The Pixar Film I Want to See

I have enjoyed most of what Pixar has done. The studio is talented in every aspect of what they do. Occasionally I feel as if they are overrated. I don’t mean they aren’t good, because they are usually great. What I mean is that sometimes people act as if every movie they make is going to be some sort of cinematic ambrosia before even seeing it. They make a good movie, but nothing earth shattering in my opinion.

There is one movie (actually two) I want to see Pixar make. It’s actually a sequel. Pixar has done sequels before. Two for toy story, which were both good, and one for Cars. I didn’t see the Cars sequel. But I did see Cars and didn’t like it. I saw the preview for the Cars sequel; it looked terrible. Cars got a sequel because it was popular. The problem is that popular is not a synonym of good. I would like to think that anybody worth asking would be able to tell you that Cars was Pixar’s weakest film until Cars 2. But popular makes money. Popular sells tickets. Popular sells merchandise. From a business prospect, it was a good idea to make a sequel to Cars. But once again, popularity does not a good product make. Example: Twilight. I will now pause to allow you to finish vomiting at the mere mention of Twilight. 

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Now that I am done ranting about the sequel I didn’t want to see (and didn’t see) and you have hopefully recovered, I will move on to the point. The movie I want to see Pixar make. There are actually rumors it will happen, but this is more about how I would like to see it happen. I want to see a sequel to The Incredibles. As I wrote earlier, there are rumors about a sequel being made. What I want from this movie is for it to draw from the social situations touched on in the first film. It was part of what was so great about the first movie. The heroes were forced into hiding, forbidden to continue practicing heroism. At the end of the first movie the city is being attacked and the heroes come to the rescue and the people exclaim “The supers are back!” They were happy to get rid of the walking collateral damage factories years ago, until they get attacked by a giant robot of course.  It makes me think that maybe if the Sentinels were attacking the humans then there would be less anti-mutant sentiment going around when the X-men showed up to take care of business.

If you would forgive another tangent, Syndrome, the villain from the first Incredibles movie, was stupid. He creates inventions to give normal people superpowers. It’s kind of like Iron Man with glitches. Then he says “Once everyone’s super, then no one will be.” Well, no. Some people will have gadgets and some people will have superpowers and gadgets. It would be like Captain America putting on the Iron Man suit. Is he technically relying on a gadget? Yes. Is he still Captain America? Also yes.

But I digress.  I would like to see the sequel deal heavily with the hero’s re-integration into society. Lots of people would probably still be against their free roaming and vigilantism. But then there would be the other group of people that are greatly fond of not being killed by giant robots. I personally try to take time daily to enjoy not being killed by giant robots. They don’t need to recreate the Marvel civil war, but I think the problems and situations with the superheroes resuming public practice would be an excellent backdrop for a sequel.

The other movie I would like to see Pixar make would be something more Ghibli style.  By that I mean I want to see something more whimsical, fantastical, and weird. Everything Pixar has done so far seems to either takes place in our own universe or in a universe tied to ours. Not that that isn’t true of many Ghibli films. A few of them just take place in plain old gritty reality.  But I want to see Pixar create their own reality or noticeably alter our own reality for the sake of the film. If you have seen more than one Ghibli Film you probably know what I am talking about. There are enough Ghibli fans at Pixar for a tribute or homage to happen. John Lasseter himself is a confessed Ghibli fan and either executive produces, directs, or does both for the English dubs of just about every Ghibli film that makes it stateside.

Indiana Jones Epiphany

I've had an epiphany recently concerning the future of the Indiana Jones franchise. Audiences were eager to see the fourth film when it appeared, eager yet skeptical. For many, the skepticism proved correct with an underwhelming return after nineteen years. While it wasn't exactly terrible, it didn't exactly live up to the previous films. While much of this comes from my personal opinions of Crystal Skull, I still feel as if something wasn't quite working.

There are a number of things that I love about the Indiana Jones franchise. I love the vintage feel of the stories, places, and characters. The films are a window into a period. I wouldn't call them period films, but the world presented is fun and reminiscent of the history some remember and most of us learned of in school. I smile when Indiana says "Nazis. I hate these guys."I love the aged hero the films offer us. Harrison Ford was around 39 when Raiders was released. Not very old by any standards but certainly older than many of the action heroes we are used to today. Dr. Jones was a teacher, he had a PH.D. Indiana Jones is the type of character that should be played by an actor who is still young enough to be an action hero but too old to be Spiderman.

After the release of the fourth film, fans speculated that the addition of Shia LaBeouf as the son of Indiana Jones presented a possibility to continue the films. I only saw the film once, but I don't recall his character yet having a wealth of knowledge concerning history, archaeology etc. He doesn't have a PH.D. either. For the films to continue with him in the same fashion as his father, we would have to age the character.

My theory/epiphany which I also feel is unlikely, is to follow the Bond film model. If they want to continue the series, they should keep the era, keep the same characters, but have a new actors playing the roles when appropriate. They don't need to make as many films as the bond franchise, or as often, but I feel the model could work.

When I came to this realization I started to think of who might be able to fill the roll. The possibilities were sacrificed by my being a nerd, but I think it could work. My choice wouldn't even have to be how it would happen. A talented unknown is sometimes a better choice than an equally talented known actor. That being said, my first thought was Nathan Fillion. Again, likely stemming from my being a nerd. I still think he is an appropriate choice. Like it or not, Nathan Fillion is aging. He isn't old yet. In fact, he is about the perfect age to take up the role. It begins to make more sense when you consider fan's desire to see Fillion play the character of Nathan Drake in the film adaptation of Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, a popular video game. The title character of which couldn't have possible not have been influenced by Indiana Jones. I think it would be a good casting, but I think he is getting a bit old for it. In addition to that, my nerd-dom considers Nathan Fillion to be our generation's Han Solo. Could you ask for a better analogy? Perhaps, but I like it so refrain from answering that rhetorical question.

I'm not sure if I yet have any ideas for remaining cast members. As far as recurring characters, Sallah, Jones Sr., and Marcus Brody might be the only actually recurring characters. Like the Bond films, we may have to have a new girlfriend for each movie. Crystal Scull told us that the relationship with Marion Ravenwood didn't work out until much later, so she would probably be absent. John Rhys-Davies is aging gracefully and could likely reprise his role. Although if I get my way he may be busy acting an a Pavarotti biopic. For the rest, I'm not quite sure. I had the thought to cast John Cleese as Jones Sr. but perhaps a Scottish actor would be better. I was grasping at straws there.

Really the point of my epiphany wasn't to put Captain Mal in the role of Indiana Jones. It was to revive the franchise with a new actor presenting the same character and hopefully the same feel and nostalgia we love from the original (three) movies. It's not a reboot, it is a continuation. And Crystal Scull wasn't THAT bad, but aliens, Really?