disney pixar – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

ELEMENTAL – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

June 9, 2023September 4, 2023 Valerie Kalfrin disney pixar, ELEMENTAL, Peter Sohn

Good intentions ripple through the Disney/Pixar film Elemental like the red-orange flames of its hotheaded protagonist. Yet despite some charming animation, the movie fizzles where it should pop, weighted by an overstuffed story that works much too hard. Its message of stepping out of your element also is as heavy-handed as it is predictable.

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10 International Animated Films That Showcase World Cultures – Dana Ziyasheva reports (Guest Post)

September 1, 2022June 5, 2023 Guest Post animated films, Crocodile Gena and Cheburashka, Dana Ziyasheva, disney pixar, encanto, guest posts, Kirikou and the Sorceress, Uproar in Heaven, World Cultures

The United States has always been a culturally diverse country, and it will become even more so in the future. In 2019, more than half of Americans under age 16 identified as a racial or ethnic minority for the first time – so not really a minority after all! Young audiences want to relate to what they’re watching, explore their heritage, and learn about their friends’ cultural background. And Hollywood has started to take notice: Moana, Mulan, Coco, and Encanto added ethnic diversity to Disney/Pixar’s time-tested formula, with action-packed, broad-stroke narratives centered on their title characters’ identity search.

Reviews

LIGHTYEAR – Review by Susan Granger

June 28, 2022July 2, 2022 Susan Granger Angus MacLane, Chris Evans, disney pixar, Jason Headley, Keke Palmer, Lightyear, Taika Waititi, Toy Story, uzo aduba

It’s rare that Disney/Pixar movies incite controversy but Lightyear, a Toy Story origin story, certainly has. The great kerfuffle revolves around a brief, same-gender kiss that was removed and then reinstated when Pixar employees said Disney was censoring “overtly gay affection” as Disney CEO Bob Chapek reacted to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.

Reviews

LIGHTYEAR – Review by T.J. Callahan

June 14, 2022 T. J. Callahan Chris Evans, disney pixar, Keke Palmer, Lightyear, Taika Waititi, Toy Story, uzo aduba

Lightyear: Come with a Buzz and you’ll leave with a smile. Lightyear is a prequel, of sorts, to Toy Story. Think of it as the movie Andy watched that made Buzz Lightyear his hero and inspired hia favorite doll. This is NOT a Toy Story movie. Even though they are animated, the characters in the film aren’t toys, but Space Rangers trying to get back to their planet after a mission mishap that took them to infinity and beyond.

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