I am a 60 year old woman who watches a lot of anime because of my Gen Z kids. Original animation is quite popular, actually. It’s just being made in Japan.
It's a mistake to think that "woke" did them in. If your instinct for popular storytelling is so bad that you make a Buzz Lightyear movie that isn't about the charming toy everybody knows and loves but instead about a time travel loop during which the previously unknown main character sees all his friends age and die, then there's a deeper problem. Who was the audience supposed to be?
Movie goers want good movies. We do not need great, just good. Too many companies no longer make good movies. Pixar was known for always releasing good, and sometimes great movies so we knew we could take our children to see them. Once this woke garbage started we were no longer confident that the content would be appropriate or even entertaining. Thus no more taking the family to the movies. We might wait for a streaming release so we could easily, cheaply, bail on a flick that preached leftist nonsense.
That is one of the problems. You and the columnist are trying to criticize films that you haven't watched by stipulating that for whatever reason they are woke.
Great article, want to add a point of clarification. People aren't concerned about 'LGBTQIA" - cuz there is no such thing.
The public moved to tolerate homosexuality - that's it. We were never down with gay marriage or men manufacturing babies in labs and pretending they have a family. Never. Transvestitism was seen as a niche, gay fetish and people were happy to let them have at it in appropriate venues.
Then one day we woke up and were getting lectured about LGBTQIA acceptance meaning we must have Drag Queens dancing for kids. Uh - nope. We don't want DEI shoved at us cuz we don't think Hollywood or the Left are our betters. In fact, we correctly suspect they are scumbags using their 'art' for politics. It's more than just not liking the aesthetic, it's the entire pose of Disney and others that they are our intellectual and moral betters.
My older daughters, both left-of-center Gen-Zers, aren't interested in Elio for the same reason they aren't interested in *any* modern Hollywood animation: they say it's ugly and low-effort.
But they'll line up for the next Studio Ghibli film no questions asked.
American animation is in terminal decline and needs to devote itself to the basics again: quality in art and storytelling.
Just looking at that list of Pixar movies is depressing. Of the first 10, every single one was magical and beautiful. They had characters that were entertaining and meaningful. They presented very human and inspiring themes.
Of the second 10, I'd say that 3 had that magic. (TS3, Inside Out, and Coco)
Of the last 9, none.
The current generation at Pixar simply doesn't know how to craft stories. They don't know how to craft characters. It's really sad.
And by blaming the audience, they get to sit in their chairs, smugly enjoy their paychecks while feeling superior, and let other people deal with how much money is being burned.
When I was in my late 20’s I was excited when I saw an add that has the Ramones in it. I knew my generation was having an impact. The people I grew up with and likes the stuff I did were having an impact in decision making.
Now you are seeing what happens when to people you taught all that crap to since @20@5 have an impact.
The quality of a movie is not determined by the diversity of the cast or if it's "woke" or not and it is not determining the success of a movie. The "woke" label is far from a useful term, because it was co-opted by grifters who used the word as a dog whistle.
The Spider Verse movies are very "woke" by your definition, and it was a box office success. To be honest, I think that most people are waiting to watch the movie on streaming because going to the cinema today is an event, and Pixar movies are not event-like movies.
Sounds like an "it's the audience that's wrong" comment.
Woke movies are low quality, invariably. It's a very useful, highly precise and convenient term for describing aspects of modern leftism. And the way Hollywood bleeds money these days would suggest that wokeness does determine the success of a movie.
It appears to me that when a movie is considered bad or unsuccessful it is retroactively pushed as "woke", even though there are plenty of good and successful movies with modern left-wing politics. It is much more useful to discuss the merits of the movie on their own. The Spider Verse Movies, The Wild Robot, EEAO and Barbie were by your definition woke, but were financially and/or critically successful regardless of if you like them or not.
Not my experience. Movies are often identified as woke before they're released, based on things the crew or producers say, or the advertising, or the casting choices. By the time the movie comes out people already know it's going to be leftist social engineering and aren't interested.
Yes, as Hollywood produces nearly exclusively woke movies, and there are lots of woke people out there who will pay to see them, they will sometimes produce hits anyway. That's not because they are woke but because the right are much more tolerant than the left, or have been historically.
But Hollywood is nonetheless bleeding out, and former rock-solid brands have been abandoned by former rock-solid audiences. Disney have wrecked Star Wars as a brand. Star Wars! Amazing.
Eventually all this will become irrelevant because we'll see the rise of indie TV and movies, powered by AI.
