There's no denying that Pixar has an incredible track record at the box office and with critics but that doesn't mean the company isn't immune to criticism. Some people feel Pixar's newer films have not been as good as some of their previous movies and many aren't pleased with the amount of sequels (or prequels) the animation studio has green light in recent years. Especially CARS 2.
Pixar is of course aware of these complaints and it sounds like they agree with at least some of the issues people may have with the company lately. Pixar president Ed Catmull spoke with BuzzFeed and he assured fans that original films are the most important thing for the company:
For artistic reasons … it’s really important that we do an original film a year. Every once in a while, we get a film where we want or people want to see something continuing in that world — which is the rationale behind the sequel. They want those characters, which means we were successful with them. But if you keep doing that, then you aren’t doing original films.
Pixar may have made the most money and received the most critical acclaim with their sequels to TOY STORY but it's been their original stuff that has carried them this far. Catmull says the plan is to push forward with more original films and scale back on sequels:
We’re going to have an original film every year, then every other year have a sequel to something. That’s the rough idea.
Lets take a look at Pixar's current upcoming release schedule that was released at the end of last month:
THE GOOD DINOSAUR – May 30, 2014
INSIDE OUT – June 19, 2015
FINDING DORY – November 25, 2015
Untitled Pixar Film about Dia de los Muertos – June 17, 2016
Untitled Pixar Film – June 16, 2017
Untitled Pixar Film – November 22, 2017
Untitled Pixar Film – June 15, 2018
Based on Catmull's comments one of the untitled films in 2017 will be a sequel or prequel (please be THE INCREDIBLES 2, please be THE INCREDIBLES 2) so the other untitled films should be something new and original. Of course things could change four years from now but it does kind of give us an idea of where Pixar stands with their new films.
Pixar has set the bar very high for themselves by consistently releasing fantastic films year after year. So high that even if one of their movies is well reviewed if it isn't universally acclaimed the film is considered a disappointment which is unfair but a problem I bet most studios would love to have. Like I'm sure many of you are I am very happy that Pixar knows that even though fans may love the company's characters and previous films it's their original stuff that excites us the most.