Wednesday, May 27

• The Desire to Hide from the World Inspired Up

  Pixar, the CGI animation production company born out of Lucasfilm's Computer Division and acquired by Disney in 2007, has produced several of the most-enduring animated characters of the past two decades, from Buzz Lightyear to Nemo to WALL-E. In Up, Pixar's latest release, you won't find any animated toys or talking cars, only a curmudgeonly old man and his chubby 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer sidekick (and a few talking dogs, naturally).

  With many of Pixar's other films -- Toy Story, Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc. -- the title gives you a clue about what the film is about; not so with Up. When asked to describe the film, even director Pete Doctor had a hard time summing it up:

  It's a hard movie to talk about in a way because it's got a lot of elements to it.... That's what we're trying to do all the time, is surprise people.

  Up tells the tale of Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), a grumpy old man who ties balloons to his house and sails off for South America, hoping to leave his cares behind him. The concept of flying away when life gets too irritating grew out of some of Doctor's own discomfort with social interactions, which he discussed in a recent interview:

  I'm just not an extroverted person. I think a lot of us became animators because talking to people is kind of scary ... especially girls. So it's easier to draw. It's easier to just communicate through drawing. It's a way to communicate with people.

  It was really hard becoming a director on Monsters, Inc. because up until then I had a chance to withdraw to my office and animate. As a director, you're thrust out and you're talking to people all day. And at the end of the day, I just want go hide under the bed or something and talk to nobody. This film was kind of born out of that.

  Up is the first Pixar film to be released in Disney Digital 3-D and is the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival.

  
  
  

  Up - Trailer 3

  Pixar Goes UP - Releasing May 29, 2009

  Posted 05/27/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Peter Docter | Up | Monsters, Inc.

Tuesday, May 26

• 3-D Effects in Up Designed To Be Subtle

  Pixar -- the Academy Award-winning digital animation studio behind such colossal hits as Toy Story, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and WALL-E -- debuts Up this Friday, its first film presented in Disney Digital 3-D.

  3-D films have not had a very impressive track record, but director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.) hopes that subtler 3-D effects in Up will keep the audience engaged:

  We tried to learn from all the films that had come before us and what makes it work. The things that were important to me as a director was not to distract people with 3D. You don't want to pop them out of the movie by going "ooga-booga." We basically said, "Okay, the screen is like a window and you can see into it but let's not bring too many things out." That adds a certain sense of depth and I think, for a lot of people, they feel more transported into that world. Hopefully, it's not distracting to the point of popping you out of the film and it's a more immersive experience.

  Up tells the tale of Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), a grumpy, retired balloon seller who ties balloons to his house and sails off for South America. Russell (Jordan Nagai), an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer, accidentally stows away with Carl and the two opposites encounter thrills and adventures in the Venezuelan jungle.

  
  
  

  Up - Trailer 3

  Pixar Goes UP - Releasing May 29, 2009

  Posted 05/26/2009 by BrentJS

  Related: Ed Asner | Peter Docter | Jordan Nagai | Toy Story | The Incredibles | Monsters, Inc. | Ratatouille | Wall-E

Wednesday, May 13

• Pixar's Up Receives Historic Debut; First Reviews Overwhelmingly Positive

  The Cannes Film Festival is underway and Pixar's latest effort Up, due in theaters in two weeks, makes history as the first animated feature screened on opening day. The movie is being shown in 3-D for the Cannes audience, although that will not be the norm for the wide release.

  In the days leading up to today's screening, some reviews have already surfaced.

  "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."

  -- Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter

  "And 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."

  -- Richard Corliss, Time

  "A captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along."

  -- Todd McCarthy, Variety

  Given that, it seems likely the Cannes response will be radically different from the last time an American movie opened the festival. In 2006, The Da Vinci Code resulted in the audience laughing in ridicule; it also prompted The New York Times' A.O. Scott to write one of his most ruthless and carping reviews of the year. It seems safe to say nothing like that will happen this time.

  
  
  

  Up - Trailer

  Pixar Goes UP - Releasing May 29, 2009

  Posted 05/13/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Peter Docter | Up | The Da Vinci Code

Thursday, April 23

• Pixar's Up Receives PG Rating

  Earlier this week, Pixar's Up became only the second movie in the studio's history (following The Incredibles) to receive a restrictive rating from the MPAA Ratings Board. Pixar's 10th feature-length movie -- directed by Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.) and featuring the voice of Ed Asner -- was awarded a PG rating for "some peril and action."

  Up also represents the 10th animated movie released by Disney to receive a rating other than G. The first was The Black Cauldron (1985), followed by James and the Giant Peach (1996). The remaining eight were all are released after 2000.

  
  
  

  Up - Trailer

  Pixar Goes UP - Releasing May 29, 2009

  Posted 04/23/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Peter Docter | Up