Entertainment For Lively Minds
Pixar
Just fancied singing their praises. Think their run of fantastic films must be one of the most remarkable in all cinema history – particularly so given the conservative dreck their live action competitors have churned out over the same period. So good and so consistent it’s easy to take them for granted (and fob them off with a best animation statuette when a strong argument could be made for them walking off with the main prize every time they release a film).
The wonderful Up inspires this post. Whoever thought making the hero of, what is after all ostensibly a children’s film, a grumpy, elderly, suburban widower was a good idea? What about making the first half hour or so of a Sci-Fi film a silent comedy? Or basing an entire, multi-million dollar American film around a French rat?
Gob smacking conceits they make work against all the odds.
Up’s not perfect but if anyone claims to see a more brilliant and moving scene this year than that showing said grumpy widower's married life from beginning to end then I don’t believe them.
Go see (whatever your age).
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Certainly agree that...
... the opening 5-or-so minutes of "Up" is as affecting as anything I've seen on film in the past few years, animated or otherwise. It must be a great movie for grandparents to watch with their grandkids, and it would be nice to think it would subtly inculcate the kids with some sort of respect for the elderly.
Aside from Pixar's collective considerable technical prowess, attention to detail and sense of humour, I think their key secret is that they don't patronise - they're great believers in "good old-fashioned" storytelling and don't see the need to dumb down. Yes, they're ostensibly kids' films, but they're not afraid to confront universal issues like loneliness, abandonment and loss, that's why they'll still be watched in 10, 20, 30 years...
The South Bank Show on Pixar the other night was pretty good
They started off as Disney rejects before growing so large as to effectively take over their animation division. First decision was to get rid of all executives that didn't do any animating.
I blubbed
at possibly the best 4 mins of snimation storytelling ever done. My 3D glasses fair misted up.
When Pixar gets it right its with a story with emotional weight and with great character voices. So many other animation studios just throw big names in and think thats enough. Two of the leads in "Up" are Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer. Names that mean nothing to your average 5 year old but they will love the performances\characters none the less.
The story is a bit thin I'll grant you but its head and shoulders above other animated movies which are a collection of sketches thrown at the screen in a random order.
as to whether it warrants a 3D treatment I don't know. I'm increasingly of the mind that 3D is pureply an anti piracy measure and little else.
Same here
The ONLY film I have ever actually cried at. I literally could not stop the tears running down my cheeks!
Big Jessie for blubbing
Me too....
What a corker of a film
Glanced up at Woking cinema's
listings board as I was cycling past earlier today. It said "UP U".
Date for your 2010 diaries
http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/toystory3/
Watch the trailer in HD.
Beautiful film. Equally beautiful song.