Cartoon Catharsis: Have Pixar Become Emotionally Manipulative?

Everyone loves a good Pixar movie. And we sure have a lot to choose from. But their winning streak irrefutably came to an abrupt end in 2011, having peaked with the release of Up (2009), an unexpected and rather adult tearjerker in the guise of a light, airy and colourful kids’ film. Indeed, the company’s focus had diverted from their films’ outstanding graphics to basic, raw emotion; a diversion that indisputably (at least initially) stood them in good stead. Their following feature, 2010’s Toy Story 3, followed suit, although some might argue that it perhaps relies a little too heavily on the characters’ former development and its emotional impact on the audience, rather than the narrative. In any case, it proved a solid movie. Now, with Inside Out (2015), Pixar once again seem to have audiences getting all emotional. But is this really a sign of solid storytelling, or is it just emotionally manipulative?

Admittedly, with the likes of Up and Toy Story 3, the ‘sad’ moments were justified by the narrative, albeit somewhat differently, respectively. Up’s narrative was thematically rather mature, and quite rightly touched the hearts of millions worldwide whether it was intentional or not – and this is ultimately why it works so well; it’s not in any way forced. Now, with Toy Story 3, there were bound to be tears shed by some. As the conclusion to a 15-year-old franchise, with millions having grown up with the plastic cast of characters, a bittersweet ending was expectedly on the cards. But I have to say, as powerful as I believe the film to be, its ending (which sees the ‘passing of the baton’ from Andy to Bonnie) is somewhat forced, in the sense that it almost demands an emotional response. And consequently, from me, they didn’t get one. For most, however, the scene *worked*, but it wasn’t handled nearly as subtly as in Up, perhaps because we all expected to be bawling by the film’s ending.

What’s more, since achieving this pinnacle, their narratives have declined in quality somewhat. Just look at the sprawling mess that is Cars 2 (2011) and the bland and forgettable Brave (2012), whose only major appeal is her setting. Finally, with the release of these two films back-to-back, the recently crowned masters of storytelling had fallen from their pedestal. Moreover, Pixar also attempted to invoke something of an emotional response by a heart-to-heart between Mike and Sulley towards the end of Monsters University (2013). While some have argued that the scene provides a slapstick, fun, comedy movie with some gravitas, in light of their preceding features, it just conveys itself as all too contrived, especially considering the bland and altogether rather slow-moving plot it accompanies.

Now, I’m not saying that Inside Out does not deserve to maintain any emotional impact – for one thing, I can’t as I haven’t yet seen it, and I certainly don’t doubt Pixar’s ability to convey a gripping, complex and ultimately interesting narrative. But it does concern me that, while we know for a fact that Pixar are arguably the best storytellers when it comes to animated film (just look at Wall-E (2008), for goodness’ sake), their focus on inciting an emotional response is a little too great, and on this occasion it once again sounds somewhat contrived. Promoted cleverly as a ‘major emotion picture’ in its slogan, Pixar’s most recent outing essentially demands that you yourself become heavily, emotionally invested in the characters. Is this slogan merely a pun, or is it indicating that Pixar know we’re going to be reaching for a box of tissues by its conclusion? In any case, although the majority of their features in their canon so far have been narratively sound and complex, I can’t help but wonder whether their attempting to be cathartic is becoming all too laboured.

Check out this new clip from Inside Out: