The Nominees: Up
A few years ago, I had my "favorite Pixar movie." Four years later, I had "my top three Pixar movies." Now it's easier to say "here are the Pixar movies I didn't like" because that list is shorter, and I don't have to keep remembering which order I put them in.
Nothing short of an emotional meat-tenderizer, I have to say Up is wonderful.
The first ten minutes are a mini-rollercoaster: cute leading to the warm fuzzies with the adroit sucker-punch of a sadness bomb (that goes off not once, but TWICE) that resonates so well with everything that came before and after it, that it make the sadness count. They soften you up just to make sure you're not too cynical for the fun you're going to have.
It almost makes you hate Pixar, because they do everything just right. The story is wonderfully told, relies on beautiful visuals, the animation is flawlessly rendered, and superbly cast.
They even managed to offer up one rather botched effort in their arsenal (no one liked Cars) to show how perfect they're not: a perfect failure to offset their golden child status as an animation house.
You almost want to hate them: but they give us something as delightful as Up.
Delightful. That's pretty much it. From the annoying kid who doesn't annoy the audience to the old man who manages to be grumpy without cynical to the adorable dog who is as much a cartoon character as real-life-animal, I can't complain about any of it.
That's one rough complaint to have about a movie.
Nothing short of an emotional meat-tenderizer, I have to say Up is wonderful.
The first ten minutes are a mini-rollercoaster: cute leading to the warm fuzzies with the adroit sucker-punch of a sadness bomb (that goes off not once, but TWICE) that resonates so well with everything that came before and after it, that it make the sadness count. They soften you up just to make sure you're not too cynical for the fun you're going to have.
It almost makes you hate Pixar, because they do everything just right. The story is wonderfully told, relies on beautiful visuals, the animation is flawlessly rendered, and superbly cast.
They even managed to offer up one rather botched effort in their arsenal (no one liked Cars) to show how perfect they're not: a perfect failure to offset their golden child status as an animation house.
You almost want to hate them: but they give us something as delightful as Up.
Delightful. That's pretty much it. From the annoying kid who doesn't annoy the audience to the old man who manages to be grumpy without cynical to the adorable dog who is as much a cartoon character as real-life-animal, I can't complain about any of it.
That's one rough complaint to have about a movie.