‘Inside Out 2’ is a blockbuster. It doesn’t solve the animation business’ biggest problem
LA Times“Inside Out 2” is a bigger box office hit than even Pixar’s staunchest believers had dared to expect, turning down the anxiety dial for fans worried about the Walt Disney Co.-owned computer animation stalwart’s prospects and the state of theatrical box office in general. “There has been trouble getting new stuff established,” said Tom Sito, an animation professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. That movie opened with Pixar’s worst domestic debut since the first “Toy Story” in 1995 but had remarkable staying power, eventually grossing nearly $500 million, suggesting the problem wasn’t the quality of the movie itself. Disney and Pixar will test the originality waters again next year with “Elio,” about a young boy who accidentally becomes Earth’s intergalactic ambassador.