If Rotten Tomatoes's 98% rating is any indicator, Up shouldn't have to worry about negative audience reaction. And certainly, the critical reviews so far have been almost universally rhapsodic.
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times notes that:
As success follows success for animation powerhouse Pixar, the pressure to maintain the streak must be phenomenal. Will the next film be the one that stumbles, the one that breaks stride? No one need worry, however, about Up, Pixar's 10th and latest effort. It's not only good, it's one of Pixar's best. Some films are an obligation to write about, Up is the purest pleasure.
Lisa Schwartzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gives it an A:
As buoyant and richly tinted as the balloons that figure so prominently in its story, Up is also thoroughly grounded in real emotion and ideas of substance. How's that for an instant boost? The result is a lovely, thoughtful, and yes, uplifting adventure ...
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times has been known to snark about 3D films (mostly about having to wear the glasses), but even he waxed rhapsodic:
... 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. They have tempers, problems, and obsessions. They are cute and goofy, but they aren't cute in the treacly way of little cartoon animals. They're cute in the human way of the animation master Hayao Miyazaki.
Rotten Tomatoes registers only one splat amongst the critics, Stephanie Zacharek's writeup on Slate.com:
There are so many charming visual touches in Pixar's Up -- like the homey-looking wood-frame house that floats into the sky with the help of a thousand translucent candy-colored balloons -- that, frame by frame, the movie seems to be daring us not to fall in love with it. The characters may not tug at our heartstrings outright, but they do surreptitiously plink away at them ... Up is unapologetically life-affirming, for those who like to have life affirmed. And from a technical standpoint it certainly is beautifully executed. But save for a few inspired canine gags and a handful of very pretty visual details, Up left me cold. Its charms appear to have been applied with surgical precision; by the end, I felt expertly sutured, but not much else.
So, consider that a warning: if you hate life-affirming movies, you should avoid Up at all costs. Fortunately for those who feel that way, Drag Me To Hell is also opening this weekend ... and we'll have to wait for the box-office numbers to see if Carl gets dragged downwards or if he gets to fly away.
NOTE: Occasionally we allow Steve Hulett to go on vacation, on the strict condition that he occasionally post during his absence. Never fear, he'll be back to full-time blogging on June 8; until then, you'll occasionally be hearing from yours truly.
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27 comments:
Up was good to great, but not amazing. I would rank it beneath Ratatouille. I think Drag Me to Hell will take more of a bite than people realize at this point.
Might even see Bolt/Twilight scenario happen again...
No way. Up was among Pixar's top 5. Excellent film, filled with heart. There were a few flaws, but quite minor. Miles better than Wall-E. The short "Partly Cloudy" was very funny, as well. Both were among the best crowd-pleasers I've seen in a long while.
Well, yea, but wall-e was (in my opinion) their 2nd worst film to date, just above cars.
Up was good, but it wasn't like, breathtaking or groundbreaking. It wasnt overly funny. It was predictable. When it had chances to blow you away emotionally, it delivered, but not with enthusiasm. I could go into detail but I dont want to post poilers. So that, in my opinion, makes it very good (anything by Pixar is, lets admit it) but certainly not as good as TS2, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, or Toy Story.
Drag Me to Hell is at 94% after 128 reviews...could be significant competition
It's summer. If anything it would be like WALL-E/Wanted, not Bolt/Twilight. Really? A Pixar summer film compare to Bolt?
The short left me wanting - felt like a student film premise-wise, but maybe they were using it to test new technology as they sometimes do.
I just got home from it, and I can only say that I've never had much time for Slate's "movie reviews," and now I have even less ... The only reason that "Up" didn't quite live up to the hype for me was because I expect nothing less than perfection from Pixar .. This one comes really close, but my favorite still remains "Ratatouille"
I don't think UP was any special on any level. Same old story formula, the same soft looking renders, not so funny jokes and let's be honest, by the time we got to the theater we all had a pretty good idea of what is going to happen. Pixar went above and beyond trying to market this thing the fact that made the movie very predictable and uninteresting at all... I really would love to see some studio going to the old "POSTER" method in advertising for movies and leave us wanting more. It seems as though people accept anything Pixar dose, Mediocre, Good, Bad, they all are the same as long as it's got the lamp logo on it... this is sad
Really? A Pixar summer film compare to Bolt?No, I just mean Drag Me To Hell might steal quite a bit of UP's box office release sales, much like Twilight took Bolt's sales
Good jeez, the amount of Pixar haters on this site is amazing.
