Captain Conroy's Pixar 40th Anniversary Marathon (Week 3)

Written by Captain Conroy

Week 1 and Week 2 here.

So, after Toy Story, Pixar had the ultimate question to face – now what? A movie about insects, that’s what. A Bug’s Life really was Pixar’s chance to make lightning strike twice and in my humble opinion, I would certainly say they did. Let’s look into it.

The story revolves around a colony of ants who gather food for a group of grasshoppers every summer and then collect food for themselves for the rainy season. But after a mishap with the social outcast Flik’s invention which causes the food to get lost, it’s up to him to make up for what happened before the grasshoppers come back as they’re tasked to try again. His solution is to find tough bugs to which it looked like he did but it turned out he had actually hired circus performers who had been putting on an act instead.

The story is very solid and is a pretty good kid friendly way to have a story revolve around oppression given the ants are the innocents and the grasshoppers are the bullies, dictators whatever making them gather food for them. The story takes full advantage of its setting and I love it, all set on a nice sunny island and the city setting with buildings being made out of cardboard, cans and all sorts of things. Even the grasshoppers base being a battered old sombrero could even suggest the story is set in Mexico. Gotta love a story open to interpretation eh?

One way the story could be improved however is for its main character to be a little tougher – one scene I don’t like is where Flik is sent away after the mix up was discovered and he doesn’t even protest. I think it would be stronger if Flik refused his banishment, called the ants out for being cowards and say how someone’s gotta do something and goes on ahead before anyone can stop him. That would have made a very strong scene if anyone were to ask me.

Much like the earlier Toy Story movies, it’s amazing how well this animation holds up. Much like the story, the animation takes full advantage of the setting and it makes it look all the better. You can see all the different things that Flik uses to invent his machines, the different settings from Ant Island itself, to the city and the grasshoppers’ hideout and each setting makes a great use of all its respective colours. Naturally there are things that could look better if it was animated today but still just look at how well it holds up!

They managed to make everything look so good and there are so many things the animation does well. Like I said earlier, taking full advantage of the settings, making a great use of colour and one thing I love is how well they animate speed – especially through Flik. Flik moves so fast one could say he’s auditioning to be The Flash and times like this show how nice it is that even through computer animation, there are still plenty of hand-drawn roots like the way speed is animated.

The characters? Well – that’s a bit of an up and down subject. On one side of it, the ant colony can seem like jerks, especially towards Flik, but on the other hand, it is a bit hard to overlook the fact that they’re preparing food for a bunch of brutal thugs. But like I said earlier, I hate it most of all when they suddenly reject the bird idea once the mix-up is exposed. Nevertheless, that much of a good job is done that you do feel happy for them once they get their happy ending.

Flik makes a good main protagonist, I may have said earlier he could do with more backbone, but he’s still an all round nice guy and it’s admirable when he does stand up to Hopper and even after being a social outcast, he still chooses to be a nice guy. Atta certainly has a lot to live up to and it does make for a lovely scene when she and Flik are talking and Atta opens up about her insecurities. And how good the development feels from when she starts being nicer to Flik to even when she stands up to Hopper when he’s about to squish Flik.

The movie takes full advantage of the fact it’s about insects and thus you get different shapes and sizes and types and the circus crew certainly make for a unforgettable cast. Even Dim is based on a real insect, look it up. Each with varying character traits and personalities like Heimlich loves food and Francis is the hot-headed one and so forth, it really helps you identify who’s who. And Hopper? Oh boy is he one nasty piece of work! He’s the ruthless leader of the grasshoppers and Kevin Spacey’s performance helped a lot with that. And I love how there’s no real motivation, he’s just a jerk who loves to bully ants – furthermore how he was prepared to squish the Queen just to further intimidate the ants into staying in line. But for how much he is feared, I love the way he’s screaming when he’s confronted by a bird – certainly paints two different images doesn’t it? But still, he is easily one of if not Pixar’s best villain.

In general A Bug’s Life really was the living proof that Pixar could make lightning strike twice. Even that one bad scene in the movie doesn’t effect the overall quality and hey, even with movies you like, there can always be something you don’t like right? The story is good, the animation holds up well and the cast of characters is indeed a fine one and certainly helps to make a memorable movie experience that will be a beloved classic for many years to come. Which is definitely so given this movie turns 30 in a couple of years’ time at the time of writing this.

A classic poster right there for the taking right? Least of all this is my earliest memory of a Pixar movie when it was brand new. Adverts for it, trailers, even cereal prizes and McDonald’s toys – I remember getting Mike. Naturally I’ve seen this movie plenty of times, but let’s see how it holds up on a rewatch shall we?

