Pixar's Up

Tomorrow, Pixar’s Up will be not only the first animated film but also the first 3D movie to open the Cannes Film Festival. Reviews are already flowing in. I saw the movie last week, and it is spectacular. But don’t take my word for it, here is a look at the early buzz:

Screendaily: “Up has humour and action aplenty to enthrall children, but it should engage adults in equal quantities who will respond to its rich emotional content.” … “The colours of the film are ravishing and some of the compositions are painterly, while the 3D enhances the images without playing any in-your-face tricks on the audience. Michael Giacchino’s memorable music themes will be rattling around your head for hours after the film is over.”

THR: “Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, the gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it.” … “But what gives Up such a joyously buoyant lift is the refreshingly nongimmicky way in which the process has been incorporated into the big picture — and what a wonderful big picture it is.”

More after the jump.

Emanuel Levy: “As of May, Best Picture of the Year” … “visually inventive, emotionally compelling comedy-adventure” … “Amazingly, “Up” is by turns serious and funny, poignant and frivolous (when it needs to be), but also highly and unexpectedly romantic.”

Time: “Though it’s not yet summer, we can declare that Up, like WALL-E, will prove to be one of the most satisfying movie experiences of its year.” … “Extending the patented Pixar mix of humor and heart, Up is the studio’s most deeply emotional and affecting work.”

Variety: “Depending on what you think of “Cars,” Pixar makes it either 9½ out of 10 or 10 for 10 with “Up,” a captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along.” … “proves disarming in its deep reserves of narrative imagination and surprise, as well as its poignant thematic balance of dreams deferred and dreams fulfilled.”

Roger Ebert: “This is a wonderful film. It tells a story. The characters are as believable as any characters can be who spend much of their time floating above the rain forests of Venezuela.” … “This is a story as tickling to the imagination as the magical animated films of my childhood, when I naively thought that because their colors were brighter, their character outlines more defined and their plots simpler, they were actually more realistic than regular films.”

  • Seems a little more positive than Wall-E (Which I thought was a great film)

    Then again Almost all of the Pixar movies always have those reviewers who dislike the movie for one reason or another.
  • WALL-E was the best reviewed wide release of 2008 with 96% positive on Rotten Tomatoes... just saying...
  • hahah. i was thinking the same thing.

    owned.
  • yep. and thats why I'm pissed that it didn't at least garner a nomination for best picture. Pretty lame Academy. pretty lame.
  • Is Michael Giacchino gonna be the next Hans Zimmer?
  • Palmer
    But will it make me cry like some people say?
  • Cslroy
    Very easily. I had to try not to.
  • ELLIE
    YES! it's almost impossible not to cry at this movie- SEVERAL times, however, it makes you cry in the best ways (and I normally HATE emotional movies.) This is the sweetest, most heartwarming, best movie I have ever had the privilege of seeing. PLEASE don't be put off because you think you might cry. I promise you, you WILL NOT regret watching this film. It makes you glad to be a part of humanity
  • Whether it will be good is a stupid question. The question really should be is it as good as Wall-E?
  • MyNew Pep-Pep
    That's great an all..... but does it have major plot holes like Star Trek?
    Star Trek's plot holes are awesome!

    Please post more wonderful news and LOL stories about Star Trek.
  • This pleases me even though it was not unexpected. Now...To stop reading about the movie, take a break and wait for it to come out. No offense, but I was nearly over saturated with Wall*e last summer.
  • Tap Zepol
    Of course Up will be fantastic!
    Side Note:
    Mr. Frederickson is looking up at Russel in that picture like he's thinking, "Great, he's gonna drop a deuce on me. After all that happened today, I don't really care anymore."
  • This is great news! Another PIXAR win!
  • as long as it's as good as the first half of wall-e and not as bad as the 2nd half of wall-e.
  • ControlMaster
    Dude thats exactly what i thought of Wall-E. The plot kinda let itself go after the first half and became ridiculous.
  • avoidz
    Same here. It become typical animated kiddie fare in the second half.
  • ControlMaster
    So a 10th home run for Pixar. No wonder they are a pack of Geniuses.
  • Brad
    I'm sorry, but this will only make it 8 of 10. A Bug's Life and Cars were both meh at best. Still, an amazing track record.
  • Simmy25
    How is A Bug's Life meh?
  • it's Pixar, did we expect any less?

    so excited for this :) especially with all the hype over the first part of the movie.

    And for the naysayers of Wall-E and Bugs Life. Sorry, but no.
  • Wall-E defenders, assemble!
  • yea the first part was beautiful and had this mystery to it. the second half got a little goof-ball and felt kinda preachy like it's goal was to get us all to recycle when we got home and watch an inconvenient truth to celebrate.
  • I really, really want to see this movie as soon as possible.

    Definitely checking it out in "3D" although that doesn't seem to be what is making this movie so spectacular (more like the story and the characters).

    Good to see that Pixar is keeping up the good work.
  • New clip ! Tepui landing on apple movie trailer.
    http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/up/
  • Some Guy
    I've seen it. I think it's as good as Wall*E, but won't stand up to it in a side-by-side comparison. To compare the two just isn't really fair--they have different directors, different screenwriters, different casts. But they both work because they're both very small stories, even though, like all the Pixar movies, they're about ideas that are bigger than the story itself.
  • Nagh, i'm not a fan of Pixar, nor any other CGI Animation Film.
  • Chad
    I've never understood why people give Cars so much crap - I love it!! A Bug's Life is the weakest of the Pixar bunch, but it's still a great movie. I'm glad to hear that Up continues the greatness. I get nervous every year that the new Pixar release will somehow disappoint.
  • Seann
    Couldn't agree more Chad. I'm a huge gearhead/racing fan and absolutely loved Cars. I thought that they did a great job with paying homage to older racers within the film to satisfy the racing and non-racing fans. Anything racing/NASCAR related is ALWAYS going to get a bad rap by the geeks/fanboys around here because of it's southern roots.
  • Simmy25
    Cars IS a great movie. It's just that compared to everything else that Pixar has made, it's a bit weak and formulatic.
    But still I think it beats the crap out of anything Dreamworks has made. Making an exception with Kung Fu Panda
  • Seann
    Simmy, I can agree to that. Compared to some of their other work Cars isn't as a compelling film. It is however a very fun and entertaining one.
  • Will I be two for two when it comes to very-seriously-almost-crying when watching a Pixar movie, 'cause Wall-E you know . . .
  • jrice73
    Yes! The reviews prove it. UP is going to be something very special.
  • This is great news. I still remember defending this movie against all my friends. Good to see that Pixar immaculate or near-immaculate (depending on who you talk to) record is still in tact.
blog comments powered by Disqus