Coco puts Pixar back on path of critical success

Pixar raised the bar so high a decade ago with a spectacular three-year streak of original films that the studio is forever measured against its own success.

Yet even allowing that the Oscar-plated run of Ratatouille, WALL–E and Up found rarefied air from 2007 to 2009, the viewer expectation persisted that the great minds of Pixar would routinely keep offering non-sequel excellence. And thanks to 2012’s Brave and 2015’s Inside Out, that reputation was fairly supported.

But given the slate of films since then, as well as going forward, Pixar especially needed the new Coco to succeed.

Coco opened to $71.2 million domestically over the five-day holiday frame; has grossed $153 million worldwide; and is the biggest film in Mexican box office history. But its critical reception is crucial to Pixar’s image, too.

Because if Coco hadn’t landed well with reviewers and fans, that misstep would have meant that Pixar would go five years – at the least – without an acclaimed original film.

That is mostly a reflection, of course, of Pixar’s hard turn toward sequels in recent years. The studio followed the critically underwhelming The Good Dinosaur two years ago this month with the massive hit sequel Finding Dory (Pixar’s highest-grossing domestic release ever before adjusting for inflation; and secondhighest after adjustment) and the box-office underperformer Cars 3 (Pixar’s lowest-grossing domestic release ever other than The Good Dinosaur).

Let’s hope Pixar continues to make space for at least several original winners each decade.