Do people still watch films in 3D? (with bonus views on elio)
there are no spoilers for elio in this piece!
It's been a while since I learnt how to drive (contrary to popular belief) but I'll always remember how my driving instructor used to tell me so often about his love of watching 3D films that I am not sure there was anyone else that actually used the 3D feature on their home TV as much as he did. It's wild to think that there was actually a point where companies were really pushing these TVs to the masses because according to a quick bit of research, they first started getting pushed in 2010 before everyone had concluded by 2013 that they were a bit of a waste of time. I guess the tech companies were trying to profit off the success of Avatar in 2009 (which most argue is the most successful 3D film to hit cinemas) but obviously people didn't quite get on board with it at home as much as they had hoped. Most people would assume that would probably be the end of 3D film as a concept but to my surprise, apparently some studios think it's still worth releasing films with a 3D option into the cinema.
This is quite a change up from when I was a kid because I remember a lot of films needing 3D glasses growing up, in particular I have quite fond 3D memories of Sharkboy and Lavagirl as well as Spy Kids 3D: Game Over. I am not sure why these films stick out to me as being memorable 3D films in particular because I was 5 when Spy Kids 3D came out, but I imagine it's cause they're both incredible films (although I haven't watched either recently so don't challenge me on that). As I got older, the novelty of 3D films definitely wore off as I realised that most of the 3D elements were actually pretty gimmicky with bits purposefully being written to set up the moment where something looks like it's flying directly towards the audience. I always thought that was an opinion matched by the general public so I think that's why I was pleasantly surprised when booking to see the latest Pixar movie, Elio, and it was available to book in 3D. I feel like subconsciously I knew films were still coming out with this option but I couldn't remember the last time I had seen one so I bravely booked for the 3D screening and headed to see if the experience was different to what I remember.
Truthfully, the opening 10 to 15 minutes were a really tough watch and that wasn't because of the film itself. It was because of the 3D. I couldn't work out if it was the fact I decided against wearing my actual glasses under my 3D glasses but the whole film had this really weird surreal blur about it. Moments were flicking between being in focus and then suddenly not. I couldn't work out whether I was going insane and it wasn't until a guy two rows in front of me stood up and asked the room if they also had the same problem that I realised that the 3D effect wasn't working properly. I felt relieved but I knew that my opinion on watching a film in 3D had most likely already gone down a couple of notches as a result. They eventually fixed it and to be honest, I didn't really notice any benefits of it being 3D over the rest of the film. The animation was undoubtedly incredibly pretty filled with lots of strong vibrant colours but I couldn't help but feel that it would still feel incredibly vibrant and pretty in its regular 2D form.
For those that don't know, Elio, tells the story of a lonely alien obsessed eleven year old boy who accidentally becomes the intergalactic ambassador of Planet Earth after being beamed up to the 'Communiverse' . As with many Pixar films, there's a strong emotional core with this film focusing on themes around human loneliness which it cleverly links with the question of 'are we alone in the universe?'. This emotional focus allows for some really strong dynamics to be created between characters both on Earth and in space. We see friendships form, we see relationships tested and overall it creates quite a moving story that had me tearing up towards the end. It almost feels like the film is trying to defiantly answer the question of 'are we alone?' with clear evidence that we never are. We have friends and we have family and although it doesn't quite nail it's landing, it still ends up conveying it's ideas in a nice way for audiences.
Outside of the story, the film is getting fairly well reviewed by critics and audiences which is normally a pretty good sign but unfortunately for Pixar it's not doing amazing when it comes to the overall Box Office. I read this morning that they are now moving towards a model that involves them rotating between original film and sequel film which could be interesting going forward, especially because Elio has gone fairly under the radar with a lot of focus elsewhere on remake films like How I Train Your Dragon and Lilo and Stitch. I think this is a shame as it is a lovely original film with a lot of heart so hopefully it gains a bit of a second wind before it leaves cinemas. If not, I am sure it will end up doing well on Disney+!
ELIO - 3 STARS
