Up

Up was, I think, a new triumph for Pixar. Now that they’ve moved on from making novel objects talk (toys, bugs, cars, fish, rats) and begun to focus their attentions on heartwarming stories, I think that they might enter a new era of sorts, which I, not yet tired of the house style, find an appealing prospect indeed.

The film centres on an old man who in order to fulfil a childhood dream decides to make his house fly, his life story told in an expository segment so that we are on his side from the start. His story is not exactly tragic, but he finds himself alone with strong links to the past, and so he takes action. The physics, fanciful contraptions and unlikely coincidences that follow as the old man meets new characters and strange creatures and gains a new sense of purpose, are not what is important beside the spectacle, the affectionate characterisation and the sheer fun of the scenario. There is much to make the audience laugh, make them sad, make them cheer and make them care. And the sheer beauty of the film, particularly when it comes to landscapes, is another layer of pleasure.

Not everything is perfect: I felt like there should have been more resolution for the family unit at the end of the film, less of a feeling that a father figure can simply sweep in, but generally everything I was unsure about, from talking dogs to men isolated for long decades failing to accomplish their goal, eventually turned out to be a positive aspect of the film and I was most impressed. It may not endure quite like Toy Story or Wall-E, but it was great stuff.

(originally written 15.10.09)

Monsters Inc.

The Oscars in March 2002 were the first to have an Academy Award for feature-length animation. In February, on the 3rd to be precise, I had a little prediction after seeing a film newly released in UK cinemas:

‘Watched the highly entertaining future animation Oscar winner (I expect!) Monsters Inc. – A great premise, great characters and some really funny gags made for a very enjoyable viewing. Boo is an unbelievably sweet little kid, I thought the characters’ names were clever and, while things still look much like plastic, CG is getting better and better, especially that Fiz-T technology. My only question would be – if they know kids aren’t really toxic, why all the security? If they are, why no effect?’

In the event, it was not to be a win for Pixar – indeed, Monsters Inc. was one of only two Pixar films not to win the award, along with Cars. In this case, I think the decision was a bad one: Shrek spawned a successful and enjoyable franchise, but that first film was not a great accomplishment – and I would have preferred to see this film win.

Monsters Inc. is another clever take on an old concept regarding childhood. Those scary monsters under the bed and lurking in the closets and cupboards of the world are real – and part of an industry. They harvest the screams of children to power their society. It all works nicely until one of the best ‘scarers’, James Sullivan (I mentioned that I thought the names were clever – and what I thought was clever about them was that they were so ordinary, rather than being fantasy monster names) accidentally brings a little girl back into his world with him. Believing the child to be toxic and dangerous, he and his best friend Mike have to work out what to do with the strange, giggling little creature.

The question about toxicity has been raised since by others: why spread a false rumour that children are toxic? The best answer I’ve seen is that it’s a psychological trick: the workers are told the kids are dangerous to motivate them to do their jobs and get out quickly. That’ll do – it’s only a minor issue in any case.

Monsters Inc. has dated well, probably better than the first Toy Story or A Bug’s Life – although neither are exactly unpleasant to watch. It’s still extremely impressive, how much work has gone into each frame, and those Fiz-T hair effects remain impressively fluid. But of course, the main thing that makes Pixar the success it is would be those strong concepts, great characters and heartwarming developments. That’s why Monsters Inc. was a great success. And that’s why the prospect of a prequel coming out in 2013 is really quite an interesting one…