Julia, Stone’s Snowden & Pixar’s Sanjay: News Roundup
Monday, July 6, 2015 at 9:30AM 
Mondays, am I right, Julia?
Manuel here trying to catch up with plenty of news from this past week but somehow not feeling many of them, maybe I'm having a case of the Mondays? I wanted to kick the week off with some more Julia news (is everyone replaying that Secret in Their Eyes trailer for that one perfect gif-able moment?) but somehow typing “Roberts signs on to Garry Marshall’s Mothers Day” was enough of a letdown that I stopped typing. I mean, sure, we could joke that we can’t wait to see Julia in Marshall’s next film, MLK Day, but 30 Rock beat us all to it.
So why don’t we instead focus on the moody teaser for Oliver Stone’s Snowden?
Intense, right? That cast list alone (Gordon-Levitt, Woodley, Leo, Quinto, Wilkinson, Ifans) looks wonderful, but then flashes of W. keep haunting me and well, let’s just say it leaves me wanting. Can’t start Monday on that note, now can we?
Trust Pixar (currently making bank but somehow unable to dethrone those genetically modified dinos) to finally give me something to be excited about this morning. After what’s easily their worst (worst, I say!) short film (seriously, guys, I do not lava Lava!) they might be priming themselves for a gorgeous surprise this Thanksgiving. From a description of the short Sanjay’s Super Team set to premiere before The Good Dinosaur this fall:
“The seven-minute short begins with young Sanjay watching cartoons and eating cereal in a bland, beige room as his father jingles a bell, beckoning him to join in meditation. Reluctant and bored by the ceremony, Sanjay begins daydreaming a kind of ancient, Hindu version of The Avengers, with the gods appearing like superheroes. As the daydream progresses, the color, light and animation of the film grows increasingly dazzling and cosmic, and Sanjay grows closer to understanding his father's inner world.”
"Sanjay's Super Team" is directed by Sanjay Patel, a long time animator at Pixar. [image src]
We’d seen some concept art but now we have two gorgeous images and I have to say, I am eagerly awaiting this short probably even more so than the photorealistic dino adventure that will follow it. I mean, look at those big eyes! Those bright colors! Those kickass character designs!
Are you excited that Pixar seems to be actively trying to redress its diversity problem with characters like Riley, Sadness, Joy, and Sanjay? Are you still trying to forget you ever watched Lava? (If I watch Inside Out in the theaters again, I will definitely be skipping that gender normative sitcom of a short).
Reader Comments (11)
"That cast list alone (Gordon-Levitt, Woodley, Leo, Quinto, Wilkinson, Ifans) looks wonderful."
Poor Nicolas Cage. He doesn't even merit a mention anymore!
That teaser is so underwhelming though. I think anyone who'd care about a Snowden-focused film at this point is aware of the basic beats of his life.
Manuel, I'm curious due to your last line about Lava, what did you think of that Pixar short (the name of which I can't remember) about the two men (I picture them being blue - I think they were blue?) who ogle the woman on the beach in the bikini? That one bothered me way more than Lava (which I found to be cute even if I understand your problem with it). I mean, can you imagine a short animated movie for children about two female characters who ogle a big buff man in a tiny speedo? It would never happen.
DJDeeJay: I've looked at a list of Pixar shorts, and whoever made what you describe, it wasn't Pixar. But: Lava. There's two issues: 1. This is an entire short based around a cheesy pun with very little in energy aside from that. The result feels too inevitable and normal. 2. Both of these shorts would be better paired with the other film. Lava still wouldn't be a great short or anything, but I could at least see the logic in pairing a short about a love that spans millions of years being paired with a feature about the dinosaur extinction event not happening and a short about an Indian boy's imagination and spiritual awakening being paired with a western set feature tale of a girl growing up and becoming more emotionally complicated.
Volvagia: It is a Pixar short: It's called Day & Night.
Gregarius - thank you! I could not for the life of me remember it.
DJDeeJay,
I think Day & Night didn't bother me as much mostly because a) the girl in the bikini wasn't the ENTIRE point of the story and b) it was wildly more inventive and visually interesting than Lava, which was basically "hey you! No matter how you look or how old you are, if you wait long enough, a beautiful woman will fall in love in with you!" Like, what kind of character design choice is it to make your male lead character look like a volcano but your female one look like a beautiful woman? It's the According to Jim/King of Queens of Pixar shorts!
Add in the silly nothing-really-there-plot and an inane jingle and you really have a weak short film. Unsurprisingly perhaps, my other least favorite Pixar short is The Blue Umbrella.
Sanjay Patel is literally the name of a character on Modern Family.
LOLZ
So good to hear others call out Lava! That sexist short put me in a bad mood for Inside Out, another strike against it.
Snowden won't be any good. When was the last time anyone here enjoyed an Oliver Stone film?
I hate Lava with a fiery passion. With that said... that song... that damn song... won't leave my head. I can't wait for Sanjay's Super Team though!
LAVA is just about the worst film period I've seen this year. So, that's bad.