I swear I’m alive. The past few weeks have just been very busy. Between work, some other personal projects, the whole David Zaslav thing, and general exhaustion there hasn’t been anything I’ve watched that felt worth reviewing.
But since D-23 Expo was this past weekend – let’s take a look at Disney’s upcoming slate of animated projects.
- Elemental
This upcoming Pixar film is a story about a woman made of fire, named Ember, and a man, Wade, made out of water falling in love.
I’ve seen this concept done so many times before, that honestly, I don’t really see how Pixar can do a unique twist. I like a good “opposites attract” romance – but I can already see this whole movie play out and to be honest, it just doesn’t excite me.
At least, it’s not an adaptation, sequel, prequel, reboot or reimagining. I’ll watch it – but I’m not going in with high hopes.
Release Date: June 16, 2023
- Win or Lose
This is an original Pixar series that follows a co-ed soccer team. Each episode tells the same story, told from a different perspective and in a different animation style. The cast of characters looks interesting and I like the concept.
I’m excited to see the different art and animation styles. There’s a lot of room for creativity and experimentation in a story like this.
Release Date: 2023
- Elio
Another Pixar film; this one will feature a boy named Elio who is after being transported into outer space is mistaken as Earth’s ambassador. Now, this film could go either way: while obviously, it’s going to be a humorous movie I just hope it isn’t going to rely on the miscommunication trope too heavily.
This is another movie that can play out exactly as expected – Elio gets transported, miscommunication leads to him being mistaken as an ambassador and he is too nervous to correct them, shenanigans, a threat appears that Elio can’t deal with, he reveals the truth, the aliens get angry but eventually come around and defeat the threat – most likely using Elio’s special talent…
But since this is Pixar I have high expectations. So – we’ll just have to see,
Release Date: Spring 2024
- Inside Out 2
I’m not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, I don’t think Inside Out really needs a sequel but on the other hand, Turning Red has proven Pixar is able to handle the awkwardness of female puberty and make it humorous and relatable. I’m glad we’re getting more movies focused on the subject.
I would have killed for this kind of representation as a kid.
But considering this is Pixar – we’re probably not going to get a movie with a new emotion being “awkward horniness.” I have a feeling that Disgust, Anger and Fear are going to be playing larger roles in this film.
And we’ll get to see the “Puberty Alarm” in play…
I don’t know if it will be able to capture the same feeling as the original – but if handled correctly, this could be a good coming of age film.
Release Date: Summer 2024
- Zootopia+
I did like the movie. I think I saw it in theaters three times. I liked the world-building, characters and the general plot. I wasn’t a huge fan of the “twist villain.” But I still want to see more of this world and more of Judy and Nick’s dynamic.
It’s going to be an anthology series, so there are a lot of different stories that can be told. It’ll be cute, but if we’re going to be honest, I’d love it if we could get an adaptation of the original concept where the shock collars.
Release Date: November 9, 2022
- Iwájú
An animated coming-of-age series that takes place in a futuristic Nigeria? Count me in. We need more diversity in animation on all ends – so this will be pretty cool. It’s a love letter to Lagos, Nigeria – which makes me excited. It means a lot of care and attention is going to be put into this project.
Release Date: 2023
- Strange World
A Disney Animation film focusing on the Clade family that seems to be in the style of a classic adventure film sounds promising. I think this genre lends itself well to the animated medium since you can get really creative with the setting.
And after Lightyear, I am itching for a space adventure that’s actually fun, with a unique setting that we actually get to explore. The trailer makes it look amazing. A bit more on the cartoony-stylized side than I would expect for this kind of film…but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
As long as there’s no twist villain – I think this one will be pretty awesome.
Release Date: November 23, 2022
- WISH
A story about the iconic wishing star and how it came to be…This is another movie that could either be a love letter to classic Disney tales and really takes advantage of the medium. Or it could be just a way to show off all the titles and stories Disney owns.
I’d rather see a film about the Dreamworks’ moon boy.
Release Date: Fall 2023
Wish is probably the one that I’m most looking forward to! But now that you mention it, I also would like to see a film about DreamWorks’ moon boy, lol!
I love Inside Out, but Inside Out 2, I’m a little wary of. I feel it’s going to be the exact same story as the first, except with other emotions.
You have an exciting list of your opinions on upcoming movies. I especially like the movie idea about a boy being abducted by aliens, but not in a clichéd way.
I enjoyed “Inside Out” a lot. I was actually surprised about you worrying about a sequel and how it will turn out. I feel you, though. It’s not uncommon for sequels to not do as well as the first films. But comparing it to how “Turning Red” tackled the issue with puberty, and hoping than “Inside Out 2” could also execute that well is something to be confident about.
I get invited to see movies with friends a lot, although most of it is virtually from one friend (post pandemic), while another friend has done, and still does, invites me to see movies at the theaters.
Maybe I will see, at least, one of these movies, and discover what I think of them.