Report The new Pixar film released a few days ago on Disney+ has proven to be a success both with the public and with a large part of the specialized critics. The story doesn’t happen today, but it’s not the first time the studio has done something like this. What is curious is the year chosen: 2002.
It’s a curious time, the world has just entered the 21st century, technology is entering an interesting phase of acceleration, the internet is starting to be present everywhere, mobile phones are more and more present but the smartphone is not hasn’t happened yet.
2002 is pretty obvious throughout Report. Mei can be seen using a Tamagotchi, a popular flip phone at the time, and a disc manwhich were still in use, even though the iPod had been released a year earlier.
The year ‘Red’ happens, the technology was already modern, but there were no smartphones
The choice of the year in which it takes place Report It is not by chance, nor chosen at random. This is explained by Domee Shi, director of the film, who considers that 2002 was the perfect year for the plot of the feature film, in particular because of the emotional ties he has with this period.
“The reason for that is that I have very deep, nostalgic memories of that time and thought it would be interesting to bring it to life in an animated film.” The director also considers that the stage in which technology was at that time was quite particular. “Technology was very interesting at one time because it was modern, but it wasn’t that distracting.” This is reflected throughout Report.
Not only technology, but also pop culture experienced that year. The group of boys like NSYNC or Backstreet Boys are represented by a fictional group called 4*City. The songs, fads, TV shows, and movies that many experienced during that era still live on today.
The technology present, but not absorbing people, is evident throughout the film. Mei and her friends don’t play with their smartphones, nor do they interact via social media, it’s all in real life. That doesn’t mean this way of connecting with friends is better than it is now, it’s just different from 2022.
Report is directed by Domee Shi, with a script by the director and Julie Cho. With performances by Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Wai Ching Ho, Jordan Fisher, Josh Levi, Finneas O’Connell, James Hong, Lori Tan Chinn and Sasha Roiz. You can see it now on Disney+.
