Introduction to Pixar’s Latest Film
Pixar’s latest film, Elio, has had the worst opening weekend for a film from the animation studio, earning only $21 million in the US and $14 million worldwide. This is part of a larger trend of original family cartoons failing at the box office.
A Shift in the Family Film Market
Last year, Pixar’s film Inside Out 2 was on track to earn almost $1.7 billion, solidifying its status as one of the highest-grossing films of 2024. Other family-friendly titles, such as Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Sonic The Hedgehog 3, also performed well, earning a combined total of $6.85 billion. However, this year’s biggest family films are mostly sequels, prequels, or live-action remakes, suggesting that original stories are struggling to find an audience.
The Challenge of Original Stories
What sets the latest family animation flops apart is the nervousness of studios to let an author-director tell a simple, funny story. Instead, many films are over-complicated, with too many cooks in the kitchen. Elio, for example, has a sweet and lively story, but it meanders all over the place, with too many scenes and plot twists. The film’s origins may help explain its problems, with multiple directors and screenwriters contributing to the final product.
The Problem of Over-Complication
Many recent family films, such as Soul, Strange World, and Wish, have similarly convoluted plots. It’s difficult to summarize their intricate storylines, which often feature multiple dimensions, characters, and arcs. This approach, which involves refining a script and adding more details, may be driven by the high cost of animation films. However, it’s not the best way to create a streamlined narrative.
The Importance of Simple Storytelling
According to Jason Solomon, a British film critic and producer, the key to success lies in simple, funny storytelling. "You can feel the need to have another script in which you can get out of difficulties with another story layer or another dimension," he says. "Even these smaller films are always extremely well thought out, but if you tie all their loose ends together and give every joke point, and every character an arc, you sometimes feel how the mechanism creaks and exhausts so that everything works with the usual almost obligatory smoothness."
The Future of Family Films
The challenge for studios is now to deepen the audience into stories that they do not yet know. With the rise of sequels and spin-offs, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for original stories to break through. However, by focusing on simple, funny storytelling and giving author-directors the freedom to create, studios may be able to recapture the magic of classic family films like The Lion King, Toy Story, and Frozen. Only time will tell if this approach will pay off, but one thing is certain: the future of family films depends on it.
