If you are a cynic, you walked out of Coco believing you had been manipulated. You can either find the opening minutes of Up to be sentimental and cloying, or you can think that it is just as beautiful as some parts of Soul. Pixar movies became a dominant force in our cultural conversations as soon as we met Woody and Buzz, and since the very beginning, the storytellers at the studio have been remarkably good at making adults cry like babies.
The weeping that many come to expect from a great Pixar movie has become a trap for some. Critics argue that Pixar is too dependent on sentiment and preening to move its audience, and that it is too close to the formula it established in its earliest days. That doesn't mean the experience of a Pixar cry is not worth it.
Coco, a Pixar movie about a young member of a Mexican family who discovers that his family's deceased matriarch is not who he thought she was, is one of the best examples of a Pixar weepy. The movie ends with a song thatMiguel sings to his grandmother in the hopes that she will remember her father, who went missing when she was a child.
This moment is deeply affecting, and it also sticks to what Pixar usually pulls off near the end of its stories: A character who was once misunderstood asserts the right to make themselves heard, and the main character learns a lesson about empathy or history.
Another example is provided by Inside Out. There are five characters living inside a teenager's head in the movie. Joy, the film's main character, spends most of the running time trying to keep control and make sure that Riley, the girl she's living inside of, is happy above all else. The movie begins with Joy losing control, and her realization that Riley's other emotions, as well as Sadness in particular, have a role to play in guiding her towards a fulfilling emotional life.
At its core, Inside Out is telling audiences that being sad is ok, but the film delivers that message in a way that makes it feel like a revelation. Coco is about how sad it is to lose a loved one. Pixar is so smart about using its unsubtle themes through its characters that these are not complicated ideas.
One of the reasons Pixar has been so successful is because everyone can find something in the stories it tells. Pixar has begun to bridge the gap that can be caused by that.
Coco focuses on a distinctly Mexican experience, Soul is about a Black man in Harlem, and Turning Red is the most radical movie of them all.
Pixar's success has brought it to its dominant place in the entertainment industry. The movie has universal themes about the relationship between mothers and daughters, but it ignores the experience that some Chinese kids have with domineering mothers. You can find points of similarity against a backdrop that is vastly different from your own.
Pixar's tear machine doesn't work on everyone. The Cars universe feels more like a cynical cash grab than a genuine attempt to tell good stories, and Lightyear feels like one of the strangest intellectual property extensions to come out in the past decade.
There is no shame in agreeing to see a specific Pixar movie. Even if your brain knows that you're being manipulated by the story you're watching, it won't be able to stop you from crying. The tears come from a recognition that the story you are being told has a deep truth about how you view the world.
Pixar movies are designed to communicate basic truths about the world. Many people need something like a Pixar movie to help them face those truths head on.
If you are a father trying to protect your child from a scary world, the fact that Finding Nemo is only about the difficulty of letting go doesn't make it any less profound. If you're struggling with your sense of purpose in life and your work, the fact that Toy Story only acknowledges that everyone dies eventually doesn't make it any less moving for you.
To allow you to see yourself in the stories of others, and to help you feel things that you don't normally feel, movies are made. Even if it is resentment at how teary-eyed you have become, Pixar can still make you feel something. We shouldn't be angry with Pixar just because they know how to open doors.
On Disney+, you can see the entire Pixar library. You can check out that studio's latest releases by reading what's new on Disney+.
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