I Rewatched 3 Classics

I rewatched The Godfather, Interstellar, and Good Will Hunting… Okay, fine, you got me. I rewatched Surf's Up, Monsters University, and Soul.

Growing up, whenever you watch Pixar movies, you never really understand the meaning behind them. You just laugh at Po in Kung Fu Panda or get hyped by the Mulan training arc. You don't pay attention to the meaning of the movies or the lessons.

I know that kind of sounds stupid because these are kids' movies, and on the surface, they don't seem profound. However, these animation studios were trying to teach us lessons, and that's why I like rewatching some of the movies from my childhood, because I now understand what they represent.

Surf's Up

I rewatched this movie because I saw Joe Bartolozzi react to a YouTube video on how Surf's Up is all about existentialism.

Surf's Up is about a penguin named Cody who has this dream of being the best surfer in the world. However, he lives in Antarctica, where surfing is not a thing. Everyone is trying to survive by doing their part: eating fish, hatching eggs, and repeating.

Cody represents how the cards you are dealt aren't the be-all and end-all.

Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individual freedom, radical responsibility, and the belief that we are born without a predetermined purpose.

This movie goes directly against predeterminism: the philosophical concept that all events in history, past, present, and future have already been decided or are already known.

So, since you are 6'9", you are going to be a center for the LA Lakers. Since you have a photographic memory, you are going to MIT. And since you don't have a weak foot, you are the next Lamine Yamal.

Cody's life is predetermined: help his colony survive, no surfing because you aren't talented, no dreams, stay put, and survive. However, Cody refuses to let this be his reality. He wants to prove that he can surf and that he can compete because his hero, Big Z, said so.

However, Cody gets better. He can compete. He does well in the competition, even though everyone said he wouldn't go far. But in the end, he realizes that he started thinking about winning and not enjoying surfing. Big Z taught him that.

This brings me to my point on optimization. I think the problem with the world currently is that you can't do anything for the sake of doing it. You can't have fun. You can't kick a ball around without thinking about the big leagues, play Rocket League without thinking about your rank, or just play an instrument without hitting the wrong note. Everything is a competition. If you go to the gym, you constantly worry about what the next PR is. If you make your first $100,000, you wonder when you will make a million next. The point about optimization is that even something like video games is no longer about having fun, but trying to hit a rank.

An interesting take is about how the movie mocks ESPN or other news outlets. This movie shows how Reggie the sea otter, who is head of the surf competition, is constantly trying to sell the sport. He tries to get the headlines, doesn't care about Cody's safety, and is trying to make everything a dramatic event to sell to the audience. With sports, if a player isn't performing well, they will label him as a failure, inconsistent, or not loving the sport enough. If a player is scoring goals, touchdowns, or rebounds, they will be considered a GOAT. The point is that the media sees everything through statistics and output. Sometimes people score goals because the keeper made a mistake or spike a ball when the libero gets injured. The numbers and the story are what sell sports, and people, again, don't love the sport. They love the result.

My biggest takeaway from this whole movie was actually the ending. Cody has a brother who constantly belittles and picks on him. Cody's mom is more on his brother's side because he seems more rational. Even though he is picking on Cody, he understands how ridiculous Cody's dreams are. At the end, Cody's mom says, "You should be more like Cody."

Cody got second place in the tournament, but still succeeded in becoming a surfer and a dreamer. His brother was making fun of him, but his mom now says Cody is an inspiration. I think it's super interesting because nobody cares about how you are doing in the process, but when you win, everyone supports you.

Monsters University

A lot of people dismiss Monsters University, and I don't know why. I think most people just forget about the movie because Monsters, Inc. is a masterpiece, which it is. But, Monsters University teaches us valuable lessons and leaves us heartstrung.

The core idea of this movie is hard work vs. talent. Mike is a hard worker. He isn't scary, he isn't fierce, and he doesn't have the experience. Sully is a nepo baby. His dad was a GOAT scarer, and everyone on campus looks up to him. Imagine if you were Tom Brady's son. Everyone would be in awe, right?

A lot of people debate if hard work beats talent. Talent can get you so far, right?

This movie shows how hard work can beat talent, but it's harder than it seems. Mike and Sully were rivals. In class, the professor liked Sully because he had some natural talent, but Mike kept on studying. Mike had this ambition to keep proving everyone wrong. It was working. He learned everything a scarer needed: the techniques, the right scarer poses, and the approaches. He memorized all of them. He had to in order to compete.

The ending scene showed that even though he did all of this hard work, because of his physical appearance and personality, he just wasn't a born scarer. Maybe nothing you can do will change that.

If my goal was to be a professional tennis player, and I wasn't naturally talented, could I become a professional tennis player? There are people who read the game better, have better stamina, have been playing since birth at the highest level, and have things you can't explain. Maybe you can't. Maybe life is predetermined.

It is kind of sad to see Mike pivot careers and focus on doing something else. Since this was a prequel to Monsters, Inc., the fact that he became a coach shows that he is still very successful, just not in the thing he wanted in the first place.

Soul

Soul is a recent movie, but it still is a cinematic masterpiece.

This movie talks about the purpose of living and how that is more important than stability or fake happiness. Joe Gardener wants to be a musician, and he believes that it's his purpose for living on this earth.

Writing this blog post, I've realized that these movies often target the big dream trope. Every character has some sort of big dream that they are trying to achieve, which makes sense because we all have unrealistic dreams that we are trying to pursue.

The big dream that we have is unrealistic. It's hard to achieve because of how many factors need to go accordingly. Hard work isn't enough, as Monsters University taught us. It's timing, luck, genetics, talent, and network.

Joe has this notion that he was placed on this earth for the sole purpose of creating and performing music. He learns that there is no grand purpose. Even though souls have some reason for living, whether that's sports, politics, or art, ultimately, it's your choice. It's something most people forget. You get to choose what or who you want to be, even if your dad was a surgeon, even if you grew up in an academic household. You ultimately can choose what your purpose is. Free will exists, but even if you choose your purpose, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy life and do other things.

The ending quote is something that stays with me: "I'm not sure, but I do know... I'm going to live every minute of it!"

When Joe decides to live again, he understands that the grand purpose of music isn't the be-all and end-all. You can choose to live however you want.