There is one word for this story and that’s unique. We’ve all heard of Monsters scaring little kids right? Well, that’s what happens here as the Monsters scare the kids – but it’s all for a day job as they work at Monsters Incorporated to collect the screams in order to power their city. But what happens when the top scarer gets scared? For how much they thrive on scream power, they believe children to be toxic so when one enters their world, it’s the adventure of the lifetime for Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan the top scarer as they have to put the child back.

Only the imaginative minds at Pixar could have coined up something this unique and it was certainly a very interesting spin on the whole childhood monster thing. The story takes many interesting spins and turns given for how often kids are scared of monsters but yet Boo isn’t frightened of Sulley at all. The story, much like A Bug’s Life as I talked about before, takes full advantage of its setting and everything in the story falls together naturally and really helps it to work. Randall being the Monster Boo is afraid of, Mr. Waternoose actually being the big bad in cahoots with Randall, everything works so brilliantly and like I praised with the Toy Story movies, they have a bump in the road at every opportunity to make sure the story can’t be solved in like 12 seconds flat, which always makes for a strong movie. However I still find it pretty crazy that Roz was with the CDA the whole time.

The animation certainly took a step up here – and I’m not just talking about the fact they had to create a whole animation software (Fizt) just to animate Sulley’s fur – yes – they really did that – look it up. Anyway, if it wasn’t noticeable enough by the second Toy Story movie, the animation really took a leap forward here. Textures start to look more natural, the human characters have noticeably aged better with time and you really start to get a feel for things like the snow looks realistic and so cold, the doors actually do look like they’re made of wood, each character has their own feel to them be it furry, scaley or smooth skinned.

The animation also makes full use of colour pallets and it has a good use of visual indicators like when there’s a spotlight on Boo’s door when we see it for the first time to show it’s going to be important and one has to love the level of detail that goes into this movie – like how when we last see Boo she’s missing a sock as Mike used it to create a diversion, Sulley’s chair having a hole for his tail to go through, or even when scratches remain on the door after Waternoose clawed it trying to get in when Roz tells Mike and Sulley that none of it ever happened instead of the doors being magically fixed. Great stuff all round.

The characters – what more needs to be said other than they’re awesome? Well, we have Sulley who is a shining example of what a good celebrity should be, modest and good natured and knows not to let his fame allow him to become big-headed. His story arc is great too from showing how he was top scarer to fully realising what his scaring does and now becoming one out of two big guys at Monster Inc, which also brings us to Mike. He’s the comic relief sidekick and Sulley’s assistant. He’s also kind of Sulley’s opposite where he really doesn’t mind even the slightest bit of spotlight. But yet even for their opposites, they do make a fine team and they show how better off they are working together instead of being apart. Someone name a more iconic duo, I’ll wait. They’re certainly up there with Woody and Buzz.

Randall is another one of Pixar’s finest villains to me, he’s a proper slimy no-good snake in the grass but yet he has a lot of charisma and I love every moment he’s on screen. He sure makes one credible threat for our heroes and it’s no wonder why up until a certain point he’s the only monster Boo fears. Speaking of Boo, she’s adorable and one has to wonder how the guys at Pixar did such a good job at making a loveable character out of a two year old child. She’s playful and loveable but yet even for a character like her, there’s more than meets the eye. Them and all of the other characters really help to create an unforgettable movie experience.

Monster Inc. is many things. Unforgettable, hilarious, multi-layered and sure is one emotional roller-coaster ride. Many Pixar movies are very good at this, making us feel a wild ride of emotions. It has many nostalgic memories for me as I remember it when it was brand new and even now it still holds up incredibly well. I may have already or may start to sound like a broken record at this point but a lot of Pixar’s movies have a habit of really standing the test of time and becoming beloved classics for a reason and Monsters Inc. is no exception. In fact, our DVD collections would be nothing if we didn’t have this movie.

I suppose it would be inevitable before someone would start asking the ultimate question about Mike and Sulley, how did they meet? What are their humble origins? Well, for those who wondered, they certainly got their answer in the form of Monsters University, Pixar's first ever prequel movie they've made. But the real million pound question is whether or not people should take this as their straight up answer or continue making up their own head-canons and theories? Well, here’s what I think:

The story is as basic as it comes, it shows how Mike and Sulley first met. It’s how the story is executed that makes it great. The story revolves around Mike, who has always wanted to become a scarer and thus when he and Sulley meet – they’re rivals but they must work together and with their outcast team in the scare games in order for the both of them to get into the scare program after a mishap caused them to be kicked out. The story teaches a great moral how even if you work hard to try and get what you want, it’s not over for you if you don’t achieve it – which makes for one of the strongest morals that any movie could ever teach – let alone one from Pixar.

