eat human fireworks.
Critics in the final transformation of the film with a touch of simplicity and reflection on past reviews, "a lot of times, the work of critics is simple, our risk is small, we also enjoy the lofty posture of being able to judge chefs and their cooking skills at will, we make criticisms at will, do whatever we want, sensationalize." But we have to face the fact that in many cases, even the most mundane junk food is in itself much more meaningful than our criticism of it. ”
In such a comment, we see a valuable attitude towards life and full of tolerance and respect for food, guiding the audience to use the eyes of ordinary posture to discover the beauty and difficulty of life around them.
As the last animation work before Pixar was acquired by Disney, "Flying House Tour" can be said to be a peak and farewell work of Pixar.
This is the story of an old man who pursues himself.
The film shows us the most beautiful appearance of love in the first ten minutes. But in the following sixty minutes, he showed us a lonely and strange autistic old man who had lost his lover.
He closed the door, refusing everyone's concern and request to go to the nursing home. When the search for his lover in his heart broke through the obstacles of reality, he used ten thousand balloons and a castle in the air to express his determination and courage not to be willing to do so.
However, as he goes through an adventure along the way, he finally walks out of the house he and Ellie have built brick by brick near the end of the film, and watches the house drift away in the air and fall steadily on the edge of the cliff. We know that's where the story really begins.
He was finally able to bravely come out of the memory of his lost lover and past years to face reality and start his new life journey with a little boy and a group of smart and cute puppies.
Through the end of the film, we can see the ideas that Pixar creators really want to express to the audience in the beautiful pictures that continue to flash - the memory of the past should not become a shackle on the way forward in our lives, we should live in the present, and strive to live an ordinary and beautiful day every day.
Looking back, you will find that all the memories and true feelings will be like the house in the movie, which falls steadily among the high cliffs, leaving its own traces on the beautiful waterfall...
Constructing a movie world that is given a childlike color, relying on reality and distinguishing it from reality, can be said to be the usual routine in Pixar phone calls. From the toy world of "Toy Story" to the underwater world of "Finding Nemo" to the world of the undead in "Dream Quest", these strange, colorful and ever-changing fascinating worldviews are set to provide a rich and delicate story background for the plot, and at the same time, they themselves become an important part of the plot, and at the same time become the rational premise of the establishment of the film characters, and often become one of the important props to promote the development of the story.
A good worldview setting is often the driving force behind the success of the story. As Pixar's return to the pinnacle of work in recent years, in addition to the delicate and vivid grafting of Traditional Mexican Culture, the most surprising thing about the film is the fantasy and presentation of the "World of the Dead".
This worldview concept makes perfect use of the cultural elements of other countries, but also loses its imagination of animation, showing the wonderful reaction of collisions under the deep integration of cultures.
The "World of the Dead" in "Dream Quest" rationalizes and downplays the profound issues of life and death for the main audience of the film, namely children, with the help of traditional myths and legends.
The colorful "world of the dead" is used as an alternative carrier of the tragic element "death" in the film story, and the transformation of the "tragic" element of the story to the "comedy" element is formed, so that the plot itself suddenly has a dramatic reversal when it falls into a low tide, and effectively integrates the world view setting with the plot itself.
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > hero Twilight and Faith Legacy: Racing Series</h1>
If there is any series of animated films with the most brain-opening temperament, it is necessary to mention the "Racing Story" series: a world where only cars have no one, a world that pursues speed and passion.
At the beginning of the first game in the series, "Racing Story", the arrogant "Lightning" McQueen unsurprisingly failed in the race, and his co-team left in anger. However, the proud McQueen still did not repent, and simply went to the next race alone with his trailer driver.
As if it were a little joke from heaven, in his sleep, he unconsciously got out of the truck.
Yin and yang mistakenly came to the hot spring town where no one came for eight lifetimes and birds did not, but here they gained experience and understanding that they had never experienced in their lives, and finally won the game with the help of everyone. The simple and suspenseful story shows a different warmth under Pixar's ingenuity.
Gao Xiaosong once wrote in his song that "life is not only in front of you, but also in poetry and far away." "Racing Story" tells us that the true nature of life is far more than speed and passion, and the real victory of life is not how fast you can run, but whether you can slow down and feel life and warmth.
After realizing the true meaning of life, McQueen gradually grew from a young man to a responsible and responsible life fighter, and finally won the victory.
If "Cars" is a chic and moving sketch of life, then its sequel is more like a commercial film that mixes the temperament of "Agent Bean" and "Fast and Furious", losing the theme and ideological core of the film story, leaving only McQueen and Banya's global race and Banya's accidental collision to save the world.
Cars 2 inevitably fell prey to Disney's acquisition of Pixar. But fortunately, there is also the deep farewell of "Cars 3".
The box office and word-of-mouth failure of "Cars 2" almost made the shooting and production plan of "Cars 3" come to naught, but after several years of precipitation and dormancy, the regrouped production team once again made the world feel the surprise and emotion that this series of animated films can bring.
