Monday, June 20, 2011

It's Pixar Week

We have reached what is normally my favorite week of the summer; The week leading up to the release of Pixar's newest film. This year it's Cars 2.

I have a no so secret obsession with Pixar. All you have to do is walk into my room to see that I love Pixar. From posters to toys, from books to piggy banks, it's obvious I love Pixar. I own all the films plus the DVD collection of all their shorts.

I loved Toy Story when it came out in 1995. 11 year old me loved the movie and 26 year old me still loves it. I could quote the movie at age 11 and I still can today. I must have watched Toy Story a dozen times in anticipation for Toy Story 3. When Toy Story 1 and 2 were re-released to theaters in 3D, I saw them. I love Toy Story.

But I must confess, although I've always loved Toy Story, I've not always been a huge Pixar fan. A Bug's Life went more or less unnoticed. Toy Story was good, but not the original. I don't remember seeing Monster's Inc till later into my Pixar love and Finding Nemo wasn't a film I loved when I first saw it either.

But The Incredibles would change things forever. It's a super hero movie so instantly the little boy inside of me was in love. I LOVE THE INCREDIBLES!!! Seriously, LOVE IT! 2 hours of awesome. If you don't like The Incredibles I would suggest that something might be wrong with you. The Incredibles is probably the reason why my brother-in-law Jake and I are such good friends. We both have an unhealthy common love for this film.

I'm not kidding. I have an Incredibles t-shirt, a Mr. Incredible action figure, an Incredibles piggy bank. I also have 3 posters. One of Mr. Incredible and 2 official movie posters. And even if you watched the Incredibles and thought, "That movie was ok", there's NO WAY you could have not loved the short Jack Jack Attack!

After The Incredibles, I knew that Pixar and I were going to have a long, loving relationship. I went back and watch Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo, falling in love with those films.

I liked Cars. It was an enjoyable film and when I watched it now, I feel like it's an unfairly judged film. Ratatouille was a great film and Wall-E has so much charm that one can't hate it.
And then Pixar decided that making great films was no longer an option. They were going to make the best films.

Up was amazing! It should have won Best Picture. Up was so much more then a great animated film or an excellent kid’s movie. Up was an amazing movie for everyone. I didn't think anyone didn't like Up until I talked to my friend Jay. Up has a lot of heart. I've seen up like 50+ times and it will still bring tears to my eyes. Up set the bar super high.

And Toy Story 3 jumped that bar. Again, should have won Best Picture. As such a big fan of the first film Toy Story 3 did a great job at capturing everything I love about the original but giving the film more heart and soul. If we're honest, Toy Story 3 was a movie made for people like me. The film brought tears to my eyes, and at one moment had me ready to jump out of my movie seat and scream at John Lasseter, who was going to let Lee Unkrich kill off Buzz Lightyear. Thankfully Buzz and the gang lived. But that's how compelling the film was (Or maybe it's how big of a loser I am, I'm not sure).

So Cars 2 is about to be dropped on the world and too be honest, my expectations are super high. I mean, both Up and Toy Story 3 were my favorite films the years they were released and both of those movies are absolutely amazing! The trailers for Cars 2 have been great. They showcase a lot of action, an interesting story line, and the latest trailer shows that there's going to be a lot of heart in this film, and that's exactly what makes Pixar Films the best. Not only are the stories amazing, fun, and full of action. But at their core there's something deep and move that connects with the viewers.

So I’m excited for Cars 2. Enjoy Pixar week. Watch the first Cars. Heck, watch all the Pixar Films! You won’t regret it.

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