“Yes, as Hollywood produces nearly exclusively woke movies, and there are lots of woke people out there who will pay to see them, they will sometimes produce hits anyway. That's not because they are woke but because the right are much more tolerant than the left, or have been historically. “
Doesn’t this just mean something very simple: that so-called “wokeness” is irrelevant to a film’s success? What matters is whether the movie is entertaining that is what will bring an audience?
Nope. Wokeness kills movies. How many people bothered to watch the Snow White remake? One of the most popular movies in history, sequels and remakes are a reliable source of top grossing films, and people didn't turn up to the remake at all. Nobody even got to the point of asking if the movie was entertaining in some abstract sense, and couldn't have done because professional movie reviewers aren't trusted to make that call. So if it smells woke it doesn't matter if reviewers say it's entertaining. The only thing that matters is if friends do.
I honestly don’t think most people, outside of the terminally online, think about “wokeness” when they go to the movies.
Snow White was just a poorly executed movie. The visuals, especially the CGI dwarfs, were terrible. The new songs weren’t catchy and as much as people want to blame Zegler, Gal Gadot’s singer. Despite all this, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is actually higher than the critic-based tomatometer.
Avatar 2 was about as “woke” as a movie gets with heavy handed environmental and anti-colonialist themes. Every one knew this about the movie because the original had the same themes. It grossed over two billion dollars and is one of the highest grossing films of all time.
What makes or breaks movies is the quality of the film-making. Make a good movie and people won’t care about the politics.
Let's apply your flimsy framework to the topic at hand: Recent "Pixar Movies are Woke, therefore they are not making money at the box office". For the sake of convenience, let's talk about the movies from 2020-2025.
In Soul, Luca, Lightyear, Turning Red and Elio there is no misandry, racism and no gay or transgender characters (other than the 1 second kiss in Lightyear). They are targeted to kids and families who don't think about the attractiveness of the leads or ''a realistic population for the setting"). There is no reason to believe that these movies are breaking up families, sterilizing children and celebrating illness. Nevertheless, broad audiences don't think about the things you complain about. You think they do because you are engaged in your anti-woke bubble.
Even if I were to accept your views on woke, the Pixar movies of which the columnist is talking about don't adhere to the definitions that you (or she) set for "woke". I advise you to forget about the culture war and see films as they. You will be happier for it
Nobody has yet to explain to me why Pixar movies are woke. I feel I'm turning insane. Woke by your definition is left cultural messages, but recent Pixar movies don't have left leaning cultural messages.
What political left leaning messages and baggage's annoy you?
Why is Turning Red and lightyear by your definition woke?
I don't want to sound condescending and I'm not part of the left cultural elite. I don't enjoy movies because of their cultural messages or to make me feel morally superior. Movies studios make what they feel it's necessary to make money with little regards on cultural messages.
I don't want you to feel as if you're a bigot, you sound quite intelligent and honest, but discussions like this give the license to bigoted people to attack minorities with the thinly veiled excuse of fighting wokeness.
The team that made the Spider-Verse films are a good team of excellent artists. They made a product that is artistically interesting, regardless of whatever politics are observed in those films. The trouble with a lot of the new Pixar films is they seem so drab and forgettable.
Some movies are good; some movies are bad. "Woke"; as alluded by the column, is not pertinent to the discussion. Besides, plenty of people like Turning Red and Elemental, we are too grown to be making a fuss about children's films. I think that people have become accustomed to watching Pixar movies on Disney+ and that is why Pixar is struggling to make a profit.
Indeed, I feel lucky to have grown up during Pixar’s golden decade. My kids have no interest in Pixar movies and it’s sad. Perhaps one day they’ll take a peek at Wall-E on movie night to see the genius that was Pixar before they went woke.
My kids don't even care about modern/new movies unless it's video game related. They really enjoy watching 80-90-00 movies over at my friends house on his 50 inch TV. There is plenty of content to keep us happy without woke movies. I particularly enjoy watching physical media (DVD/Blue Ray) knowing that the companies like Disney won't see a dime from it.
I am a 60 year old woman who watches a lot of anime because of my Gen Z kids. Original animation is quite popular, actually. It’s just being made in Japan.
It’s never the studio’s fault. Ever. No self reflection. Ever.
It's a mistake to think that "woke" did them in. If your instinct for popular storytelling is so bad that you make a Buzz Lightyear movie that isn't about the charming toy everybody knows and loves but instead about a time travel loop during which the previously unknown main character sees all his friends age and die, then there's a deeper problem. Who was the audience supposed to be?