In a sense, "Cars 3" is not a movie for children, because it goes against the traditional routine, no longer telling the story of heroes reinvigorating and achieving glory, but about letting go and passing on.
"When will it be retired?" The juniors will tell you. In the first part of the series, Dr. Blue Sky once talked to him in such a serious way why he had no choice but to quit the game and why he ended his glorious career in disgrace. That is, McQueen may be thoughtful, but in the end, he can't feel the bitterness and growth in it.
Until this story, time has passed, when the former "lightning" McQueen saw his former old comrades and old opponents withdraw from the arena one by one, and for the first time he also faced an opponent who was absolutely crushed in strength and did not have a flaw...
McQueen truly felt the loss that Dr. Blue Sky had been. I believe that if everyone faces the same situation, they will be unwilling, and So will McQueen.
Until the words of the former legendary car king Lao Mo really woke him up, "The arena is the most brilliant part of the doctor's life, but it is not his happiest time." What he really cherished was the unforgettable days he spent with McKun. ”
Yes, instead of finally leaving his beloved arena with the unwillingness of failure, it is better to pass on his faith and hope like Dr. Blue Sky. The heart-wrenching McQueen handed over his track to Cruze as he approached the track again.
As a racing driver, McQueen left. But as a legend, McQueen never left, and he will live forever in people's hearts. It's just that when he no longer belongs to the current era, the story will continue, and the future legend will still be interpreted...
Compared with the gentle farewell to youth in "Toy Story 3", "Racing Story 3" is obviously more of the unbearable and helpless in the middle-aged crisis.
The same farewell, in different life situations to show different years of accumulation and bittersweet, back to reality sitting in front of the screen we were once just young and ignorant teenagers, and now we have embarked on a new journey. Life is impermanent, but may the years be quiet!
<h1 class= "ql-align-center" > reboot of reality under the tussles of time: Revisit Toy Story 4</h1>
From a series of failures such as "Dinosaur Home" in the previous year, Pixar, which gradually recovered its production level, produced a series of acclaimed and acclaimed animated film works in the past two years.
Such as "Mind Agent Team", "Dream Quest" and so on.
The audiences who have grown up watching the "Toy Story" trilogy movie and now have a family and have made a youth farewell with "Toy Story 3" are estimated to never think that one day they can see this group of live toys on the theater screen again.
Saying goodbye to the good will eventually become a temporary goodbye. However, although the return of "Toy Story 4" is more refined and flexible, both from the plot and the character image, it still cannot hide the image of the film that is too close to the times and has obvious labels.
In the whole movie, the most profound impact is to go beyond the second film to portray the bold, open and brave female character of the female cowboy, and to transform the gentle shepherd girl in the first part of the series into a subversive image transformation.
Desperate for freedom, adventure and love, she faces crises and problems from asking Sheriff Woody for help to becoming a battle angel herself. The meaning under the storyline is clear and firm, and there is no doubt about feminist and pacifist ideas.
If the first trilogy of the series conveys a sense of waiting and perseverance for us, conveys a deep understanding of friendship, family and growth, and tells us that the most important existence of toys is to be able to accompany a child's continuous growth.
Then the fourth film is in the form of a step back, through the mouth of the toy, to tell the audience that their life can only be decided by themselves, and they can choose how to spend their lives.
Except for the absolute protagonist Woody and shepherd girl, every other character in the movie has a process of self-transformation and choice to actively decide "life". And each of their choices means the beginning of a new story, and the story of Toy Story 4 is not destined to be the final ending.
The first ten minutes of the movie, from Andy to Bonnie, after several series of movies, we can clearly see the passage of time, and we will suddenly wake up to the fact that we are no longer young sitting in front of the screen. Once upon a time, Sheriff Woody would still be angry about the arrival of Buzz Lightyear, and in the blink of an eye he learned to wait in silence.
Once upon a time, the shepherd girl was still the chuchu moving, gentle and elegant lady, and in the blink of an eye, she was already an independent and self-reliant strong woman.
Once upon a time, toys would have been feared for their owners' every move, but now they have learned to live for themselves. In a sense, this is not only their growth, but also the plot grows with the growth of the audience.
Back to reality, imagine that when we were young, we didn't have the same obsession with the hotbed of home as Sheriff Woody at the beginning of the movie, but we would have insisted on doing a difficult thing for some faith. In the blink of an eye, we grow up and need to stand at the crossroads of life and make our own difficult choices.
One day time passes, we may no longer be young, the hammer of fate strikes us again and again on the long road of life, will we gradually accept the reality that we cannot continue to move forward in a stable day, and gradually accept those helpless and powerless changes... And endure the uneasiness and loss caused by change, but do not resist.
In the end, in such a day-to-day life, do we have enough courage to leave everything in the past like Sheriff Woody, persistently march towards a new journey, and choose to start a new chapter in our lives.