I love Pixar a lot but this film's attempt at going deep at the meaning of life just fails to impress me. Its philosophy of life and afterlife is just so basic that it doesn't interest thinking adults yet too complex for children. It's been faking so well at being deep (it's not, it's so basic).
The leading character has an interesting point of view but how he realizes his old ways of life to that new revelation of little sparks wasn't explored deeply that it felt so flat I wasn't buying it.
How 22 shifted her views of the earth to one cheerful, optimistic one is also silly. What kind of skeptic does that over little things in life? None. Skeptics would know that there's no guarantee in life. There's no guarantee 22 would be born into a family that could afford buying pizza for example. This is just such a silly approach to "being grateful in life".
When she lost her soul, so deeply, the only thing that brought her back is that little leaf? Not buying it. Corny at so many levels and felt so forced and basic. Also a gross understatement of depression. It's telling people as if people who got lost in life can easily be pulled back with finding their sparks. That's just silly. It doesn't work that way most of the time.
It was also ironic that one of the afterlife staff was talking about the character being basic but the afterlife itself and what they do were also so basic.
It doesn't make sense how the character still chose to go back to earth. It was a very forced happy ending. He didn't have many attachments there and he would want to go back just to enjoy the small things? Not buying it. This kind of life philosophy felt like being shoved down your throat but let's face it, everyone is living their life differently. Being grateful of small things and little sparks is not the only philosophy of life there is. Focusing in the now is not the only way of life. It might work for those with fortunate lives but doesn't mean everyone should survive life using the same philosophical approach. Some are about finding balance, some are about finding purposes, some are about being successful, some are about gaining knowledge, and maybe some others are about focusing on the little sparks. Kinda ironic that the film that is supposed to tell you how to live your life fails to realize that there are many ways to live your life. This is just disappointing how Pete Docter's feeling of dissatisfaction after winning Inside Out made him delve into this idea.
How about the billions of people who haven't got the chance of tasting success? It's insulting for the director to pretend as if he had been walking on their shoes.
Right when I felt there's nothing else more annoying, the spiritual mumbo jumbo comes into play. Yeah, a deluded man with a sign is somehow your key to finding your soul. Not buying all this spiritual mumbo jumbo.
Also what kind of mother doesn't know that his son was struggling for his life in the hospital? Lol.
This was so promising at first but Docter's choice to explore two characters at the same time just didn't work. His approach of this little spark philosophy is not something you can easily buy esp. if you don't have privileges in life and this film is blind to every struggle, injustice, that are happening all around the world.
You tell a person with life struggles and who faces a lot of disadvantage in life to be thankful for the little sparks in their lives, while your life is obviously better and nowhere near that, that's just wrong. They would probably be laughing at you.
Apart from the entertaining cat scenes, this film was just a lost soul, not knowing where to go or what to be. It just missed the third and fourth layer that are usually present in a top-notched Pixar film. Disappointing.
The leading character has an interesting point of view but how he realizes his old ways of life to that new revelation of little sparks wasn't explored deeply that it felt so flat I wasn't buying it.
How 22 shifted her views of the earth to one cheerful, optimistic one is also silly. What kind of skeptic does that over little things in life? None. Skeptics would know that there's no guarantee in life. There's no guarantee 22 would be born into a family that could afford buying pizza for example. This is just such a silly approach to "being grateful in life".
When she lost her soul, so deeply, the only thing that brought her back is that little leaf? Not buying it. Corny at so many levels and felt so forced and basic. Also a gross understatement of depression. It's telling people as if people who got lost in life can easily be pulled back with finding their sparks. That's just silly. It doesn't work that way most of the time.
It was also ironic that one of the afterlife staff was talking about the character being basic but the afterlife itself and what they do were also so basic.
It doesn't make sense how the character still chose to go back to earth. It was a very forced happy ending. He didn't have many attachments there and he would want to go back just to enjoy the small things? Not buying it. This kind of life philosophy felt like being shoved down your throat but let's face it, everyone is living their life differently. Being grateful of small things and little sparks is not the only philosophy of life there is. Focusing in the now is not the only way of life. It might work for those with fortunate lives but doesn't mean everyone should survive life using the same philosophical approach. Some are about finding balance, some are about finding purposes, some are about being successful, some are about gaining knowledge, and maybe some others are about focusing on the little sparks. Kinda ironic that the film that is supposed to tell you how to live your life fails to realize that there are many ways to live your life. This is just disappointing how Pete Docter's feeling of dissatisfaction after winning Inside Out made him delve into this idea.
How about the billions of people who haven't got the chance of tasting success? It's insulting for the director to pretend as if he had been walking on their shoes.
Right when I felt there's nothing else more annoying, the spiritual mumbo jumbo comes into play. Yeah, a deluded man with a sign is somehow your key to finding your soul. Not buying all this spiritual mumbo jumbo.
Also what kind of mother doesn't know that his son was struggling for his life in the hospital? Lol.
This was so promising at first but Docter's choice to explore two characters at the same time just didn't work. His approach of this little spark philosophy is not something you can easily buy esp. if you don't have privileges in life and this film is blind to every struggle, injustice, that are happening all around the world.
You tell a person with life struggles and who faces a lot of disadvantage in life to be thankful for the little sparks in their lives, while your life is obviously better and nowhere near that, that's just wrong. They would probably be laughing at you.
Apart from the entertaining cat scenes, this film was just a lost soul, not knowing where to go or what to be. It just missed the third and fourth layer that are usually present in a top-notched Pixar film. Disappointing.