Posted in: Disney, Movies, Pixar | Tagged: cars, disney, film, pixar, The Incredibles, toy story, toy story 5

Pixar Executive on Nostalgia Factor and Returning Properties

Pixar's creative chief officer Pete Docter recently opened up about Toy Story 5 returns and the timeless power of franchise nostalgia.

Familiarity is one of the biggest ways for Hollywood to make a profit (regardless of genre), with titles like Star Wars, Fast & Furious, Transformers, and Scream all contributing multiple installments over several decades so far. And that's just a few of the names to do so!

That sense of nostalgic power isn't strictly limited to live-action either, as animated universes such as Toy Story, Frozen, and even Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse have branched out into major franchise terrain – but there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The Nostalgia Factor is Definitely Recognized by Pixar

When talking about how nostalgia tends to be a massive box office factor in today's landscape, Pixar's creative chief officer Pete Docter explains to Variety, "Right now, the world seems to want the comfort of what they know, which is sequels, and movies based on things like comic books or video games. But all of these things were original at one point. I think it's essential for us to develop new original stories, which are harder to publicize, harder to get people excited to go see them. But I think audiences deserve it. They want to find that surprise, along with the comfort of the expectation. We have our share of sequels in the works. We're doing a sequel to Inside Out, so you get to go back inside the mind of Joy and Sadness. We have another Toy Story, so Woody and Buzz are back. And we have a few other projects, but it's always a balance."

When later asked about other potential IP returns, such as Cars and The Incredibles, as a follow-up interest, he goes on to tell the publication, "It's all fair game" before adding, "Our philosophy from the beginning has been the same. The people have changed, but the approach is the same. We tap people that we believe in and feel like they have talent and something to say. We ask them to talk about things that are important to them. If this is impactful and powerful to a person, they're going to get on the screen, and it will resonate with audiences."

It seemed likely that Buzz and Woody would be back for the already-confirmed Toy Story 5, but what other film series would you like to see Pixar revisit in the near future?

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