Wednesday 28th October

Partly Cloudy

Director: Peter Sohn
Year: 2009
Stars: n/a

This is a Pixar short that is being shown in the cinemas before the main feature, Up. Having seen it at the cinema I thought I'd review it here, along with Up. It tells the tale of a lonely cloud that makes babies (which a hard-done-by stork then carries) for the less cute creatures of the world, which have a tendency to attack the stork. Engaging and fun, it's a good introduction to Up and the world of Pixar.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Up (3D)

Director: Pete Doctor, Bob Peterson
Year: 2009
Stars: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordon Nagai, Bob Peterson

And onto the main feature... the first 10 minutes of this are brilliant. Drawing you straight into the story, you'll wonder how you've managed to be emotionally manipulated quite so quickly.

In a sense, the less you know about the story before it starts, the more you will enjoy it. So suffice it to say that the plot involves an old man and a young boy, and a house that flies - all things you probably already know from the trailer.

The film looks beautiful, and whilst the remainder of the movie might not draw you in quite like the first ten minutes, it's still incredibly enjoyable. Amazingly, even when all the characters are being annoying, you'll understand why and still like them. Well, I did.

The only problem I have with Up is that it's not really necessary to watch it in 3D. Of course, that takes nothing away from the story, but why make something in 3D if you're not really going to use it? Pixar said they didn't want to use the usual tricks of having things jump out at you, and I fully respect that. But most of the beauty of the film would be apparent in 2D - it doesn't use the 3D. After having seen the way Coraline used 3D, this just isn't quite up to standard.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5