The story shows very strongly how Mike and Sulley got to where they were showing how Mike was always a hard worker and Sulley may seem like a confident jerk but the scene where he explains his own insecurities to Mike is so brilliant. The development is strong and it all ties very well into the main story of Monsters Inc. given this is a prequel so you can imagine there are also plenty of foreshadowing on the way like the beginning of Randall and Sulley’s rivalry. However there is sadly one point which stops the story from being perfect. Monsters Inc. states that Mike and Sulley knew each other since 4^th Grade but yet this movie seems to imply this university was where they first met. 

Yeah, they probably should have double checked that one first before writing the script. The animation had plenty of chances to get better as this was 12 years after Monsters Inc. Now, Monsters Inc.’s animation is fantastic and holds up incredibly well, but this movie just has the animation scores in the bag. The textures look more real than they did before and the architecture of the buildings and the University itself, especially the scare class is so good. The movie makes a good usage of shadows and darkness too as during the scare games, a lot of them put emphasis on the dark. But for all the darkness in the film, it has a good usage of colours too during party scenes and light that comes through the windows when Dean Hardscrabble is about in the scare class.

It's even by this point to me when it feels like Pixar is in a constant competition with themselves as the sequels, prequels whatever come. Yes, they have the advantage of advances in animation technology but it always feels like they’re perfectly willing to try and top themselves every time. Even if not sequels, it feels that way with more of their modern films too, but by the time this movie came out – it really feels that way. The animation is solid and unlike the story where there was one downside I had to give, there is nothing wrong with the animation at all.

For the characters, we of course have Mikey and Sulley. I did say earlier how Mike was the hard worker and Sulley was the jerk but we can elaborate more here. Mikey always wanted to be a scarer but is constantly surrounded by doubt and people who don’t believe in him, which makes him all the more determined to achieve his goal. And even in the first movie, he clearly has a bit of an opinion of himself and it’s the same again here, which shows some old habits never die. Sulley on the other hand, he’s certainly a very different character to what he was and for us to see how he got to where he is, this movie obviously had to show the development, and I love it. From being a confident jerk who didn’t value study, to being someone else who doubted Mike, to opening up to him about his insecurities to becoming his friend. They got from point A to point B here – no problems at all.

New characters include the Oozma Kappa team who Mike and Sulley join up with in order to get into the scare games. At first they’re clearly doing it for their ends but they later see the team as real friends and it’s easy to see why. They may not be the hotshots of the University but at least they’re nice. They each have their own individual quirks and traits which shows their individuality and that no one is the same. Their character designs as well again take full advantage of the fact they’re monsters and each one has their own unique look. There’s Johnny Worthington who’s the douche-bag leader of Roar Omega Roar, one could say he’s there just to be an obstacle for our heroes to overcome and yeah, he is but at least it helps the story work. But I wish he kind of got some sort of punishment for his actions – especially humiliating Oozma Kappa at the party – god I hate that scene.

We also see the return of Randall but this movie wasn’t his finest outing ever – especially being the one who wants to hang out with the cool kids – although an upside could be seen as it helps foreshadow his desire to be better than Sulley. But the standout character has to be Dean Hardscrabble. I mean come on, Helen Mirren voice, character design of a centipede body and dragon wings, commanding presence, makes it clear she’s the one in charge and never mind Johnny, she’s the one where the stakes are really upped to Mike in his challenge to prove he’s scary. Even if she is hard, you have got to give her the benefit of the doubt, she only wants to see the top dogs go on to be scarers, plus for as hard as she seems, there’s time to surprise her yet… wink-wink! O.K, if you’ve seen this movie you know what I mean. I love every moment she’s on screen.

So in general, I generally accept this as the head-canon showing how Mike and Sulley became the dream team we love and know them as rather than how they first met. Tweak that little bit by having them share an exchange they haven’t seen each other in a while and then it would have been fine, but the rest of the continuity is on point and that one thing doesn’t ruin the overall movie for me. I mean what’s not to like about the rest of it? It’s creative, especially the way Mike and Sulley got back to their world during the climax, the character development and growth is strong and it’s just a pretty movie to look at in general. Monsters University is definitely a solid prequel and I can highly recommend it. And well – let’s be real on one thing, this may be more a midquel but in terms of a movie trying to tie in with another one, I’ve seen worse…

Sigh!

Perhaps I should save that for another blogpost – but of course you’ll be here to see what I think to the rest of the Pixar movies as the celebrations continue and that’s where I invite you to join me next week as I look at Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, but until then, stay cool dudes!

By the way, Waternoose had hair?! How bizarre.