Up was amazing. You guys sound like Armand White.
I thought the movie was good at first, but I was shocked at the nudity midway through the movie. I did not want my daughter exposed to that, and we had to walk out. We thought the dogs would be funny, but none of them were wearing ANY clothing, and i feel betrayed and violated by Pixar.
"Drag Me to Hell is at 94% after 128 reviews...could be significant competition"
Yeah, right.
Up will make about 60 million this weekend. "Drag me to Hell" will be lucky to get 20 million, at best.
The reason why there are so many Pixar "haters" on this site is because it's mostly industry people who are ridiculously jealous they they are working for Dreamworks or Blue Sky and keep turning out crap (money making crap but still crap). That comment excludes Kung Fu Panda which was quite good.
Anyway, Up was the best movie of the year and should be nominated and win best picture. And no, I don't work at Pixar nor am I in TAG.
....And no, I don't work at Pixar nor am I in TAG.
THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE!!!??!!!
i am totally jealous that I can't work at Pixar and get paid 30% less to make oscar winning movies...
^ Ah, I get it. Pixar pays 30% less than other studios, so automatically all their movies are going to be "just okay."
GM had 243,000 employees as of December 2008
In the United States, GM had 384,000 hourly retirees and 116,000 salaried retirees.
Legacy costs get expensive, that's why our union must grow. Quality has nothing to do with it.
That's why Pixar happily pays 30% less.
The reason why there are so many Pixar "haters" on this site is because it's mostly industry people who are ridiculously jealous they they are working for Dreamworks or Blue Sky and keep turning out crapI think that would be true if UP had been really, really good. I think we "industry" people are just more tired of the Pixar worship when theres other good products out there. Honestly, in the last 2 years, Ive enjoyed the competitions offerings (KFP, Bolt, Horton; were they really crap?) much more than Wall-e or UP. Their last great movie was Ratatouille.
So, our opinions arent any less valid because we dont work there, just like your opinion isnt any more valid because you're a fanboy
Legacy costs get expensive, that's why our union must grow. Quality has nothing to do with it..
Actually, TAG is not structured the way the UAW is. Employer contributions made for current employees do not pay for retirees. While the union continuing to grow is a good thing, it is NOT necessary to support the pension obligations for retirees.
Animation and Film making is all about asking for critique, opinions, and different point of views, so labeling other's opinions as "HATE" is not really a healthy way to deafened this movie, plus, this is TAG blog and not Pixar fan club, right?
Love
because it's mostly industry people who are ridiculously jealous they they are working for Dreamworks or Blue Sky and keep turning out crap.
And that means the animators are crap?
If anything, I think some of the animation from Blue Sky and Dreamworks are superior to Pixar's. Not the stories, maybe, but the animation itself is unbelievable. I doubt anyone at Blue Sky or Dreamworks are wringing their hands too much over not working at Pixar.
Wow, the Dreamworks contingent is working double time to push their hopes that "Up" is sub par and that it will fail.
.
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What a sad and deluded lot. The movie was exceptional on every level. Everyone wishes Dreamworks put out movies that equal this one. If that makes you mad, don't yell about it in here, yell about it in the halls of your studio.
Any anti-Pixar comments you see are probably 90% due to the fanboy worship. Not the actual movies themselves.
Speaking for myself, I'm tired of the non-industry folks coming in here and spouting off left and right about how they can do no wrong and their shiite smells like flowers.
So if you see us acting negatively against Pixar, it is mostly because of the fanboy BS, not the movies themselves.
To the commenter that already claimed that Up should be nominated for the best movie of the year.
This is exactly what I mean. Fanboy worship already proclaiming that it should win the statue. And here we are, not even half way through the year!! Get a grip and get off the koolaid.
Ok, ok, all hissyfits aside, no one can argue tha Pixar has the best story department in the industry... period. There is just no fraking denying that. And fyi I never want to work at Pixar because.. I want to make money!!!
Up is the best film so far this year, and the best animated film in decades. The themes running through the film are truly stunning to experience. Live Action films RARELY go this deep, and I cannot wait to see it again. It is, BY FAR, the best film out of Pixar, which means it's one of the best animated films of all time. I cannot wait to see it again.
Some day, maybe dreamworks will make a film worth watching more than once.
Go see "Up". IMO its second only to "The Incredibles" in Pixar's list of finest films.
Damn...I was going to go see Up until Robiscus said it was good.
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