Disney/Pixar's artistic winning streak continues.
Up's teaser trailer - that's been out for a while - was a hoot, an early review was very positive, and the first full trailer (via JoBlo) has now hit Cyberland. If the film lives up to the buzz, Disney/Pixar will have another great movie for their back catalogue.
There's no guarantee that Up will be the runaway blockbuster that the Mouse House always demands from the Emeryville studio. But, given Pete Docter & Bob Peterson's track record (Monsters Inc., A Bug's Life), there's every reason to believe that Up will be worth checking out.
Up Trailer
Much like with the initial trailer for WALL-E, Disney is pushing Pixar's catalogue in the first full trailer for Up, promoting movies like The Incredibles and Toy Story as classics. Given that Pixar's films regularly find their way onto "Best Animated Films of all time" lists any many critics' year end "best of" rundowns, that's not an unreasonable way to market those flicks.
However, one would wish that the Mouse House would find another way to introduce their new films.
So the viewer gets a montage of previous Pixar flicks, before settling down at the front door of Carl Fredericksen (Ed Asner). That's the point where audiences see the cornerstone image of this movie: countless helium-filled balloons lifting Fredericksen's house up into the air.
Fredericksen yelling, "So long, boys!" while blowing a Bronx cheer at the people below, is a wonderful touch. And the byplay with a terrified 8-year-old Wilderness Ranger named Russell (Jordan Nagai) later on is nothing short of brilliant. Asner seems to be having a hoot playing the cantankerous Fredericksen and his voice work really livens up the character. Well done.
Okay, okay, so the visuals are A+ as well. But did you expect any less from Pixar?
Up Released Early
Disney/Pixar is going early with Up's release, bringing it out at the end of May instead of late June (WALL-E's release date). That's the very beginning of the summer blockbuster season, well ahead of the big flicks coming later, such as James Cameron's Avatar.
Ever since Cars in 2006, Pixar's films have seemed increasingly out of place in the summer blockbuster season. Although they're definitely family favourites, they've been getting lost among the soaring superheroes and whizz-bang CGI that populates the summer season.
DreamWorks Animation is also avoiding the blockbuster zone next year. They're releasing their sole 2009 film, Monsters vs. Aliens, in March, two whole months ahead of Up. This seems an implicit acknowledgment from both studios that these types of family-oriented animated films aren't really getting their due when competing against movies like The Dark Knight.
Up flies into theatres on May 29, 2009.
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