Yeah, having to try to explain time-dilation to my 4-year-old was a def low point in watching Lightyear.
Spot on, Sasha
Movie goers want good movies. We do not need great, just good. Too many companies no longer make good movies. Pixar was known for always releasing good, and sometimes great movies so we knew we could take our children to see them. Once this woke garbage started we were no longer confident that the content would be appropriate or even entertaining. Thus no more taking the family to the movies. We might wait for a streaming release so we could easily, cheaply, bail on a flick that preached leftist nonsense.
What is woke?
Strident identatarianism
Does Elio and Turning Red really suffer from Strident Identitarianism? I think that you and the columnist are making up problems to be upset about.
I didn’t say anything about Elio, which I haven’t seen yet. Just defining Woke for you
That is one of the problems. You and the columnist are trying to criticize films that you haven't watched by stipulating that for whatever reason they are woke.
I never criticized Elio. I will happily take my daughters to it. I’m just defining a phrase for you
Great article, want to add a point of clarification. People aren't concerned about 'LGBTQIA" - cuz there is no such thing.
The public moved to tolerate homosexuality - that's it. We were never down with gay marriage or men manufacturing babies in labs and pretending they have a family. Never. Transvestitism was seen as a niche, gay fetish and people were happy to let them have at it in appropriate venues.
Then one day we woke up and were getting lectured about LGBTQIA acceptance meaning we must have Drag Queens dancing for kids. Uh - nope. We don't want DEI shoved at us cuz we don't think Hollywood or the Left are our betters. In fact, we correctly suspect they are scumbags using their 'art' for politics. It's more than just not liking the aesthetic, it's the entire pose of Disney and others that they are our intellectual and moral betters.
My older daughters, both left-of-center Gen-Zers, aren't interested in Elio for the same reason they aren't interested in *any* modern Hollywood animation: they say it's ugly and low-effort.
But they'll line up for the next Studio Ghibli film no questions asked.
American animation is in terminal decline and needs to devote itself to the basics again: quality in art and storytelling.
CalArts must be destroyed.
I can overlook it when there’s good storytelling to go with it. And I think the last time that happened was 8 years ago. At least.
Mostly it’s just a vehicle for corner-cutting as you churn out content.
Just looking at that list of Pixar movies is depressing. Of the first 10, every single one was magical and beautiful. They had characters that were entertaining and meaningful. They presented very human and inspiring themes.
Of the second 10, I'd say that 3 had that magic. (TS3, Inside Out, and Coco)
Of the last 9, none.
The current generation at Pixar simply doesn't know how to craft stories. They don't know how to craft characters. It's really sad.
And by blaming the audience, they get to sit in their chairs, smugly enjoy their paychecks while feeling superior, and let other people deal with how much money is being burned.
When I was in my late 20’s I was excited when I saw an add that has the Ramones in it. I knew my generation was having an impact. The people I grew up with and likes the stuff I did were having an impact in decision making.
Now you are seeing what happens when to people you taught all that crap to since @20@5 have an impact.
The quality of a movie is not determined by the diversity of the cast or if it's "woke" or not and it is not determining the success of a movie. The "woke" label is far from a useful term, because it was co-opted by grifters who used the word as a dog whistle.
The Spider Verse movies are very "woke" by your definition, and it was a box office success. To be honest, I think that most people are waiting to watch the movie on streaming because going to the cinema today is an event, and Pixar movies are not event-like movies.
Sounds like an "it's the audience that's wrong" comment.
Woke movies are low quality, invariably. It's a very useful, highly precise and convenient term for describing aspects of modern leftism. And the way Hollywood bleeds money these days would suggest that wokeness does determine the success of a movie.
It appears to me that when a movie is considered bad or unsuccessful it is retroactively pushed as "woke", even though there are plenty of good and successful movies with modern left-wing politics. It is much more useful to discuss the merits of the movie on their own. The Spider Verse Movies, The Wild Robot, EEAO and Barbie were by your definition woke, but were financially and/or critically successful regardless of if you like them or not.
Not my experience. Movies are often identified as woke before they're released, based on things the crew or producers say, or the advertising, or the casting choices. By the time the movie comes out people already know it's going to be leftist social engineering and aren't interested.
Yes, as Hollywood produces nearly exclusively woke movies, and there are lots of woke people out there who will pay to see them, they will sometimes produce hits anyway. That's not because they are woke but because the right are much more tolerant than the left, or have been historically.
But Hollywood is nonetheless bleeding out, and former rock-solid brands have been abandoned by former rock-solid audiences. Disney have wrecked Star Wars as a brand. Star Wars! Amazing.
