I am freshly back from the family viewing of Pixar's Up, and I have to say that I am exhausted! It is quite taxing being sucked into and then pulled out of a great family adventure. The other reason stems from a lackluster experience with 3D that lessened my enjoyment of a day at the cinema. Let's start with the high notes, and there are plenty of those!
When will the streak end?
I hope that Pixar never stumbles, and though I know it can't last forever, theirs is the kind of streak that benefits society as a whole. Quite simply, this movie is fabulous. Both of my thumbs are pointed straight "up", and I would recommend this film to anyone in a heartbeat. I literally get caught "up" (last one I promise) in movies like these and am emotionally spent when they are over. I used to think that since for some reason these stories were geared specifically for me (and my kids). I am realizing that Pixar tells stories in a way that everyone feels they were written especially for them.
Watching as a general viewer, everything that makes Finding Nemo watchable for the 14th time is here in Up as well. Great characters that you connect with, stories that are told in near perfect timing and pitch, and visuals that are seared into your memory, in the best way possible! I won't spoil the story, but the showing the tips of more than a few emotional icebergs makes this film work for adults. This makes the characters and story bind together in a gooey clump of fun, sadness, and excitement as the action plays out.
Watching as an animator, I can only say that this is another master class of visual storytelling, animation, character design and acting, lighting, texturing, and anything else one cares to analyze. Everyone in the industry aspires to works like Up and with good reason. I didn't see a single technical flaw in the animation, and I basically watched this without being caught up in techniques used for production. The technical execution is so good that you end up just enjoying the story for exactly that, the story. Bravo, Pixar!
Am I the only 3D animator who hates 3D movies?
OK, I know that the industry is pushing everything towards 3D. I know that every upcoming CG-heavy film is going to have a 3D release. In the case of Up, the theater was only showing it in 3D, which was (insert sarcasm here) great when you have no option but to pay a premium for a family full of tickets. The technology (RealD) is actually quite good, in that the 3D effect is clear and the glasses, aside from making me look like Clark Rockefeller, were not any more annoying than regular glasses.
The problem I have is that the effect varies wildly between scenes, just as depth of field varies in live action footage. However, the 3d effect being on for "deep" scenes and off for shallow indoor scenes becomes a distraction, and my eyes take time to focus, making it harder for me to watch. Add to this the dimming effect of the glasses and the desaturation of the colors and I say, "Thanks, but no thanks" to 3D. There were moments where I thought it was a neat effect, but if I can't see Carl's house and those thousands of balloons in a rainbow of rich, saturated colors, then the effect isn't worth it.
Are the cracks in Pixar's foundation showing?
The thing of it is, that the Pixar leadership probably knows that 3D is a gimmick and a subtractor, not an adder in terms of the movie experience. 3D sells more tickets, makes theaters more profitable, and gives marketing something to trumpet. However, Pixar was and is supposed to be the outfit that doesn't care about what everyone else is doing and does it "their way" to tell the best stories. Has Disney started to taint them already?
Also, I noted previously that Up was near perfect in terms of storytelling, and I still cannot get this one sequence out of my head. Everything was going along fine until the dogs were flying airplanes! Those who are not "dog people" were probably sick of the pooches about halfway through, but I was really enjoying the vocalization of a dog's inner thoughts, right up until that point where the editors fell asleep at the jog wheel. Seriously? Bulldogs using bones to pilot miniature bi-planes? That one threw what was left of my suspension of disbelief right out the kitchen window, and it was a long, long way down.
Make your week and go see Up
I waited too long to see it, but I sure am glad I saw it in the theaters. My kids loved it. My wife even loved it. If you have kids from four to fourteen, this is a great family outing. If you don't, you will have to brave it on your own, as most parents will have already taken their kids to the next great summer Pixar movie!
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