Elio released to a whimper at the box office during its opening weekend, signalling that Pixar may need to look for inspiration elsewhere to ensure continued success, namely the recent hit KPop Demon Hunters. The animation studio has had an uneven past few years with its theatrical efforts, disappointing with Toy Story spinoff Lightyear, seeing middling success with original tale Elemental, and blowing every movie they've ever made out of the water with the $1.6 billion-earning Inside Out 2.
Then, Elio arrived at the polar opposite end of the spectrum, suffering the lowest opening weekend for a Pixar movie ever. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Animation's KPop Demon Hunters is thriving on Netflix, securing a top spot on its Top 10 rankings and receiving praise from casuals and critics alike. Fervor around the film is so high that sequel demand is running rampant, both from filmmakers and fans.
Centering on a K-pop group forced to hunt down evil spirits while delivering bop after bop for their fans, the movie proved that original stories in animation are still primed for success if done right.
While Pixar's Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter recently confirmed that Pixar isn't abandoning original tales anytime soon (with Hoppers and Gatto being examples that still remain on the slate), Disney and Pixar clearly seem to be leaning much more heavily on sequels to their popular franchises. Regardless of their approach going forward, KPop Demon Hunters has a few notable aspects that Pixar should pay attention to.
3 Key Lessons That Pixar Should Learn From KPop Demon Hunters
Take the Animation Further
One of the major sources of praise for KPop Demon Hunters is its gorgeous animation. Some would even say the movie gets by on its silly expressions alone, which isn't necessarily an exaggeration.
Funny faces aren't the only way the movie innovates, though; slick character designs, constant style shakeups, and top-notch camera work during expressive fight choreography are just a few of the ways that Demon Hunters manages to establish its own identity with its animation.
Elio, on the other hand, comes across rather bland. While there are some beautiful locales and one gooey character that is able to have a bit more fun than his co-stars, the movie rarely takes the opportunity to play around in its medium.
Some fans have criticised Elio's 'bean mouth' aesthetic, a critique that lumps media together under the banner of an unoriginal, visually similar art style derived from the distinctive mouth shape of certain animated features and shows. Despite this, Pixar has made the 'bean mouth' style work in the past, with Turning Red proving that the studio is capable of pushing the aesthetic via enhanced expressiveness of its characters.
Bean mouth or not, it's clear that Pixar should strive to experiment more with how its movies look. Sequels don't even need to adhere to a house style; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a perfect example of an animated follow-up that sought to completely redefine what its original movie looked like.
Have a Clear Vision
As The Direct's own review for Elio outlined, Pixar's latest feature does have solid ideas that ultimately don't fully come together. This could be due to the movie seemingly shifting course sometime during its production, as indicated by major differences between Elio's initial teaser trailer and its later ones.
An unused emotional beat between Elio and his aunt, Elio's less enthusiastic reaction to being abducted, and Lord Grigon's inclusion on the Communiverse council all hint that the movie was previously set for a much different direction. It was confirmed to The Direct that this was due to the original director, Adrian Molina, departing the project to work on Coco 2.
Some of Molina's original DNA still exists in the film, like his childhood growing up on a military base being incorporated, but the overall shift in the story's direction leaves Elio tonally and narratively at odds with itself.
Conversely, KPop Demon Hunters knows precisely what it wants to be and excels at it. Even if it could take some of its ideas further, the movie isn't afraid to wear its anime and K-drama inspirations on its sleeve. Co-director Maggie Kang's directorial voice subsequently shines through, with Demon Hunters being unabashedly steeped in Korean culture. This not only creates a unique aesthetic but a world and tone that feels entirely its own.
Pixar's strong, distinct, and cohesive vision for its movies is crucial for stories to resonate with audiences, which is why Incredibles 3's new director choice may be a troubling sign.
Embrace Originality
While Elio is an original story, its narrative feels in line with what fans have come to expect from Pixar. The plot beats are fairly familiar territory for a veteran Pixar-watching audience, leading to many emotional moments feeling rather paint-by-numbers.
KPop Demon Hunters may be a glammed-up superhero movie at its core, but its plot beats take genuine turns that a viewer wouldn't immediately expect (the reveal of Jinu's true backstory springs to mind). Whereas many of Elio's moments can be seen coming from a mile away, Demon Hunters challenges audiences both on a visual and narrative level,
Once again, Pixar isn't averse to taking daring story choices when it wants to. Turning Red took an oversaturated topic like puberty and explored it through the hyper-specific lens of a Chinese-Canadian experience for its own spin (even if Disney Channel partially censored this storyline later).
While Pixar may veer further down the sequel route, that isn't wholly a bad thing. The key takeaway is that the company's filmmakers need a fresh take that justifies why the movie should be made.
As for the originals on Pixar's upcoming slate, Gatto looks eerily similar to Oscar-winning film Flow, so hopefully the studio has something compelling up its sleeve that will set its cat caper apart from the competition.