Eventually all this will become irrelevant because we'll see the rise of indie TV and movies, powered by AI.
“Yes, as Hollywood produces nearly exclusively woke movies, and there are lots of woke people out there who will pay to see them, they will sometimes produce hits anyway. That's not because they are woke but because the right are much more tolerant than the left, or have been historically. “
Doesn’t this just mean something very simple: that so-called “wokeness” is irrelevant to a film’s success? What matters is whether the movie is entertaining that is what will bring an audience?
Nope. Wokeness kills movies. How many people bothered to watch the Snow White remake? One of the most popular movies in history, sequels and remakes are a reliable source of top grossing films, and people didn't turn up to the remake at all. Nobody even got to the point of asking if the movie was entertaining in some abstract sense, and couldn't have done because professional movie reviewers aren't trusted to make that call. So if it smells woke it doesn't matter if reviewers say it's entertaining. The only thing that matters is if friends do.
“Wokeness kills movies” except when it doesn’t.
I honestly don’t think most people, outside of the terminally online, think about “wokeness” when they go to the movies.
Snow White was just a poorly executed movie. The visuals, especially the CGI dwarfs, were terrible. The new songs weren’t catchy and as much as people want to blame Zegler, Gal Gadot’s singer. Despite all this, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is actually higher than the critic-based tomatometer.
Avatar 2 was about as “woke” as a movie gets with heavy handed environmental and anti-colonialist themes. Every one knew this about the movie because the original had the same themes. It grossed over two billion dollars and is one of the highest grossing films of all time.
What makes or breaks movies is the quality of the film-making. Make a good movie and people won’t care about the politics.
Let's apply your flimsy framework to the topic at hand: Recent "Pixar Movies are Woke, therefore they are not making money at the box office". For the sake of convenience, let's talk about the movies from 2020-2025.
In Soul, Luca, Lightyear, Turning Red and Elio there is no misandry, racism and no gay or transgender characters (other than the 1 second kiss in Lightyear). They are targeted to kids and families who don't think about the attractiveness of the leads or ''a realistic population for the setting"). There is no reason to believe that these movies are breaking up families, sterilizing children and celebrating illness. Nevertheless, broad audiences don't think about the things you complain about. You think they do because you are engaged in your anti-woke bubble.
Even if I were to accept your views on woke, the Pixar movies of which the columnist is talking about don't adhere to the definitions that you (or she) set for "woke". I advise you to forget about the culture war and see films as they. You will be happier for it
Nobody has yet to explain to me why Pixar movies are woke. I feel I'm turning insane. Woke by your definition is left cultural messages, but recent Pixar movies don't have left leaning cultural messages.
What political left leaning messages and baggage's annoy you?
Why is Turning Red and lightyear by your definition woke?
I don't want to sound condescending and I'm not part of the left cultural elite. I don't enjoy movies because of their cultural messages or to make me feel morally superior. Movies studios make what they feel it's necessary to make money with little regards on cultural messages.
I don't want you to feel as if you're a bigot, you sound quite intelligent and honest, but discussions like this give the license to bigoted people to attack minorities with the thinly veiled excuse of fighting wokeness.
The team that made the Spider-Verse films are a good team of excellent artists. They made a product that is artistically interesting, regardless of whatever politics are observed in those films. The trouble with a lot of the new Pixar films is they seem so drab and forgettable.
Some movies are good; some movies are bad. "Woke"; as alluded by the column, is not pertinent to the discussion. Besides, plenty of people like Turning Red and Elemental, we are too grown to be making a fuss about children's films. I think that people have become accustomed to watching Pixar movies on Disney+ and that is why Pixar is struggling to make a profit.
Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t read the argument. It’s because of a civil rights movement. Right. Got you. Your frame of reference is clear.
Looking at a movie like this and think it's confirmation of your opinion that diversity is the problem is really a stretch.
Indeed, I feel lucky to have grown up during Pixar’s golden decade. My kids have no interest in Pixar movies and it’s sad. Perhaps one day they’ll take a peek at Wall-E on movie night to see the genius that was Pixar before they went woke.
Man, I used to love the Ankler. They've gone completely off the rails. Now they're just Deadline on Substack.
My kids don't even care about modern/new movies unless it's video game related. They really enjoy watching 80-90-00 movies over at my friends house on his 50 inch TV. There is plenty of content to keep us happy without woke movies. I particularly enjoy watching physical media (DVD/Blue Ray) knowing that the companies like Disney won't see a dime from it.
Go woke...