Pixar's 'The Incredibles 2,' 'Cars 3' get release dates
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Viewers waiting to see more 鈥渟upers鈥� now know when they鈥檒l get a sequel to the 2004 Pixar film 鈥淭he Incredibles.鈥�
It was recently announced that 鈥淭he Incredibles 2鈥� will arrive in theaters in June 2019, while a third film in the Pixar 鈥淐ars鈥� series will be released in June 2017. A fourth film in the 鈥淭oy Story鈥� series will come to theaters in June 2018. Before descending into sequel-land, the studio plans another new story in next year's "The Good Dinosaur."
Pixar has become one of the most financially successful and critically acclaimed animation companies. Their film 鈥淚nside Out鈥� became one of the biggest draws of this past summer and received raves from critics. Two of the studio鈥檚 films, 鈥淯p鈥� and 鈥淭oy Story 3,鈥� have received Best Picture nominations at the Oscars.
The studio has lately been planning more sequels than it did at the beginning of its run. For some time, the only sequel released by Pixar was 1999鈥檚 鈥淭oy Story 2.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 until 2010 when it released a third installment in the 鈥淭oy Story鈥� series and quickly followed it up with 鈥淐ars 2.鈥� Since then, it has also released a sequel to its 鈥淢onsters, Inc.鈥� film titled 鈥淢onsters University.鈥�
When moviegoers hear the word 鈥渟equel,鈥� they may think of declining quality (there鈥檚 a reason films like 鈥淭he Godfather: Part II鈥� are viewed as exceptions). However, so far, Pixar has seemed to mostly escape that. The movie 鈥淭oy Story 3鈥� was just as well-received as the first two films in addition to receiving that Best Picture nomination. 鈥淢onsters University鈥� had a more mixed reception but was not a failure by any means.聽
It鈥檚 interesting that Pixar is planning a third 鈥淐ars鈥� film as the 2011 film 鈥淐ars 2鈥� could be said to be the rare creative stumble by the studio. In comparison to the often incredibly positive critical reception for their films, 鈥淐ars 2鈥� was not at all well-received. However, it did perform well at the box office, and 'Cars' merchandise is estimated to have brought in .
Producing creatively satisfying sequels like those in the 鈥淭oy Story鈥� series are yet another way Pixar has defied expectations over the last decades. Industry observers called their ideas for films like 鈥淯p鈥� and 鈥淲ALL-E鈥� unlikely or flawed 鈥� would children, a large part of, but by no means all, of Pixar鈥檚 audience, watch a movie about an elderly man or enjoy a long stretch of nearly-wordless film? So far, Pixar has largely overcome these hurdles, with 鈥淯p鈥� and 鈥淲ALL-E鈥� not only receiving critical acclaim but becoming box office successes, though recent films like 鈥淯niversity鈥� and 鈥淏rave鈥� received more mixed reviews.
